Thread Number: 11551
Smelly Kirby Sentria
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Post# 124464   2/9/2011 at 19:31 (4,796 days old) by jjsunshine (California)        

I have 3 dogs, a beautiful 4 year old 105lb Malamute and two 5lb Chihuahuas! Needless to say, I have to vacuum almost daily. I've noticed that my vacuum is starting to smell very "DOGGY" even after changing the bag. I've heard it is not a good idea to use baking soda or carpet fresh products with the Kirby.

Does anyone have a suggestion of how to get rid of the dog odor that collects in the bag? And, no I'm not getting rid of my dogs ....LOL....


Thanks!!


Post# 124467 , Reply# 1   2/9/2011 at 20:14 (4,796 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas)        

eurekastar's profile picture
Hey Jeff! I have the same problem. Dog fur "ferments" inside the dust bag and and eventually gives off an unpleasant odor. I think that odor begins to permeate the outer bag too. You can remove the outer bag and launder it in the gentle cycle with cold water and Woolite or a mild detergent. Kirby also manufactures a product called Olorific. It comes in three different scents too. Put just a few drops of that on a tissue and place it inside the outer bag. The the scent will be picked up by the airflow and you won't notice the dog funk.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekastar's LINK on eBay


Post# 124468 , Reply# 2   2/9/2011 at 20:24 (4,796 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

I'd second the Odorific, I have the "Original" scent which is pretty powerful, not sure what it's supposed to smell like, but it smells nicer than stinky, stale bags!!! I put a few drops in the Emtor and the bag is freshened up pretty much immediately... :)

I wouldn't recommend the use of powdered fresheners cos they just tend to block up bags, and gets stuck in your carpet making them look patchy where you left it....

And if the smell doesn't fade, pop the bag off, turn it inside out and stick it in the washing machine (personally I use regular wash cycles and regular detergents, but that's just me!)


Post# 124470 , Reply# 3   2/9/2011 at 20:34 (4,796 days old) by djtaylor (Salt Lake City, Utah)        
Smell better

djtaylor's profile picture
Jeff, take the bag unit off the Kirby, turn the cloth bag inside out and spray it with Fabreeze or something similar. Turn it right side out and put in a fresh disposable bag. You may have to do that from time to time, but that should take care of the 'doggie' smell.
I hope that helps.
Justin


Post# 124478 , Reply# 4   2/9/2011 at 21:17 (4,796 days old) by Louvac (A)        
Another trick that works like magic....

Take a cotton ball soaked with pure vanilla extract and place it into the paper bag before installing it. It will absorb the foul odor. Also, Rainbow (vacuum) oils soaked on a cotton ball will also help to mask the odor but he vanilla extract method more or less eradicates it.

Also, Fabreeze works well too!

Louis


Post# 124498 , Reply# 5   2/10/2011 at 00:20 (4,796 days old) by bimmer740 (Long Island, New York)        

bimmer740's profile picture
This "doggy" smell is the very reason I installed a central vacuum system in my house! I just could not stand the smell that came from of my machines every time we vacuumed, even my Miele's with their sealed HEPA filtation.

I had a nearly 100 pound German Shepard mix for 11 years, she had the body shape and coloring of a shepard but didnt have the very long hair. In any Kirby that I owned while the dog was alive, I would launder the outer bag once to twice a year. When I had a G4 and then later with my Diamond Edition, I stuck the bag, emptor and all in our TL Fisher&Paykel on the gentle cycle with a small amount of Tide, and then let them air dry. Since we only have a cat now, I use the Kirbys strictly for the few carpets we have and the central vac for everything else, now I only need to wash it once a year, if that. This past summer I washed the Diamond Edition and Ultimate G bags with emptors attached and a towel or two in our Bosch FL on the gentle cycle with a little Tide (a little HE detergent goes a long way), and then let them air dry. This way saved me the trouble of detaching the emptor and fill tube and from washing them out by hand and allows me to do it all in one shot in the washer. Both bags came out looking great, no fading or damage at all, and no "pet smell". I've tried Electrolux Clean Sweep chips in the Diamond just to mask any dust smell, but I only use a 1/4 to 1/2 of a packet or the scent is just too overpowering. The only way to really get rid of the dog smell and not just mask it, is to launder the outer bag.
Best of Luck!

PS. Now that Im thinking about it, I beleive I put each bag inside a large old pillow case just to make sure they didnt get scratched from hitting the drum when tumbling inside the washer


Post# 124514 , Reply# 6   2/10/2011 at 07:06 (4,795 days old) by countryguy (Astorville, ON, Canada)        

countryguy's profile picture
jjsunshine,

That's a beautiful dog!

Gary


Post# 124527 , Reply# 7   2/10/2011 at 11:37 (4,795 days old) by jjsunshine (California)        
Thank you!!

Bill, David, Justin, Louis, Steven and Gary!

I appreciate the tips!

Jeff


Post# 124538 , Reply# 8   2/10/2011 at 15:08 (4,795 days old) by whirlpolf ()        
my recipe

we have this wonderful dog lady "Nelly" for rental weekends when her owner has other jobs to do. Unfortunately she tends to "doggy-smell" a bit. All the vacuums here show the same phenomenon.

After some trial and error testing we have found "camphor and baking soda" (while this might not be the correct chemical translation).

Once the vacuum shows first signs of doggy smell, suck up some crystalized camphor ("Kampfer" in German). The dog HATES it, be sure to have strong nerves facing the resistant animal). Let it stand for some 24 hrs. Then vacuum up some "Küchen-Natron" (sodium bicarbonate) (kitchen whatever... baking soda? Probably not, since our local "Backpulver" is sodium bicarbonate combined with some citric acid) and it will kill off anything that was there before.
"Natron" or "kitchen soda" can be had anywhere here, it is a multi-purpose stuff but it won't work on doggy smell without the camphor a day before.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO whirlpolf's LINK


Post# 124540 , Reply# 9   2/10/2011 at 15:50 (4,795 days old) by uprightman ()        
Can't blame you for hanging on to the dogs....

He/She's BEAUTIFUL!

This MIGHT help in the meantime...

When I first got my G4, the Kirby salesman suggested to vacuum the INSIDE of the outer bag EVERY TIME the paper bag was changed. She demonstrated by attaching the paper bag and leaving it hanging OUTSIDE of the cloth bag . Then she attached the hose and upholstery tool, turned it on and ran the upholstery nozzle over the inside of the bag (and why not the outside of the bag while you're at it?). Turned it off, tucked the paper bag inside and zipped 'er up.

According to her, an older Kirby man suggested that trick to her if someone was doing heavy duty work (like a basement or attic), and for the first couple of times that the Kirby was used in a home, specifically because the dirt and dust that might flow through the paper bag can get caught in the cloth bag and cause an odor.

I agree that the Odorific II from Kirby works very well.

Good Luck.


Post# 124577 , Reply# 10   2/11/2011 at 01:39 (4,795 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

I keep hearing about Kirby Filtrete type bags that have activated carbon in them-One of the Kirby dealers that sold me one of my Sentrias mentioned it-he said he would send me some of those bags to try when He got them-still waiting.Sanitaire has such a bag-but with baking soda.This helps with odors.think the baking soda impregnated or carbon impregnated bags would help for pet owners.Any other Vacuumland member hear of Carbon impregnated Filtrete Kirby bags?I don't have pets but would like to try them anyway if there is such a thing.


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