My beloved vacuum cleaner

Way back in 1998, a traveling salesperson came to the door. He demonstrated his wares. Where I saw $$ dollar signs $$, my husband saw an investment. Spend THAT kind of money on a vacuum cleaner? Yeah, right. And we did.

The power behind our Kirby was superior to any vacuum I'd ever driven, and my husband was pleased that we had a quality built machine with solid parts. For me, all of those solid parts meant that the machine was heavy and cumbersome, even with the transmission activated. It was a royal pain to use the attachments, and I found that the edge cleaning capability left much to be desired.

I didn't whine, technically. But when the opportunity for a minor repair (but an expensive, minor repair) arose, I jumped on the opportunity to purchase a different vacuum cleaner. I eBayed and Amazoned and ePinioned and finally settled on a Bissell bagless vacuum ($85). When we moved to our three story Georgia home, we decided to use the central vac (now deceased) in the basement area, the Bissell on the main level, and the Kirby upstairs.

Two years later I am conceding to my husband that I was wrong, and he was right. The Kirby, though overpriced, is a far superior machine to the $85 Bissell and the several thousand dollar central system. Our Kirby broke again from excessive use :) (the plastic tubing that is detrimental to proper suction), and I was very quick to order the replacement part for it. I had a good eBay experience. When I purchased from ValuVacs , I placed my order on Friday afternoon and had the part on Monday morning at a much cheaper cost than buying from the local Kirby dealer.

I see a noticeable difference in my carpet's appearance even after only a few sweeps with the Kirby. It seemed to eliminate the grayish look on the surface and noticeably lifted the pile of the carpet. I am happy. Though I'd love to own a Rainbow because of the nifty things that it can do, I'm finally at peace with my beloved Kirby.