Kirby Vacuum Cleaners Reviews
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About Kirby Vacuum Cleaners
For nearly one-hundred years, The Kirby Company has manufactured superior, American-made home cleaning systems. Kirby does not sell directly to the public but continues a long tradition of distributing its home cleaning systems through independent distributors, who are responsible for running their own businesses. Over the years, this distribution system has afforded thousands of men and women the opportunity to live the American dream of owning and operating their own businesses.
Kirby Vacuum Cleaners Reviews
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Reviewed Feb. 22, 2025
I had a dealer come to my house 3 months ago with their "free" bottle of Dawn and showed me the vac. Yes it picked up dirt, but $3000.00 for a vacuum??? Well, I just had another salesman show up with that bottle of Dawn. I told him point blank..."you guys were here 3 months ago...etc." but fine waste your time and mine. I kept telling him..THIS IS A RENTAL. I AM NOT BUYING, but he continued through the speech. Again, I said no. He said fine picked up his stuff, and on the way out....took my free Dawn! And he had all the filters of stuff vacuumed up, and then kept stepping on them, so it just went back into my carpet! NEVER again will I open my door to Kirby!
Reviewed Feb. 8, 2025
We have had our Kirby g4 for 28 years and the only part we have replaced was the power cord. WE have used the vacuum daily and the carpet cleaning attachment many times. I would highly recommend Kirby, I know they are pricey but you get what you pay for.
Reviewed Jan. 28, 2025
First of all, they called my phone. Said that they were coming to do a cleaning based on a referral from people I know (And get this, when I checked back with those people said they never gave anyone my information because). Anyway, they never gave the name of the company over the phone, and NEVER indicated that they were coming to sell a vacuum. Anyway, on this call, they said they would come and do my living room and vacuum my basement steps. They swept and mopped my living room floor, alright - with his sneakers on that he just came outside with... Meanwhile, I offer him booties so that he won't walk across the rest of my floors with his sneakers on so we can get to the basement steps he said he would vacuum. He refused the booties because he had "so much faith in the vacuum".
Fast forward, we're at the steps and he's like, "your steps are too dirty for me to clean, I don't want to step on them with my socks on." Meanwhile, he didn't ask, "can I grab my sneakers and you grab the booties?" Even though when we made the appointment they said they would do *both* services... To conclude, if someone calls you saying they want to come and do a *free* cleaning, it really IS too good to be true, SMH. These people are scammers....
P.S. He told me this vacuum costs $2400, but whenever he used any of the fancy hose attachments, they kept popping off. For $2400, I expect it to work *seamlessly*. But I forgot to add my favorite part of his demo when he demonstrated how the vacuum can also be a blower and he turned it *on my face* to prove it SMH. You see these *free* "house cleaning" folks come, RUN...
Reviewed Dec. 24, 2024
DO NOT BUY THIS! Too harsh on my area rug. Too heavy and hard to use. It is ruining my area rug. Does not clean like a 2k vacuum should. My $68 shark does just as good. It’s ugly and takes up way too much space. It’s a waste of space, time and money.
Reviewed Nov. 15, 2024
Some sales people pulled in my parents' driveway selling Kirby vacuum cleaners. My parents got sucked into buying one because the one guy wouldn’t shut up and leave. They (four salesmen) stayed for at least two hours demonstrating and talking my parents to death until they said yes. The one smooth talker as I refer to him as even needed Diet Coke, no doubt from talking so much and getting a dry throat. I’m actually surprised they didn’t get on the roof and clean it too. They were such pests. I wouldn’t recommend Kirby to anyone.
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2024
Had a friendly fella come over today to demonstrate a complimentary cleaning of a Kirby vacuum system. Yeah... It started off with a free sample of Spic and Spam multisurface cleaner (we don't use that brand preferencing more natural environmentally safe products). I was asked if I support American made and Oklahoma made items, and I said I did. The one guy snapped his fingers to the demonstrator to bring the Kirby. The first guy disappeared, and the demonstrator stayed. I told him I was not interested in purchasing, only the demonstration. So I used the opportunity to test it out on hard to reach areas: under the couch, my chair, under the coffee table, and also along the baseboards in my kitchen, living room, hallway, and entrance - areas my Shark and Roomba can't get. I have hardwood floors in our house, and just had our main floor area replaced last year (Living Room, entry, Kitchen, and Hallway).
We also use the robots, because of my lower back issues: DDD, Sciatica, Radiculopathy, Lumbar Spondylosis with the occasional herniated or bulging disc all between L1-S1 of my lower spine, and it is also mirrored in my lower neck. So I avoid sweeping or mopping when I can, and have my kids do that housework. I told the guy as much but he insisted that it was handicap friendly. After using it along the baseboards and under the heavy furniture, my back flared. He also demonstrated the tightness of the seal of the tubes and I (6'5" 225lb) pulled him (5'8" ~140lb slim build) off his feet and he almost fell and had to catch himself. He demonstrated the window cleaning part and I was not impressed with the mess made by the mop portion when he mopped the entry. The mops we use are of the swifter variety and did not leave streaks. He had to run the machine over the entry 4 times to suck up the suds and excess water.
I also saw there was no bag attachment (he lied to me saying there was and I did not see one in the boxes and bags he had) and went through at least 2 dozen filter discs turning it off every 5s. He went through 2 dozen more when he demonstrated its use on the corner of our queen mattress. He kept being persistent on the price and was very coy about it. When he handed me the binder, there were pictures and maybe 5 bullet points of a description and nothing else - no pricing. When he finally quoted a price, it was well over $3k with taxes. Even the monthly payment options and down payments still were expensive - none lower than $550/mo.
I repeatedly told him I was not interested. I also said I MIGHT be IF it was affordable. I declined three times before he got a clue. I even told him we prefer to compare and contrast and research before we make a purchase. I thanked him for his time and told him I was happy with the way we clean our house. All told it was about an 1½ h of my day wasted.
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2024
I purchased a Kirby thinking it was going to be amazing and I would be vacuuming all the time. I have used this vacuum maybe less than 20 times and I hate it. The price alone is outrageous. The equipment is heavy and there are so many parts and attachments that you don’t know what is what or how to correctly use. Would never recommend this product to anyone. There are many other options I would use before this product. Definitely not user friendly or convenient for daily use. Please please don’t waste your money on this purchase like I did. You are only given 3 days to return product.
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2024
I am original owner of G4 vacuum since the 90s. In 2022 my Kirby motor finally gave out. I sent it to Kirby Vacuum in Ohio for a rebuilt. Paid $400 plus the shipping of over $200. As of two years later my Kirby still does not perform like it did. Suction is lacking. Moves around the dust more than picking it up. My $200 Shark bag free is the best! Don’t waste your money.
Reviewed July 13, 2024
Was promised a free room shampoo. Two young kids come by and start selling me on the vacuum. Not bothered at first as they were going to shampoo my living room. 4 hours later they finally left w/ out a sale and only a 3x3 section of my carpet shampooed. Deceptive tactics throughout. Don’t fall for their monthly payment schemes as you will spend $1k+ more than the quoted price.
Reviewed July 8, 2024
They offered a complimentary cleaning of two rooms and did not show up for three times they were scheduled to come. I even called and they said they would not honor their promise due to an alleged address in an old file as being serviced before. Which doesn’t make sense because they were referred by my neighbor has had two complimentary cleanings. Rep over the phone was rude and demeaning and kept cutting me off. Would never recommend them if you are looking for quality customer service and reliability. I even left work early the previous times to meet their rep at my address which apparently never happened.
Reviewed June 15, 2024
Worst vacuum I've ever had. Seller guilt-tripped me into buying the product, would much rather have my 50 dollar vacuum back as opposed to this 2000 dollar hunk of metal that sits in my house. Very dissatisfied and will be letting everyone who is in the market for a vacuum know not to buy.
Reviewed May 9, 2024
Kirby salesman dropped by. Promised to do 2 rooms. Did the first room and didn't really finish it. It was still super wet when they left. Said they would come back later and didn't. When my sister got home she looked forward to hearing their sales pitch and wanted to see what all it could do. Guess they didn't want to sell something. The guy also said the people who schedule to get in the door always over promise. So I guess lying twice is fine.
Reviewed May 3, 2024
We were told we'd get a quick 30 min demonstration, after 1 hour we told the individual they needed to leave despite their protests, we finally got them out. And the vacuum itself, apparently if you buy it - be prepared for cleaning to take 10x the time it used to.
Reviewed May 1, 2024
I still laugh at my encounter with the marketing guy, who tried so hard to connect with us on so many levels just to get us to buy the vacuum. Such a fake gentleman. Anyway, the vacuum isn’t worth it. They just have people good at trying to sell stuff, don’t get sucked in.
Reviewed April 23, 2024
I recently encountered a Kirby Vacuum distributor sales team, and like many other reviews have stated, my experience was, at best, uncomfortable. Let me begin by admitting that there were numerous times that I should have given a firm “no” and saved myself time and discomfort, but I am a trusting person (less so after this encounter), and I sometimes get myself into these situations by not wanting to be rude. Additionally, I must emphasize that these distributors talk and move so fast that by the time you’ve even had a moment to process what is happening, they’re already in your living room assembling an enormous metal vacuum.
I got a knock on my door early in the afternoon and was greeted by a man holding a small blue bottle of dish soap. He gave me the dish soap as a “free gift” and asked me if I wouldn’t mind observing a short demo. I hesitated, and he insisted it wouldn’t be very long and that she would get paid just to show me the product. He also emphasized that this was the last demo she needed to do before she could go home. I looked over at my driveway, where a worn brown minivan was awkwardly idling and a small young lady in ill-fitting clothes was standing looking at me. Against my better judgment, I agreed to hear the pitch and sat down on the porch while they gathered their things.
I didn’t have to wait long. In a matter of moments, the man, who was clearly the young girl’s boss, had returned with a massive box and was hovering in front of my door, requesting permission to set up inside. I asked if we could do the demo on the porch, and he insisted it was an inside product. Realizing I still hadn’t learned what was being sold, I asked, “What’s the product?” to which he bizarrely responded, “It’s a product.”. Feeling more and more unsure of the situation, I led him into my living room, with the saleswoman following close behind with another smaller box and an overstuffed backpack.
Moments after setting down the massive box, the boss quickly muttered something about needing to check on another salesperson in the area, said goodbye, and sped off in the brown van. What followed was about 45 minutes of watching the saleswoman assemble and demonstrate the Kirby vacuum. The demonstration involved placing a small, white, disc-shaped filter into a compartment on the side of the vacuum and running the vacuum across my area rug for a few seconds. She would then remove the filter, gesture to the dirt that had accumulated, and set the filter down on the floor before repeating the process. She must have gone through at least a dozen filters before I built up the nerve to tell her I didn’t need to see any more.
She attempted to show me a few accessories, a black sales binder with a ton of content, but practically no information (pages after pages of pictures of the vacuum, simple diagrams showing dirt accumulating in carpet fibers, and flashy buzzwords in bright colors and exaggerated fonts) and kept trying to get me to bring out my current vacuum cleaner, but I politely told her that wasn’t necessary and that I had seen all I needed to. She asked me if I was interested, and even though I had no desire to even consider buying this vacuum, I asked her the price out of curiosity.
During her long demonstration, I googled the vacuum model to see what the price was and saw that it was available brand new online for around $2000, which is tremendously expensive for a vacuum in my opinion. She prefaced her answer by acknowledging the vacuum was expensive, then revealed the price was $2650, but quickly followed that bombshell figure up with assurances about financing options up to 4 years.
When it became clear to her that I wasn’t going to purchase it, she called her boss and slowly disassembled and repackaged the clumsy machine. I took the opportunity to make small talk about her work as a salesperson, and she told me she had only been doing this for about 3 weeks. She seemed genuinely impressed with the vacuum and believed in its value as an all-in-one cleaning solution; she even went so far as to tell me about some of her favorite accessories, talking about how the best part of her day was getting to toy around with Kirby. In hindsight, it's probable this was just another sales tactic, and she didn’t really have confidence in the product, but while most of her pitch felt newly rehearsed and a bit phony, this testimonial felt genuine in comparison.
After packing up the vacuum, I helped her lug the box outside (it was nearly as tall as her and likely weighed more) and sat with her on the porch for about ten minutes before the van pulled up in front of the house. The boss who had greeted me initially was sitting in the passenger seat, smoking, and a different man hopped out of the driver’s seat and greeted me warmly. He made a quick final attempt to ask if I would buy, but backed down respectfully when I declined and helped the saleswoman place the product in the back of the van before driving away. As they packed up, I noticed that nearly all the van’s seats were filled, presumably with other salespeople being dropped off and picked up all around the neighborhood.
The entire experience was bizarre and uncomfortable. The concept of the door-to-door vacuum salesman feels like a dated practice from the mid-1900s, and to have one come to my door was unexpected and unappreciated. I feel for the salespeople who sign up for these roles and wonder how many of them stick around for longer than a month or two, let alone how many make anywhere close to the amount they expected when they first read the job description. Like many who have sat through a similar home demonstration, I’m determined to never allow one to take up my time again, and I wonder how long this ineffective and disliked practice will still be a thing. Will our children and grandchildren still swap stories of that one time a stranger handed them a bottle of soap and took up a few hours of their time to sell them an expensive vacuum the size of a lawn mower? Here’s hoping they won’t have to.
Reviewed April 10, 2024
Last may I bought a new Avalir 2 Kirby. I have had kirbys for over 30yrs. This is the first time I have had a kirby that has been broke down since November. Took it to a repair shop, they put a new belt on it and called fixed. It was already burning the belts up. Like a new belt was going to fix it, lol. All I get from kirby is the runaround. Kirby is making junk that will work for a couple of months and breaks down, then you're stuck with making payments on a product that doesn't work. Whatever you do don't buy a kirby.
Reviewed April 5, 2024
Coming to someone’s door and asking to complete a survey and then barging through with multiple pieces and a sweeper then refusing to leave for 45 minutes despite me all but kicking them out is a horrible business practice. Absolutely would not purchase a $3,000 vacuum cleaner when this is the company’s business model.
Reviewed Jan. 5, 2024
Sure, buying a vacuum for $$$ could be a brag, but then your friends will see your bruised toes, scuffed up walls, and hearing aids. The “home cleaning system” is junk and is so loud your grandma in Illinois can hear it. Literally today tried to use one of the attachments to dust off my walls, shone a light on it to see my walls were streaky and the paint is now scratched in places it wasn’t before. This spaceship is so big, if you don’t move out of the way in time, it’ll take you and your wall right out. I’ve had to replace more drywall from the vacuum than than from the boys in my house. The biggest mistake of my life right now is letting that rude salesman through the front door knowing my husband would probably fall for the ruse.
Reviewed Nov. 22, 2023
Very disappointed in support after the sale. There is none. Product appears to be decent but if you can't use the product what's the point. 800 # is useless. Shamperer has issues that is probably operator error but I'm out here on an island learning on the fly.
Reviewed Nov. 12, 2023
The handle on this vacuum is awful, my hands hurt so much by the time I'm done vacuuming. It's heavy, bulky and strange steer well, at all. I have literally never regretted a decision so much. Sure, you'll have the cleanest house in all the land... If you have the energy to use this to vacuum your house and then change the attachments and go over your whole house again to get the edges and corners. Don't even ask about my poor filthy stairs... :(
Reviewed Oct. 26, 2023
Let me start by saying that I have no soliciting sign posted on my door, that is clear as day. This is the second time that this company employees/contractor or whatever has knocked ignoring the sign. They rang the doorbell, stepped back and started waving at the camera. As I was at work when the person rang the bell, I answered my Ring camera stating that there was a sign on the door, and we were not interested, and she left. Then I get another notification from her again. Then this time she and another lady are seen entering with my husband with this product in hand to demonstrate as he is coming in from work.
I opened the camera app, and they are in the house both ladies with the items, which I spoke in the camera saying, "Really Jeff," he looks at the camera and say, "Hey babe." So not only did I get home from work they were gone but he has been talked into getting this vacuum priced from between $1200 to $2200 that we do not need! This has caused a ripple in our marriage after having a really bad fight 2 days ago. I have downloaded the videos from all my cameras and will be contacting the company about ignoring the sign posted.
Reviewed Oct. 20, 2023
I started when I was 19/20 in the business. I learned people in that timeframe. This hands down is the best product best experience for anyone that wants to be in sales. Raw uncut honest business. Amen Get Busy.
Reviewed Oct. 9, 2023
The girl that 1st came to my door and Craig who actually showed the vacuum were both exceptional. Both led me to believe that it would be fine if I didn't purchase that day. Their manager/sales team were pushy, demeaning, disrespectful, and incapable of acknowledging the word no! Will not EVER be purchasing a Kirby after the way I was treated! Their way of "cleaning" was extremely too long! If I had known they were going to be there for 2.5 hrs I would have never let them in, in the 1st place! Then afterwards, my "awful" Dyson pulled a bunch more stuff up out of my carpet! No wonder they were so pushy about me buying day of. So many bad reviews!
Reviewed Sept. 20, 2023
I just bought my new Avalire 2. Don’t get me wrong. I love Kirby’s, but you guys are making things difficult to put even a simple bag. Now remember bags are not cheap. So when we have to put in a bag, any dessert breaks or we have to get another one, make them stronger, please for us not to have to be clean so much just for bags.
Reviewed Sept. 1, 2023
Kirby is not for everybody. I have owned one for over twenty years and it has never failed me. Upgraded to the newer kind last week. Glad I did. Yeah it is a little heavy but it is self propelled and rather strong and tough. This one will last a long time. Not all sales people are the same. The one that came to my house was great. Took the time to answer all my questions and was not pushy at all.
Reviewed Aug. 26, 2023
I have had a Rainbow vacuum for 50 years, since I got married. I worked for 35 years and needed to get the house clean the first time, with a good reliable vacuum. Yes, it is cumbersome, and I wish the cord was longer, but, by far, this is the best vacuum ever. It never clogs, never. Dyson says it doesn't, but had one for during the week clean up, I have 2 dogs, but after about a year, Dyson stopped performing. I have 2 Rainbows, one spare, because I have 3500 square feet of tile and hardwood and 2 yellow labradors, and I could not do without this vacuum. The water basin also is a pain, but, everything you vacuum goes into it. No dry basin to empty and have dirt fly back at you. Yes, I love my Rainbow, but this vacuum is for serious cleaners. Note: It also sucks up water, if needed.
Reviewed Aug. 2, 2023
I wasn't home for the salesman's schpeal, but my sister was and was sucked in. The vacuum itself is the heaviest one I have every tried to lift. It is not user friendly or intuitive. I had to google a tutorial when I was ready to try. At least they should let you change your mind till after the final lessons have been given. The salesman did not come back out to teach how to use the carpet cleaning attachments for three weeks, which was way past the 3 day return policy. The vacuum is very powerful, so much so, I can't use it on throw rugs or even area rugs with out them getting sucked in. (No matter what setting it's on.) Do not waste your money! Go to Target to find a decent vacuum!
Reviewed April 14, 2023
So I purchased this vacuum Kirby Avaliar 2, by far the most non-user friendly machine I have ever purchased. You have a change setting from carpet to rug to tile, and then back to carpet, certainly not ideal. If I need to vacuum corners I need to turn of the unit, change the head, then add the attachments, which by the way come off the hose or extension poles pretty easy. It is way too much hassle for something like vacuuming which is a task and with this unit becomes an event. The unit does well on carpet, which is all I have to say that is positive, but tile or hardwood terrible job. I have a basic 80 dollar vacuum from that does much better on the tile and hardwood and the Kirby unit. Which is sad to how powerful this unit is advertised to be. In short I will not recommend this unit to any person with this current design and function.
Reviewed March 13, 2023
Like many other reviews I read, their "quick presentation" turned into 2 hours of overselling and I feel like the only way to get it over with was to buy. Now I'm stuck with a overpriced and not practical cleaner for my home. I have close quarters to work with and I can't use the sweeper on my rugs like I could with my old sweeper. I told the salesman I just bought a new vehicle and didn't feel like it was the right time for me to buy but he kept pushing. I called and try to return it but they said there was a 3-day grace period and because of my age I couldn't return it. I would of gave them 0 stars if I could!
Reviewed Dec. 20, 2022
Last Tuesday around 6pm I responded to a knock at the door. A tall man with a new bottle of dish soap in his hand, shoved the dish soap into my hand the second I opened the door. He then said, this is just a free gift for your honest review, have you heard of Avalir? Now keep in mind I am a previous Kirby owner, and I hated that vacuum. It's heavy, it's bulky, it is hard to maneuver and it not at all as glamorous as they make it sound during the sales pitch.
But I had never heard of Avalir so I felt this an attempt to get into the house without mentioning Kirby. When he sent for his sales guy, he appeared with the Kirby and came into the house, now....I don't have carpet I have a few rugs and vinyl flooring. I have no reason to own this monstrosity for the price they are going to try and sell it to me for. The Salesman, Joseph was very nice. What I found disturbing was the shaming factor of the sales pitch. They do this demonstration with a little filter contraption that allows the device to present a much more powerful suction during the demonstration. The reality of the matter is with the bag on it does not produce the same suction.
He went through this entire demonstration, repeatedly ignoring my declaration I was not purchasing this vacuum, he repeatedly almost sort of shamed me for not being interested as if I were just dirty. As with most he was begging for help to go on a cruise. This went on for hours of me saying no. I was told they would show me the demonstration and it was either a yes or no and there would be no pressure. This could not be farther from the truth. The truth is I was repeatedly shamed for saying no as if I was just a filthy person. The price he started at was 3k and there was absolutely no way I was buying and then after several calls and visits with his boss all of a sudden it was 1200 and he was proclaiming to me he would not get any commission at that price (guilt tripping).
A couple selling points that he mentioned and demonstrated that were false or misleading. He mentioned the lifetime warranty several times, there is in fact only a 3 year limited bumper to bumper and a Lifetime rebuild program which is done for a fee so there is no lifetime warranty. At one point he had my current vacuum out and to demonstrate to suction power of the Kirby (with that little suction optimizing single filter contraption) he declared if my vacuum could pick up the Kirby accessory box and the Kirby couldn't he would give me a free Kirby. Obviously mine didn't and the Kirby did. However The Kirby cannot accomplish the same feat with the regular old bag on it.
To get to the point this went on for hours until it was 9 or 10pm, and I was ready for him to leave. It didn't seem as if he was leaving without a sale, so I wrote him a check for the full amount. Once he left I attempted the box pick up with the bag on and it didn't work, I immediately called the bank and put a stop payment on the check. Exercised my right to cancel the transaction and yesterday they showed up to pick up the piece of junk and returned my vacuum which works just fine.
The moral of the story is that the sales practice of these distributors borders on unethical and deceitful. DO NOT finance with them. Had I not paid outright I likely would have been given the run around to stop the sale. In Paying outright with a stoppable payment form I was able to control to financial outcome of the transaction. Also MAKE SURE they give you the 3 day cancelation contract. And finally if you open the door and someone shoves a free cleaning supply in your face get ready to sacrifice the next 3-4 hours of your life to get rid of them. My Best suggestion is to not even open the door. If you want a Kirby, you can get one on Ebay for $300...that in itself is all the proof I need it is not worth a grand.
Kirby Vacuum Cleaners Company Information
- Company Name:
- Kirby
- Year Founded:
- 1914
- Address:
- 1920 West 114th Street
- City:
- Cleveland
- State/Province:
- OH
- Postal Code:
- 44102
- Country:
- United States
- Website:
- www.kirby.com