I worked as a demonstrator for Kirby for a short time, demonstrating the G5. It was certainly not the nicest job I've ever done, but that's another story entirely. At the time I had a Dyson and after comparing it to that I decided I would have to save up for a Kirby of my own. I was lucky enough ... Read review
Advantages: Has good suction, is built to last and comes with a shampooer. Disadvantages: It's quite heavy and you have to disconnect the main upright head to attach the pipe attachments for doing the edge of the carpet.
...worked as a demonstrator for Kirby for a short time, demonstrating the G5. It was certainly not the nicest job I've ever done, but that's another story entirely. At the time I had a Dyson and after comparing it to that I decided I would have to save up for a Kirby of my own. I was lucky enough aquire a lightly used second hand one recently for £300.
The Kirby has extra attachments the main one being the shampooer which you will more ... ...it. The suction on the Kirby is quite powerful and we often demonstrated it against other vacuum cleaners. The best cleaning power, however, comes from the upright. To convert it from the cylinder to the upright cleaner you have to unhook the hose from the front of the machine and replace it with the main head. Before attaching the main head you have a kind of lever at the front which you need to wind to lift the drive belt up off the brush. Then ... more
I worked as a demonstrator for Kirby for a short time, demonstrating the G5. It was certainly not the nicest job I've ever done, but that's another story entirely. At the time I had a Dyson and after comparing it to that I decided I would have to save up for a Kirby of my own. I was lucky enough aquire a lightly used second hand one recently for £300.
The Kirby has extra attachments the main one being the shampooer which you will more than likely get with the vacuum cleaner when you buy it. I'll tell you more about that later though. Then there is a sander attachment, which tends to come separate to the main machine. I have not yet had the opportunity to use the sander attachment yet so I can not comment on the effectiveness of it. My parents have used theirs though and haven't made any complaints, so I guess that's a good sign. You can also get a floor polisher for the Kirby, which is for wooden flooring. Oddly enough I have never actually seen this attachment, so unfortunately I can not comment on it.
The vacuum cleaner can be used in a variety of ways. As a cylinder cleaner it can be used to suck or blow (no I'm not trying to be rude!). On the front of the main body of the cleaner is the inlet and the outlet is on the side. To use the suction you attach the hose to the inlet on the front and the bag to the outlet. To convert the cleaner to blow, you simply remove the hose from the front inlet and put it on the outlet where the bag usually goes. You then place a cover (which is provided) over the inlet to stop anything that might get caught up in it. The suction on the Kirby is quite powerful and we often demonstrated it against other vacuum cleaners. The best cleaning power, however, comes from the upright. To convert it from the cylinder to the upright cleaner you have to unhook the hose from the front of the machine and replace it with the main head. Before attaching the main head you have a kind of lever at the front which you need to wind to lift the drive belt up off the brush. Then when the head has been attached to the front of the machine you wind the lever back down to place the belt on the drive spindle which activates the vibration and turns brush. If you want to use the cleaner on suction only, say for wooden or linoleum floors, you would simply wind the belt off. The main head of the upright cleans through suction and vibration, the idea being that it loosens any imbedded dirt as it cleans. You can actually see the dirt jumping around the head of the cleaner from the vibrations. It is very effective and leaves the carpet looking fluffier and newer. It is a bit noisy though and you can feel the vibrations through your feet if the floor under the carpet is wooden.
The tools which come with the Kirby are a crevice tool, an anti static dusting brush attachment, an upholstery/drapery attachment and two extension hoses. There is also a deep cleaning attachment for upholstery and stairs, which works in a similar way to the main head, but isn't as bulky. All of the tools and attachments are for use with the cylinder cleaner and come with a storage case. They are all made of a durable plastic and the cylinder hose is strong and flexible enough to twist into knots and be trod on without damage being caused. A sharp object will pierce it though as it would any vacuum hose. In addition to the vacuum cleaner tools you get a shampoo foaming/spray tool which attaches to the vacuum hose. You fill the reservoir with water and carpet shampoo and when you pull the trigger it sprays out a foam. This is designed for use on upholstery and stairs, where you can't use the full size shampooer.
There were two demonstrations we did with the Kirby which were guaranteed to amaze people and often got us a sale. The first was to pour sand on the floor and get the client to vacuum it up with their own cleaner. When they thought they had got it all up we would run over it with the Kirby and suck up more about half of what we originally put down. The other great demonstration was on the mattress. We would vacuum their mattress and then show them what had come out. It was a grey powder, which we would then explain (truthfully) that it was dead skin, sweat, dust mites and dust mite faeces. If you are squeamish you might be loathe to sleep in your bed after seeing some of the muck we got out of some mattresses.
The outer bag on the Kirby is made from Micron Magic filtration, which is a very fine filtration system. Which makes it great for asthma and allergy sufferers. I can personally vouch for the efficiancy of the bag because I got a split in one of the disposable (non Kirby) bags and didn't even realise until I opened the outer bag to check whether it needed emptying. The disposable bag can be easily removed and disposed of without get dust everywhere, unlike my Dyson which was bag less and I ended up breathing a lot of dust in whilst emptying it. It is also quite a large bag and can take months to fill. I use my vacuum cleaner a lot and a bag lasts me well over six months.
The machine is quite heavy, but it has a drive system, which makes it easy to push around, when it’s switched on. The woman I got it from had started having back trouble which was the reason why she sold it. If you’re not fit and healthy then lugging it up and down stairs can be rather awkward.
The only real complaint I have about the Kirby is that you have to remove the main head and fit the hose in order to get to the edges of the carpet and any hard to reach places which the main head can't clean. With my Dyson I just needed to unclip the hose from the back.
The shampooer attachment is a godsend for me. Particularly as I have a toddler and a partner who likes to walk oily and muddy footpaths through the house. It attaches to the front of the machine in the same way as the main vacuum head. It works by mixing the carpet shampoo and water into a foam, leaving the carpet merely damp and not soaked. It has an optional carpet fluffing bar which you can attach (basically just a strip of plastic), but I have personally never bothered using it as it does an excellent job without it. I have only ever used the Kirby shampoo in it because it has always worked so well for me. I even managed to clean a spillage of paint off the carpet, saving me from having to buy a new one. It was water-based paint though and I don't plan to see if it will do the same for oil based paint!
The price of a Kirby from a sales person would be £1600. I would not recommend you to accept this price though as you can get the sales person to knock at least £600 off this price. It merely means that the sales person has a cut in their commission.
The Kirby is overall a very good vacuum cleaner and I would recommend it to anyone who can afford it. You only get the standard three year warranty, but the Kirby is built to last and if serviced regularly will practically last a lifetime. All of the moving parts, eg drive belts etc. are quite hard wearing and I have not heard of belts snapping.
Advantages: Suction, Tech Drive Power Assist,Accessories Disadvantages: None
...owner of a 2nd hand Kirby G5 in April last year. Before this, I’d had two demonstrations. The first one was when I was 11, (I’m 26 now), and the second one was in 2001. I’m ashamed to admit that after witnessing the first demonstration and seeing what faeces it removed from my bed, I was ‘sold’ to the Kirby. My folks were as well, and they promised me that one day, we would get one. When we had the first demonstration, ... ...me, were owners of a Kirby G5.
After the Kirby subject had been mentioned, my friend told me that he’d been a demonstrator for Kirby for a period of time, and had no qualms in recommending the machines to anyone. He brought his machine to my house and gave my parents and I an idea what our wonderfully powerful Dyson was really picking up.
WE WERE APPAULED!! So we decided to start saving for our own machines immediately. In the meantime, we ...
GavMan 23.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Kirby G5
Advantages: Great machine with alot of extras, Clean carpets that don't take all day to dry Disadvantages: Expensive, Heavy
I have owned a Kirby G5 for three and a half years and have nothing but praise for the machine and what it does. Although it is a heavy machine it work brilliantly and I love the way that it cleans the carpets without soaking them. It works on a Dry Foam system that uses only a small amount of water and although I did only use the Kirby Cleaning solution to begin with I wasn't impressed with the smell of it and found that I could use No Wet Wonder ... ...much cheaper and now I have a choice of fragrances.
Although it is a very heavy machine and I tend to use a cylinder cleaner for upstairs I do get my husband to take it up for me every now and then and give everything a really good clean. The bags are expensive but I have found that they last alot longer that all of my friends "upright" bags and I really like the style of the machine - kind of "Olde Worlde"
The initial outlay is alot, but in three ...
claireydeacon 21.07.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Kirby G5
Advantages: drive system easy to push Disadvantages: price, weight, complexity.
...of the sales for the kirby is the bit when they show you what they have sucked out of your bed. yes its yucky and it scares you, but please note no-one has showed you what your OLD cleaner sucked out, and if you have never vacumed your bed it would pull out as much as the kirby anyway. (Our bed was only 2 weeks old when they did this test and it took me three months to work out the grey stuff that came out was mostly mattress padding, no one sheds ... ...into never wanting to sleep in your bed again the salesman will show you the answer to the problem you have only just realised you had, but with oh so much more. It sucks, it blows, it shampoo's. You can blow up a paddling pool with it, you can use it as a compressor to paint your car with. It turns from an upright to a cylinder, and nothing but nothing does a better job on your carpets.
By this time you are willing to pay £1500 for a VACUUM CLEANER. ...
velvetleggs 14.10.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Kirby G5
Advantages: Superb cleaning power, loads of accessories Disadvantages: heavy, a bit awkward sometimes and bags and cleaning liquids are hard to get and expensive
At £1,600 you would probably gag before buying this, however there is a 40year guarantee on parts and I don't think you can beat it when it comes to deep down cleaning. For example for years we used our panasonic cylinder vacuum recommended by Which best buy. It was good but if we used our vax, alot of dirt still came up indicating that it had not deep cleaned. After the Kirby, the water in the vax is almost clean!
Disadvantages, be very wary its ... ...stairs and the cleaner refused to as well so I have to take it up before she arrives! I now even considering and "upstairs" vacuum. Bags are a bit of a faff to get as you have to ring up the central stockist and order them. Kirbby is a still relatively small supplier so you won't find a local branch.
One great thing is that you can vacuum the bed and it pulls up loads of dead skin and if its there, bed bugs! You tend to breath easier at night and ...
ramcharan 22.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Kirby G5
Advantages: Does almost everything apart from the washing up Disadvantages: You won't use it for everything it can do and it costs a mortgage
...am an owner of a Kirby and that I only bought one because my husband sold them for 2 weeks!
On the whole, it is a very good hoover (sorry, KIRBY), but when I think what else I could spend my £55 a month on I could cry. When the demonstration is done it's very effective, especially when they use the machine to clean your mattress. You end up thinking that you'll never sleep in your bed again until you've got the Kirby on it. In reality, despite having ... ...The first you'llprobably hear of Kirby is when a salesman turns up at your door offering to enter you into a prize draw for a car or a holiday etc. They'll ask you if you're employed etc. They fill in the form for you, leave you the stub and off they go. As soo as they get back to their group, basically if they don;t think you earn enough money to buy one of these things they'll throw your form in the bin, thus never entering you into the prize draw ...
Biffa 08.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Kirby G5
Advantages: Powerful cleaning abilities, multiple uses, durable, easy to use. Disadvantages: The price,
Over my life time I've had two home visits was always tempted to buy one by the pushy sales man but I held out, it wasn't until I discovered E-bay & looked on E-bay I found loads of Kirby Cleaners, Well Mr Salesman I brought mine for the meer price £350. Yes its a few years old, but was in fantastic condition, fully serviced, all the tools, video etc.. It was well looked after.
I personally can't see any difference between the G4, G5 or G6 apart from the colour? and I ain't going to pay just for the colour.
With 5 cats and a very busy household, the Kirby is a dream come True, with the Tech Drive its so easy to hoover, O.k so to attach the tools is a 5 minute job, but I've had my kirby for 3 years now & couldn't fault it.
Though these hoovers requires a bag, I still personally think its worth having a bag. These hoovers sure ...
scratcher 15.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Kirby G4
