The part that's not circled is not a regulation Kirby part for home use. It's called a dirt meter, and used in conjunction with the pads you also have pictured. For about fifteen years, I was a training manager for a number of Kirby offices around the country, and the dirt meter was standard equipment. At every training class, and home demo, the meter was used instead of the sani-em-tor and bag. Those pads were known as test cloths, the white ones were used to pull dirt from every surface, such as a sofa, upholstered chair, coffee table, window sill, living room rug and so on. The black one was used to vacuum the mattress, indicating the filth the prospect was sleeping on. That mattress test was a great way to get sales, especially if the people were germ conscious! Once the demo was complete, the em-tor and bag were attached and we went for the close.

If you are interested in knowing the process of selling Kirby's, or my days as a trainer, there is a thread in the archives where I've told this in detail. I'll try to locate and post the thread number and date. I had a lot of fun contributing to that.

Thanks for taking me back down memory lane.

Alex Taber.

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving.