Kirby Sentria Vacuum - More of the Same
It's always easy to find reviews and ratings for all of the Kirby vacuum cleaners available because they only make one model at a time and it stays that way for a few years until the improve upon the features of the current Kirby model, and start all over again. Currently, the Kirby Sentria upright is the only new Kirby vacuum available.
The Kirby Sentria is the current model, but not the only Kirby vacuum to be considered. Don't be afraid to look at used models if you want a Kirby and a bargain. Kirby vacuums have been around for a long time, and the quality of Kirby vacuums has been consistent (ie. outstanding). Kirby vacuums are known to outlast other vacuum by years.. If you walk into a vacuum store that does repairs, it's fairly common to see an old Kirby vacuum in the pile for repair or maintenance, and that model could easily be over 20 years old and running. The point I'm trying to make is that older Kirby vacuums are good and relatively easy to find and purchase online. We found several vacuum cleaner stores selling refurbished Kirby Generation and Diamond Series upright vacuums. This is one of few vacuum brands that are really worth buying used, hopefully refurbished by a professional The price of a refurbished Kirby is very low when compared to the price of a new Kirby and the vacuums are incredibly durable. Kirby vacuum bags can be purchased online as can most Kirby vacuum supplies and parts.
Kirby was one of if not the most durable upright vacuum cleaner on the market. The vacuums are predominantly made of metal instead on plastics, so they aren't suspectible to wear like a regular vacuum cleaner. They are also very powerful carpet cleaners and perform extremely well when we were vacuuming up pet hair.
Kirby makes an extemely heavy vacuum cleaner. The word "heavy" has been used in every single Kirby vacuum review since the beginning of time. The new Sentria model weighs around 25 pounds. The Kirby Generation and Ultimate G series models aren't far off from this number, and they are also a little awkward to carry. If you have a multiple story home and need to carry your vacuum up the stairs every time you clean, you had better be pretty strong or go find yourself another brand of vacuum. They last a long time as far as vacuums go, but you pay the price every time you pick one up.
Kirby also provides a fairly extensive accessories kit and the option to use your vacuum as a shampooer (with the right accessories). There really isn't another vacuum cleaner that performs both of these task, or at least not very well. If you would actually utilize your Kirby vacuum to shampoo your carpets, then Kirby is probably the best vacuum for you. We did find the attachment hose and setup to be very inconvenient if you need to frequently use the hose accessories while you clean your home.
The two things we really didn't like about Kirby is the way they are sold (the new models only) and the price. In the town we live in, there is a Kirby-only dealer where you can make an appointment to have the vacuum demonstrated. That's fine. The problem is that Kirby vacuums are more commonly sold door to door. That's kind of ridiculous in this day and age (we found a lot of complaints and bad experiences on line during out research about this). I would never recommend dealing with a door to door salesman or having a salesman come to your home via appointment. We assume that most of the local Kirby locations could or at least should have the space available to provide a demonstration. Regarding the price, it vary's based on the sales person. We have heard prices of over $1,800 for the Sentria. It's a very good vacuum and it could potentially last you 15 to 20 years, but that a lot of money to spend at once for a residential vacuum. We found older, refurbished models ranging in price from $200 to $700, which we considered to be a fair price range for an older Kirby vacuum.