Garbage picked Kirby Gsix!

[luxy1205]

Hi everyone! About a month ago my husband and I went home a different street in our neighborhood and I found a Kirby handle sticking out of the garbage can!!! As we drove by, I shouted Kirby G5!!! My husband backed up and I looked at it and discovered it's a Kirby G six!!!

I got me a free Kirby today!!! Never found a Kirby before!!!

We plugged him in outside incase there was a problem, Kirby still works!!! His on off switch only stays on, cord is so twisted I will just buy him a new one, the outer bag is really gross and will buy a new one! The motor runs good, but I believe he needs bearings. I will just buy anything he needs as we work on him.

Not kidding, this poor Kirby was in a garbage can!!! My husband had to pick him out of it!

Well, he has a new home and we will go through him and then he will get a new lease on life again!!!

He can now live with all of my other Kirbys!!! Feel good about saving a Kirby today!!! No garbage for Kirby!!!

 

[justjunque]

Nice!

Thank you for saving the Kirby.
I'm not a huge fan of uprights in general, as I grew up with mostly canisters, and we have mostly hardwood floors in our house now.
But I'm a HUGE fan of rescuing good machines from the trash!

Heck...I'm busting my butt right now, trying to clean up an abused little Hoover stick vac.
This is nowhere near the caliber of machine that your Kirby is, but I couldn't even stand to see this little guy get junked.

Good on ya!

Barry

 

[luxy1205]

Barry

Thank you for the kind words! I hate seeing stuff thrown out that doesn't need to be! I have garbage picked a contemporary dresser with clear drawer fronts that still smelt brand new! Also, I saved a 3 legged mid century corner table! I took the table apart, sanded the old stain off, restained the legs, and buffed out the formica top! I will make this Gsix like new again and use it! That's cool that you do the same!

Michelle

 

[huskyvacs]

Cool find! I just got the 2001 Limited Edition of the same model. 17 years ago this was a $500-$600 vacuum. Bag fan of the G-series.

I never tried this on electrical cord but it works with garden hose. Wind the cord tightly around a barrel or plastic bucket and leave it sit out in the sun. tape each end to the bucket if need be. It should soften the rubber and warm up the copper enough for it to straighten it back out, just make sure it doesn't start to melt. Get it mostly straight and uniform around the bucket and get the kinks out and re-wrap it around the bucket tightly again and bring it inside and let it cool on its own. Then wrap it around the cord hooks on the vacuum naturally and it will shape to that form over time. Kirby cords are expensive ($20-$30 used) so it's worth trying to save it.

You can take the emptor and bag clip and fill hose out of the outer bag and wash it in the washer on gentle cycle or hand wash it to clean it up.

The on/off switch being stuck is probably just a faulty spring from rough handling or needs some oil.

Not a lot breaks on a Kirby, it's just a good wash and a polish that they need. If used heavily add to that a good oiling, commutator polish, and new carbon brushes.

 

[huskyvacs]

Typo, that should say "big fan". lol

 

[texaskirbyguy]

Awesome save!

I bet it will not take too much to get that back to new condition.
I hate seeing usable stuff set out as trash, especially something high quality like a Kirby! I woulda grabbed it also!

 

[kenkart]

Can you imaging

Paying well over a thousand dollars for something and then throwing it away! Good save!

 

[tolivac]

Someone actually threw that Kirby in the garbage??Great find!!!Fix it up-YOUR treasure at that point.

 

[lesinutah]

Huskyvac

Hey
Very good info on cord. How long in water do you leave it.
Yes the bag can be washed. With G series my washing machine has no agitator in middle so i wash like other items but not with other items. Do not use downy or fabric softener it deteriorates the bag. I have a g6 im hopefully selling to a member of this board. It the best t color scheme behind avalir 2. The only g series bag i wouldn't don't t wash is a g3. I had one i found at goodwill. The bag had spaghetti everywhere. I had to. Wash the bag. If you have magic marker on plastic or metal use isopropyl alcohol. It takes marker right off. The g3 was bad cosmetically i cleaned up put a new fan on and it ran like a champ. I gave to one of my employees who didn't have a vacuum.
The best luck i have had is i got sentria from my moms neighbor for free. It got taken apart completely because some black tar type substance was all over inside fan housing a emtor horn. It cleaned up nice too. I got a 60 ft cord. I love my d80 but the sentria is best cleaning machine I've ever owned. The zip brush is awesome getting up pet hair. I don't have a husky (the husky Mala mute mix is favorite dog breed though) we have a golden lab and i vacuum once a week. I may sale sentria but only because my wife has g series diamond edition i can use. The g series though get fur out of thick carpet the best.
I just finished polishing n my d80 and it has a 4 roll brush roll and i have sentria 2 bag system on it. Im going to see how well it fairs compared to sentria. Im sure it will be close but sentria motor and nozzle makes bigger seal to carpet. I just went on a tangent there. G series though b derp clean are the best in the business. Im glad you found it and saved it. I see all trash finds and im like dang i need to go looking around my neighborhood. I could pass out flier Because i have rich neighbors. Lol well glad you found it.

 

[human]

Always great to hear from you Michelle!

What a lucky Gsix to find its way into your hands. I know you'll bring it back to prime condition. My first Kirby was a Gsix 2001 Limited Edition that I rescued from beside a dumpster. All it needed was a belt and an inner bag.

I've also got two Electroluxes that were trash finds--a 1205 that my dad grabbed off the curb when our neighbors threw it away in the early '80s and a Discovery II that I rescued from beside the road last summer.

It's amazing what people will throw away.

 

[huskyvacs]

@ Lesinutah

Not in water, just wrap it tightly around the outside of something round like a bucket or barrel and try to get it as straight as you can, and leave it sit to get warmed by the sun for a little while and check it so it doesnt melt. After some time, unwrap it and kind of work the kinks out a little bit and re-wrap it around the bucket and leave it sit again. Then if it looks like its gotten a bit straighter, bring it inside to cool down still on the bucket. Then once cool, remove from bucket and wrap around cord hooks on the vacuum. It will take some time to readjust to the shape but it should straighten out.

Like I said though, it's only a theory. I never tried it with electrical cord, but I did this with garden hose before to re-form it to a tidy bail and not a kinked mess and it worked.

 

[kenkart]

Re Cords

I just coil them up on the top rack of the dishwasher and run them thru a cycle, they come out like new

 

[kirbylux77]

Michelle, that is a awesome find....especially for FREE! And that Kirby will last forever, cost only pennies to fix up, & will be the best carpet cleaning vacuum you will ever own. Amazing what some people throw away eh? Their loss is your gain

Rob

 

[compactc9guy]

thats awesome !!! i scored a Electrolux Discovery 2 up right in a yard sale 2 years ago i rebuilt it and use it often good job on getting that Kirby

 

[luxy1205]

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for the kind words, advice, and stories about all of your finds! I can't wait to fix this Gsix! I love bringing stuff back from the dead!
-Michelle