got2bjennyg
Active member
I'm intrigued about owning a Kirby because of the quality construction, made in the USA, good at deep cleaning carpet.
I found a Kirby Avalir for $100 about an hour or so away. I'm concerned about the weight when it comes to dragging this up and downstairs, and cleaning the carpeted stairs.
I also found a Kirby Heritage II locally for $60. It's in decent shape, but probably going to benefit from a proper servicing (new fan, brush roll and a going over). I'm concerned about how hard this will be to push on the upstairs carpet (see information below)
What do I need to consider in trying to decide between these vacuums? Am I missing any important points?
I have 4 dogs, and vacuum almost daily.
The main level of the house is all hard surfaces for which I generally just use a straight suction only canister with a hard floor nozzle to vacuum. I use this for above the floor cleaning as well.
The upstairs level is all carpet except for bathrooms and the lower level is carpet except for the bathroom and utility/laundry room.
I'm a very fit, but petite person in my 50's. I have no problem carrying my 17 lb Sanitaire S675A up and down the stairs, and I'm sure I could lug a 23 lb Kirby too, but at my age, things can change at anytime, so I wonder if that is really a good idea.
My upstairs carpet (hall, stairs, bedrooms) is Shaw lifeproof carpet with the waterproof backing which is really tricky to vacuum. If I set my Sanitaire low enough to engage the brush roll and deep clean on both the forward and backward stroke, I go through belts like mad (every bag change). If I raise it up one then it only engages the brush roll onto the nap of the carpet on the forward stroke, but not when I pull it back. I'm hoping a Kirby might handle that a bit better. I also have a Hoover Windtunnel max bagged that is decent at cleaning the carpet, but not as good as the Sanitaire.
I found a Kirby Avalir for $100 about an hour or so away. I'm concerned about the weight when it comes to dragging this up and downstairs, and cleaning the carpeted stairs.
I also found a Kirby Heritage II locally for $60. It's in decent shape, but probably going to benefit from a proper servicing (new fan, brush roll and a going over). I'm concerned about how hard this will be to push on the upstairs carpet (see information below)
What do I need to consider in trying to decide between these vacuums? Am I missing any important points?
I have 4 dogs, and vacuum almost daily.
The main level of the house is all hard surfaces for which I generally just use a straight suction only canister with a hard floor nozzle to vacuum. I use this for above the floor cleaning as well.
The upstairs level is all carpet except for bathrooms and the lower level is carpet except for the bathroom and utility/laundry room.
I'm a very fit, but petite person in my 50's. I have no problem carrying my 17 lb Sanitaire S675A up and down the stairs, and I'm sure I could lug a 23 lb Kirby too, but at my age, things can change at anytime, so I wonder if that is really a good idea.
My upstairs carpet (hall, stairs, bedrooms) is Shaw lifeproof carpet with the waterproof backing which is really tricky to vacuum. If I set my Sanitaire low enough to engage the brush roll and deep clean on both the forward and backward stroke, I go through belts like mad (every bag change). If I raise it up one then it only engages the brush roll onto the nap of the carpet on the forward stroke, but not when I pull it back. I'm hoping a Kirby might handle that a bit better. I also have a Hoover Windtunnel max bagged that is decent at cleaning the carpet, but not as good as the Sanitaire.
