Miss Earlean's Old Kirby

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A month or so ago an older lady at church came up to me and said, "You know something about vacuum cleaners, don't you?" I said I did and she continued, "I have an old Kirby [which she pronounced Koy-bee in her Louisiana drawl] that I hadn't used in a while, then last week I decided to get it out and run it. It seems like it's not picking up like it used to." I said that I'd be happy to have a look at it.

So two weeks ago she came up to me and said she'd brought the "Koy-bee." I went over to where she had it. It was wrapped up in a big plastic garbage bag. I opened the bag up and pulled the Kirby out.

The housing was very tarnished but generally clean. The bag was empty -- which I was a bit surprised about. People tend to let the bag fill up to the top and then gripe that it isn't picking up!

Aesthetically speaking, it was a mess! It had a green handle-grip and cord, a red bojack bag, a brown bag top, a bojack belt lifter, gray headlight trim, a gray rug nozzle bumper, a tan Sani-emptor bottom tray, and three different colors of wheels -- red, tan and dark blue.

I had to look underneath to find out the model number: It was a 561. I also saw that the brush roll was clean -- not choked with thread, ravelings and dog hair as it so often is, and it had a good belt on it. So I wasn't sure offhand why it might not be picking up like it used to.

I brought it home and took it all apart. That's when I discovered the problem -- the fan chamber was all clogged up with carpet fuzz. It's the sort of thing that the average Kirby user, especially an older lady, might not know to look after.

After I got it all apart I washed all the housing, then put in a new front bearing and bearing plate and cleaned and greased the rear bearing.

I machine-polished all the aluminum housing parts and then I looked through what little bit of replacement parts and trim I still have and found matching red trim, gray wheels and a gray cord. I also found an original starburst 560/561 belt lifter which just looks so stunning on a sparkling-shiny machine.

The bag was in good condition so I retained it, just giving it a thorough hand-washing then disinfected and deodorized it.

The final touch was to add a set of wheels to the front nozzle with extender screws. This makes the machine more steady and stable and easier to use.

I took it back to church this past Sunday and had it standing in the corner of the Fireside Room (social hall) where I knew she would come in to prepare refreshments for after-church coffee hour. When she saw it, she was, needless to say, quite pleased! She said, "Why, it looks like brand new!" My choir members also admired it, and one of them said, "I used to have a Kirby like that. I thought it was a great vacuum cleaner but just too hard to use, so I traded it in on an Electrolux."

I told her why it hadn't been picking up, that the fan was clogged with carpet fuzz. She said, "Oh, yes, I did recently get new carpeting and I guess it's still 'shedding.'"

I asked her if she'd like for me to come over and demonstrate how to use it. She said, "Thanks, but I'm very familiar with it. After all, I've had it for more than 50 years!"

Point well taken!

Here are some before-and-after photos.


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Post# 275197 4/8/2014 at 03:17 (3,670 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes 2 . . A month or so ago an older lady at church came up to me and said, "You know something about vacuum cleaners, don't you?" I said I did and she continued, "I have an old Kirby [which she pronounced Koy-bee in her Louisiana drawl] that I hadn't used in a while, then last week I decided to get it out and run it. It seems like it's not picking up like it used to." I said that I'd be happy to have a look at it. So two weeks ago she came up to me and said she'd brought the "Koy-bee." I went over to where she had it. It was wrapped up in a big plastic garbage bag. I opened the bag up and pulled the Kirby out. The housing was very tarnished but generally clean. The bag was empty -- which I was a bit surprised about. People tend to let the bag fill up to the top and then gripe that it isn't picking up! Aesthetically speaking, it was a mess! It had a green handle-grip and cord, a red bojack bag, a brown bag top, a bojack belt lifter, gray headlight trim, a gray rug nozzle bumper, a tan Sani-emptor bottom tray, and three different colors of wheels -- red, tan and dark blue. I had to look underneath to find out the model number: It was a 561. I also saw that the brush roll was clean -- not choked with thread, ravelings and dog hair as it so often is, and it had a good belt on it. So I wasn't sure offhand why it might not be picking up like it used to. I brought it home and took it all apart. That's when I discovered the problem -- the fan chamber was all clogged up with carpet fuzz. It's the sort of thing that the average Kirby user, especially an older lady, might not know to look after. After I got it all apart I washed all the housing, then put in a new front bearing and bearing plate and cleaned and greased the rear bearing. I machine-polished all the aluminum housing parts and then I looked through what little bit of replacement parts and trim I still have and found matching red trim, gray wheels and a gray cord. I also found an original starburst 560/561 belt lifter which just looks so stunning on a sparkling-shiny machine. The bag was in good condition so I retained it, just giving it a thorough hand-washing then disinfected and deodorized it. The final touch was to add a set of wheels to the front nozzle with extender screws. This makes the machine more steady and stable and easier to use. I took it back to church this past Sunday and had it standing in the corner of the Fireside Room (social hall) where I knew she would come in to prepare refreshments for after-church coffee hour. When she saw it, she was, needless to say, quite pleased! She said, "Why, it looks like brand new!" My choir members also admired it, and one of them said, "I used to have a Kirby like that. I thought it was a great vacuum cleaner but just too hard to use, so I traded it in on an Electrolux." I told her why it hadn't been picking up, that the fan was clogged with carpet fuzz. She said, "Oh, yes, I did recently get new carpeting and I guess it's still 'shedding.'" I asked her if she'd like for me to come over and demonstrate how to use it. She said, "Thanks, but I'm very familiar with it. After all, I've had it for more than 50 years!" Point well taken! Here are some before-and-after photos.

Post# 275201 , Reply# 1 4/8/2014 at 07:27 (3,670 days old) by kirbyloverdan (Egg Harbor Twp . NJ aka HOOVERLOVERDAN ❤️)
Checkrate/Likes *Wow* Very impressive amazing come back . Dan

Post# 275203 , Reply# 2 4/8/2014 at 08:26 (3,670 days old) by kirbyvacuum (Long Island New York)
Checkrate/Likes *Kirby shine* Dan what a beatiful job i love those 500 series Kirbys. I guess i should say i love ALL Kirbys. I bet the motor sounds bran new,Enjoy it Doug

Post# 275213 , Reply# 3 4/8/2014 at 12:53 (3,670 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes Charles, Some New Yorkers may pronounce Kirby as "Koi-bee" too, especially in the Bronx/Brooklyn. ~Ben

Post# 275218 , Reply# 4 4/8/2014 at 15:23 (3,670 days old) by Luxy1205 (Wilmington, IL)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Charles* Well done!!! I'm hooked on Kirbys now! I just purchased a lot of 2: Heritage II and DS50 for $35.00 local pickup. I'm in the process of learning the Kirby ways due to them both needing some TLC! My first Kirbys and I'm scared because I know I want more! Ha Ha! That Kirby looks gorgeous! :) -Michelle

Post# 275223 , Reply# 5 4/8/2014 at 15:57 (3,670 days old) by stricklybojack (Southern California)
Checkrate/Likes *Sweet!* . Very nice work. Btw what condition was the brushroll in?

Post# 275234 , Reply# 6 4/8/2014 at 17:59 (3,669 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes The brush roll, as I said, was very clean and free of threds, ravelings etc. -- the bristles looked good as well. It appears that when she got it serviced some time along the way, she didn't use it very much after that. Overall it was really in clean and good condition, just tarnished. I replaced the front bearing & plate just as a matter of course. I wouldn't necessarily do that with one of my own Kirbys unless it had bearing noise.

Post# 275240 , Reply# 7 4/8/2014 at 19:43 (3,669 days old) by sonnyndad ()
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Very nice!* Excellent job as usual, Charles! I've still got quite a few machines to work on myself. At least the Vacuum Room's clean now.

Post# 275246 , Reply# 8 4/8/2014 at 20:38 (3,669 days old) by kevin (Livonia)
Checkrate/Likes Nice going, Charles. The 561 looks young again! Miss Earlean is fortunate to know you, and so are we (even if only by text). It was thoughtful of you to go the extra mile. Have you ever thought of making a small business out of it--something on the side for some extra cash?

Post# 275251 , Reply# 9 4/8/2014 at 21:11 (3,669 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes . . I have repaired vacuum cleaners on and off throughout my life, but generally have found it's too messy and too much work to really make it worthwhile. For a mad minute there, I considered restoring a few redundant Kirbys from my collection and putting them on eBay until I started watching other people's auctions of renovated Kirbys and seeing that they rarely do very well. Certainly not enough to warrant all the filthy, grueling, dangerous work involved.

Post# 275265 , Reply# 12 4/9/2014 at 00:49 (3,669 days old) by adambomb (Undisclosed )
Checkrate/Likes Nice beltlifter

Post# 275268 , Reply# 13 4/9/2014 at 03:14 (3,669 days old) by beko1987 (Stokenchurch, United Kingdom)
Checkrate/Likes Great job! Always nice when you can surprise someone with a vacuum refurb! I keep meaning to chase up a colelagues DC07 she asked me about last week. Wish it was a Kirby though!

Post# 276128 , Reply# 14 4/13/2014 at 19:25 (3,664 days old) by LillyLux (Oklahoma City)
Checkrate/Likes That is a rebuild to be proud of. My mother (my mutha) was from Louisianna and the remembrance of that distinct way of crafting words made me miss her (hu).) When I started playing with the family Hoover 63 at the age of five or so mom would say: "Sweetshoog, wa deon'nia geow an Hoovah the dannin room? Be cafull not to bump the chayahs. Ahlovu!" I wish I had the talent that you and so many here have of making our old machines to look brand new! What a wonderful Kirby Charles! The 561 is my absolute favorite Kirby. I bought one for six dollars in a garage sale 20 years ago, had it gone over by my technitian friend, and it still moves air like a jet engine.

Post# 275255 , Reply# 10 4/8/2014 at 21:27 (3,669 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes . . I stand corrected on at least one restored Kirby on eBay, a 505. I just checked my "watched" auctions and saw that it ended this afternoon, and it actually did pretty well. It had ticked along there for a long while eliciting no bidders. I guess a few snipers jumped on it at the last minute, and the sniper with the biggest bag of dough won it! The seller did a really nice job on it. The early pre-516 machines are tricky to work with a lot of nooks and crannies that are hard to get at, and lots of springs, knobs and stuff to catch on the buffing wheel and send the piece zipping into the air. My hat's off to whoever did the work. CLICK HERE TO GO TO electrolux137's LINK on eBay

Post# 275258 , Reply# 11 4/8/2014 at 21:34 (3,669 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes Charles, That's wonderful that you used some original parts when rebuilding this model 561! ~Ben