Kirby Sentria

[Bagman75]

Hi Everybody!
My wife was talking this morning about getting something that could shampoo our carpets and buff out hardwood floors. Since I've always loved Kirby, I thought this might be a golden opportunity for me to get the latest and greatest Kirby. I know as a vacuum cleaner, they can't be beat, but how are your experiences with using the newer model Kirby's for shampooing carpet and buffing hardwood? I'm not sure I can talk her into the expenditure if it's not good doing both types of floors. Thanks!

 

[sptyks]

I don't have any hardwood floors in my place, so I can't give you an opinion on the floor buffing capabilities, but I can tell you about the carpet shampoo system which works great on my carpets.


 


If you follow the shampoo instrustions to the letter and don't try to cut any expense by using other than Kirby shampoo products, you will get excellent rersults too.


 


You see the Kirby shampoo system was designed as a dry type carpet shampoo system. Other brands of shammpoo will leave too much water in your carpet after you finish giving poor cleaning results. The Kirby shampoo dries to a fine powder which is designed to attach itself to the dirt in your carpet. The final step is to vacuum up the powder and the dirt that is attached to it. For the best results, make sure your Kirby vacuum bag is less than half full which will provide maximum airflow and suction to remove the powder/dirt mixture.


 

 

[sopranojam85]

The Kirby Floor Buffer is only recommended for solid hardwood floors. I haven't heard how well it works on engineered or laminate hardwood flooring, but it's not recommended, and the flooring manufacturer (of engineered or laminate flooring) may void your warranty if you don't use their list of approved cleaners.

Even if your hardwood is not solid hardwood, you can still use the Kirby in canister mode to sweep up dirt and debris, but as for waxing or using a polishing or damp cleaner, you will need to use something different.

 

[tolivac]

When you are vacuuming up after the Kirby carpet shampooer-cleaner use a FRESH new bag.I do this and it works so much better.Remember in some Kirby doco they recommend a new bag.

 

[jscarlato]

I have gotten pleasing results with any of my Kirby shampooers for any of my Kirby G models, with the Sentria as my latest driver. As mentioned, it is important to follow the application directions precisely. If you move too slowly or go over the same area too often in one cleaning, it is possible to wet the carpet. After laying down the foam, shut off the suds and go over the area to brush in the suds. For regular vacuuming, the white HEPA bags are excellent. However, I do have a stock of the older brown Micron Magic bags. I put in a fresh one to vacuum the carpet after shampooing. These bags are good enough for the task and are cheaper to throw away.

Years ago, I polished a hardwood floor with my Kirby Classic 1-CR. I didn't use Kirby wax. Instead, I put down a thin layer of Johnson's paste wax. I got stellar results after buffing. As we have all carpet, I can't give any updates on the hardwood nowadays. Good luck with all.

Joe