Kirby questions - bag smells and shampoo system ect

[kirbymodel2c]

Well...

Hi, Well I've always found the Kirby Shampoo system to do a great job when used correctly and with the genuine shampoos and sprays. Especially using the G series machines. I've found most of the domestic <a name="start_23792.266608">spray/extraction uprights to be rubbish over rated and very unreliable. You also have to be careful of over wetting the carpet and rotting the underlay if used regular.
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If you have a spillage remove the bulk of it with paper towel and absorbing as much of it as possible. Remember dab don't rub.

Then treat with the applicable Kirby shampoo spray following the instructions and going over with the full Kirby shampoo system if required.


The key to stains and spills is acting quickly. Vacuuming regular with the Kirby will keep you carpets looking great and shampooing regular will help maintain them. Using the spot remover and the heavy traffic sprays as needed.


 


With regards to smells most vacs smell if you have pets. Believe me I get enough of the coming in smelling to high heaven, bagged and bagless machines alike. Best thing to do is change the bag regular and don't let it sit idle for extended periods of time.


I've done this before when using one vac a few times then start using another for a few weeks only to start using the previous vac again which then smells.


Also you can use Homefresh and or Odorific.


 


I've used several Rainbows over the years the SE and E series and found them disappointing for a "high end " vac with there own "issues". Not that you see many over here as they've never been successful over this side of the pond.



 


Why the <a name="start_23792.266608"><strong>Miele, Sebo</a> are more reliable than most off the shelf vacs the older ones are better built than what their putting out now.</strong>


In the original X series Sebos you could get away allot of the time with replacing the carbon bushes in the motor.


In the X1.1,X4 etc most of the time you can't.



Mieles parts can be more expensive than Kirby's. I had a Miele cylinder S3... come in a few weeks back and the cord rewind had broke and needed replacing. Miele wanted to charge me £168+VAT for it and then my labour would be on top and the machine only cost £200ish.


As for the Miele S7 cat and dog when I had one that had a snapped handle they wanted £178+VAT for it.



Henry's are not what the was 20 years ago lol.


 


As I've said before VALUE is a individual thing. I wouldn't waste £250-£420 on a vac that has problems sucking up fine dust. Yet other people will. Some people see spending any more than £50 on a vac is a "waste of money."


Weight as well is a individual thing. I was told the other week the Oreck XL is heavy!

I've also been told this quite a few times on Sebos, Dysons and the white bagged Panasonic uprights which say "Super Lightweight" on them.


 


 


I'm going to stop now before I get a worn out keyboard

 


James

 

 

[matt8808]

James! You sir are the ideal man to answer some questions for me....

How do you find build quality? I'm sure I read somewhere that it is slightly lighter than previous models... Is it to the usual high Kirby standard or have they scrimped on anything to reduce the weight?

Is the machine any louder than the G series?

When you purchased yours was there anything that surprised you? For example something that used to be metal is now made from plastic?

In a nut shell, will it live up to the same quality expectations that my Ultimate G Diamond delivered?

I'm pretty set on buying one now...

I LOVE the design and colours of the bag... it's very retro and funky.
I also like the newly designed furniture guard and the softer lines on the power plant unit itself.

I do not however like the way the handle flares out at the bottom where it joins into the power plant unit.

I also think the carry handle would of looked better in brown than duck egg blue but that's just me being fussy.

Aside from the way the bottom of the handle flares out its possibly my favourite modern Kirby design to date.

I also notice they have changed the design of the zip brush.

Out of interest, how much did you pay for yours James?

They said that the £970 they want from me includes all the standard dry tools, zip brush and shampoo system. I'm not sure if it includes the floor waxing/polishing head and power sander tool... But as the saying goes 'in for a penny in for a pound'... I want every possible accessory I can get for it!

 

[baglessball]

Hey Matt,

Just a little idea before you sink so much hard dollar into a machine that you may later find unsuitable for your needs..

I know you said you wanted new, BUT! What about getting a cheap refurbed G series machine to practice with. If it starts to smell after a couple of weeks it won't be a massive loss to sell on. And if it doesn't, sell the damn thing anyways and buy yourself a new shiny one!

Just a suggestion. Keep us posted either way!

I used to have BIG problems with smelly Mieles, I think any vacuum with these newer fleece bags suffer with the stale bag smell. I vac up a small amount of bicarb every couple of uses and this really seems seems to keep the cleaners smelling fresh.

Shaun

 

[sptyks]

Matt8808

The Kirby Sentria II build quality has not slipped. It is the same excellent build quality as ever.


 


The bottom of the power plant motor housing as well as the back side of the handle are now made of a space-age polycarbonate material which is lighter but actually much stronger than aluminum. This was done to reduce the overall weight of the machine by approx. one and a half pounds. According to Kirby, the new Sentria is built lighter but stronger than previous models. The polycarbonate material is more expensive than aluminum and more costly to manufacture as well.


 


The Duck-egg blue on the carry handle is also on the power switch, the right half of the Tech Drive pedal and is also lightly incorporated into the pattern on the bag. You would need to see a close up picture of the bag to notice the blue in it.


 


 

 

[kirbymodel2c]

Hi Matt,

<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Hi Matt, I'll reply later as I've been looking at the screen for a while now and my eyes are turning square

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<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">James

</span>

 

[man114]

Matt, I don't disagree. Rainbows have issues of their own, but it will never smell and will shampoo a carpet quite well. They all have great airflow. The newest powerhead is great and they are easier to use with attachments. On top of that they are fairly reliable D4s are everywhere stateside.

On the downside you have to fill and empty it with each use, sometimes more than once. You have to clean it, store the bin separately etc.

Rainbow is a decision you make and you either do or don't. It will do the job but requires totally different maintenance than a Kirby. I would choose a Rainbow over the Kirby but because I like the benefits and find it lighter to push around.

Kirby is more traditional in operation.

 

[durango159]

Working for Filter Queen, I love seeing a Kirby emerge from the customers closet!!! I knew right away that finding dirt was going to be very easy and also that the Kirbys smell to high heavens!!! On a Filter Queen demo we're supposed to do a 100 pass test with a customers unit. A demo with a Kirby G5 I got to 32 passes and felt sick. The smell and dust emitted was just a nightmare. My last demo with a Kirby was about 2 weeks ago, it was a G3. The husband told me he'd pay me to take the Kirby out of the house!!! Some customers love them but many do not like them and there are many vac shops where Kirbys have been traded in for Miele, Riccar or Simplicity and the Kirbys are building up. Consumers and vac shop dealers have found that Miele and many other brands are far easier to use, groom rugs better and clean rugs just as well if not better in most cases!! Emissions on most hard bagged machine is better too because there are post motor filters on Miele and others to not only capture incoming dirt that may have surpassed the HEPA bag but also capture carbon dust produced by the motor!! Many households have the Kirby in the basement as a back up with a Kenmore canister or Dyson as their regular driver upstairs in the main house!!

Vacuum cleaners are used to pick up DIRT and FILTH. That filth stays with the machine until emptied. The machines are stored inside of your home which is a WARM environment. At night time or in a bag compartment it is DARK. A filthy, warm, dark environment and any moisture from humidity in the air creates a fantastic breeding ground for all sorts of germs, bacterias, fungi, and viruses to breed. When you turn on that vacuum with all of that bacteria, fungi, germs and viruses breeding inside and the filters are porous for air to escape, the result is germs and viruses and things being exhausted into the air in your home. It is those things that produce the foul odor primarily. Any vacuum with a bag or filter with 3 weeks or so of not being cleaned will smell. A pet one will smell more due to increased amount of moisture from the pet dander and pet hair that was cleaned up. Tablets and other fragrances can be used but all you're doing is temporarily masking a smell produced from Bacteria, fungi, mold and viruses!!! Hard case bagged uprights do much better with this situation as the odor is trapped inside the case and there are many more filters on this system for it to pass through before being exhausted out. Even with a HEPA bag on the Kirby it is still the 1st protection and the outer bag for filtration offers essentially nothing!!

I haven't personally used a Kirby dry foam system. But there was just a major discussion of this on this on a few Facebook vac pages I'm on. The general consensus is that dry foams are highly unimpressive and only good for a light coating. If you want a true deep clean and get rid of stains then an extractor type machine is the way to go. On the low end a Hoover Steamvac with Spinscrub brushes works well. For vast performance a canister style extractor with pump and spray measured in PSI's and airflow/ suction displayed with a measured Water lift capability then you have a very powerful cleaner!!

I will attest that I was not happy with experience of older style E series Rainbows. However the current model has tremendous air flow and the power nozzle packs lots of power!! The non-carbonbrush motor sets this machine apart from anything else on the market because when not being used with hose attached to clean up spills, mop floors, shampoo carpets, or dry clean surfaces it is a 24/7/365 running air purifier!!! You never put the Rainbow away in a closet. When finished house cleaner you just rinse out basin with fresh water and let it run as an air cleaner on the low speed mode. The Rainbow requires no bags to buy. The only filter on it is washable and normal users have them last 8 years before ever requiring replacement and replacement of filters is only about $65. The Rainbow has accessories to shampoo carpet, mop and scrub floors, there's even a microfiber mop system called the Super Mop, wet spills and stains are gone with just cold water on the spot and using the normal upholstery nozzle. The new systems hose is wet and dry usage!! Rainbows don't get a stench to them. Water is dumped at end of cleaning just like a mopping bucket!! I just bought a Rainbow on Thursday, 2 days ago and love it!! It's been running just about straight through ever since as an air cleaner. I'll post a new thread of it soon!! That's it below cleaning my air! Or as Rainbow calls it "Air Washing"!

 

[sptyks]

Moldy Rainbow

I take it you have not seen the thread on here of the Rainbow which is full of white mold. I have not experienced any of the problems you mentioned with my Kirby Sentria. And the shampoo system works quite well for me also.

 

[joshdonnell]

Moldy Rainbow

Well if there is mold in the Rainbow that's because the owner stored the basin with the Rainbow. And that the owner did not need such a nice vacuum. I have Rainbow and i never had a mold problem. We must remember no vacuum is perfect.

 

[durango159]

A moldy Rainbow would most likely be caused by someone storing water left in the basin. Why store water in an environment like that for a while is a mind boggler!!! Anybody own a Humidifier??? Regardless of Ultrasonic or a filter style humidifier, leave it be for a few days unrunning and see what it looks like!!!

However for issues of that, Rexair does have a solution. Wash Basin, then no water in the tank put about 1/2 cup of the Fresh Air Disinfectant in machine. Run it for about an hour, I believe it is, to kill any growths and cleanse the system!!

With an older 1 speed system or any of the carbon brush motor models, they weren't designed to be air cleaners due to the short life, high heat from hours of use and emissions exhaust by a system with carbon brushes. Therefore after cleaning with those machines you have to wash basin and store it separate so that air can get in completely dry the Rainbow itself and basin. This was a major inconvenience and why some people may not like a Rainbow.

HOWEVER:

The newer series is a 2 speed Non Carbon brush Hurricane motor. It is designed to NEVER BE PUT AWAY!!! The non carbon brush motor is designed to run 24/7 so that once done cleaning surfaces it returns to air cleaner mode! It becomes the cheapest, easiest to maintain air cleaner out there on the market and your air returns WASHED IN WATER and filtered rather than just filtered!! You can even add scents if you like as many people use the Rainbow for Aroma Therapy and have your air smelling of Eucalyptus, Vanilla, Lemon, Pine, Berry, Spice, Violet, Orange, Orange-Ginger, and several others.

 

[matt8808]

I've got to admit the Kirby is much more appealing.....
Definitely getting one as soon as I get chance to visit the local Kirby dealer

 

[sptyks]

Matt

You have made an excellent decision. You will be quite happy with your new Sentria II.

 

[matt8808]

I've got it!! Went and got one after work today.... new thread on it will be up shortly