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Thread Number: 29847
/ Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
Tried out a Shark! |
[Down to Last] |  |
| Post# 332209 8/21/2015 at 20:39 (3,169 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA) | ||
So yesterday I used a Shark Navigator to vacuum for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect, as I know very little about them but I gotta say, I was impressed.
It was very lightweight and also really quiet. It was also very easy to maneuver. I liked how the brush roll could be turned off. I tried the hose as well. I found it is one of the few stretch hoses I've used that did not fight or pull the vacuum over, and I had it stretched pretty far. I used the dusting brush also and it was pretty decent for a new dusting brush on an upright, not too small and fairly soft bristles. I saw a crevice tool also and a turbo tool, but I did not use those. I also appreciated that they put a suction control valve on the hose. Not sure about emptying or filter maintenance, but from what I did use, it was a very good machine. The only thing I didn't like was it seemed the power head was rather narrow. | ||
| Post# 332211 , Reply# 1 8/21/2015 at 21:15 (3,169 days old) by HVRVACLVR (Altoona PA) | ||
Sharks are great! Due to Sharks using a single cyclone, the filters get really dusty. When I had my Navigator Pro Lift Away, I never cleaned the filter. I had It for almost three years, and I only cleaned the filter maybe three or four times. Despite it being coated in dust, it never lost suction.
I gave it to my aunt in November when she got thick frieze carpet in her living room. It was the only that was easy to push on it! She loves it! | ||
| Post# 332238 , Reply# 2 8/22/2015 at 07:39 (3,168 days old) by Miskini (Northville, Michigan ) | ||
I agree | ||
| Post# 332621 , Reply# 3 8/26/2015 at 20:10 (3,164 days old) by HVRVACLVR (Altoona PA) | ||
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| Post# 333054 , Reply# 5 9/2/2015 at 12:54 (3,157 days old) by dedede () | ||
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A whole container full? You should be able to see that kind of dirt being left behind. I think your G6 was broken. I know, that's super helpful. Enjoy the new machine! | ||
| Post# 333055 , Reply# 6 9/2/2015 at 13:14 (3,157 days old) by sptyks (Skowhegan, Maine) | ||
 Callie, There is obviously something very wrong with that Kirby. How full was that bag? When was the last time you checked your belt? Belt should be replaced twice a year weather it looks good or not. What condition is the brushroll? Have you lowered the brushes so they extend 3/16 to 1/8 inch below the rug plate? Have you checked the fan for cracks or broken fins? These are obvious things that could seriously reduce your G6's performance. | ||
| Post# 333097 , Reply# 8 9/2/2015 at 18:56 (3,157 days old) by CharlesKirby66 (Manteca, CA) | ||
Maintaining a Shark is harder than maintaining a Kirby!
I don't understand complaints about "maintaining" a Kirby.
All I've ever had to do with my 6 Kirbys, my Mom's Kirby, and multiple friends' Kirbys, is replace a full dirt bag, replace a belt, and cut hair off a beater bar. Once the bristles on the brush wear down, I'll have to flip the brush roll to the next setting. That's it!!! In comparison, the time, effort, cost of new filters, and performance issues of my Shark Rotator Professional Lift-Away left me disillusioned and frustrated! Not sure of your model, but mine had 3 filters. The Shark's performance does fail and suction is reduced when these filters get too grimey, which happens in just a few months' use. The "washable" filter was never the same after I washed it the first time and it took days to dry. Forget drying it with any heat, as it will melt. So disappointing. I have severe allergies. I found that dumping the dust tray only released the very allergens into the air that I was trying to clean! And having to walk outside to dump the dirt seemed ridiculous to me. I hope you have different results. | ||
| Post# 333161 , Reply# 11 9/3/2015 at 15:31 (3,156 days old) by ralph123 (Little Rock, AR) | ||
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I'm glad that you like your Shark. Just keep in mind that it will take several thorough vacuumings to remove the residue from the carpet shampoo. I suspect you would continue to pick up a lot with your Kirby as well. | ||
| Post# 333169 , Reply# 12 9/3/2015 at 17:44 (3,156 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY) | ||
I have the Shark Professional Lift Away
(not the powered lift away). I actually use it a lot but ONLY because I have other vacuums to clean the shark...At first I used my Rainbow to clean the filters and the bin. I have an Electrolux epic 6500 that I keep in my laundry room for cleaning the laundry room during laundry times for dryer lint, etc and the bags for it are super cheap and filter really good. When my Shark container gets full, I suck out all the dirt using the epic 6500 and suck the filters clean as well....they get dirty so quickly..It's so much more hygienic than dumping it and you always have residual dust after dumping it the normal way.
I know it defeats the purpose of having a bagless vac and using a bagged vac to clean the bagless, but the Lux type c bags are so cheap at 100 bags for 39.95 on Ebay, it's easy for me to keep the Shark running in tip top shape without all the mess...I just recently changed my Lux bag after 3 weeks, it was 75% full. I got a white rag and wiped the bag chamber to see if the bags were leaking at all sucking all that dirt in at one time, and the bag chamber was clean as a whistle. It takes FOREVER to go through a box of 100 type c bags. If I didn't have this setup, I would NOT want a bagless vacuum. | ||
| Post# 333174 , Reply# 13 9/3/2015 at 18:29 (3,156 days old) by kirbylux77 (London, Ontario, Canada) | ||
Shark outcleaning a Kirby.... | ||
| Post# 333177 , Reply# 14 9/3/2015 at 18:39 (3,156 days old) by CharlesKirby66 (Manteca, CA) | ||
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You go, Sopranojam85!
(BTW, Soprano is arguably my favorite voice type!)
@sopranojam85- Glad you're enjoying your Shark. If the Shark is outperforming your Kirby G6, something is wrong with your Kirby. I'd also invite you to consider that, if your Shark was "gently" used and cleaned as you indicated, it's pretty much new. Give it the same amount of work you'd give your Kirby, then let's see how performance fares. @mark40511- LOL that's awesome, using a bagged vacuum to clean out your Shark! No wonder your Shark works well, you're getting rid of that with which the Shark would normally clog. @kirbylux77- Now that was just mean! LOL But I agree something is not right if a Shark is out-cleaning a Kirby. | ||
| Post# 333197 , Reply# 15 9/4/2015 at 05:19 (3,155 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY) | ||
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@ charleskirby
Yea - there is NO WAY in blank I would have this Shark as my only vacuum. That said, it's easy to use and run through the house and then keep it running in tip top shape with no mess because of the other vacs I have. I still use my other vacuums for REAL cleaning (especially my rainbow) but this works great running through the house quickly....but I would agree it's NO KIRBY or Rainbow or Lux. If the Lux type C bags weren't so cheap, I'd be using my rainbow to clean the shark (which I did at first) then realized I should just use the Lux so that's what I've been doing.
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| Post# 333205 , Reply# 17 9/4/2015 at 10:31 (3,155 days old) by sopranojam85 (Austin, TX) | ||
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@CharlesKirby66 - I'm a terrible singer. If I were one, I'd probably be a baritone. But I played soprano bugle for a couple years in a well known DCI drum corps, thus the name. | ||
| Post# 333210 , Reply# 18 9/4/2015 at 11:06 (3,155 days old) by dysonman1 (the county) | ||
I'm moving in a few days, into a new home. The carpets are two years old. I brought my Kirby Sentria 2 to vacuum with, until Owen installs my commercial Vac-U-Flo central vac. Also, I brought my Rainbow 75th Anniversary Edition, but didn't use it. I have been using the Kirby for several weeks as we renovate the house to our liking.
People who know me, know I like all vacuums - but the Kirby is not one of my 'go to' machines. The only reason I brought the Sentria 2 was because it is only a year old - and I bought it so I should use it. And I did use it, a lot. I was completely satisfied with the cleaning of the rugs, but cursed the thing when I had to use the hose. Last Sunday, a friend had a birthday so we had a mini-meet at the Vacuum Museum. Everyone went over to our new home to see it, and the birthday boy wanted to run the Kirby followed by the Rainbow. I was amazed and horrified at the dirt the Rainbow got out of rugs that were CLEAN. The sand and grit the Rainbow pulled after the Kirby was startling. I would have never believed it in a million years but there it was in front of my face. I'm still not going to use the Rainbow all the time, it's just too inconvenient. The commercial 2 motor Vac-U-Flo is getting installed soon. But that almost new Kirby is going bye bye. So disappointed with it. | ||
| Post# 333236 , Reply# 19 9/4/2015 at 16:32 (3,155 days old) by CharlesKirby66 (Manteca, CA) | ||
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@dysonman1
Wow! I can't believe a canister outperformed an upright on carpets! The physics of that is hard to compute. Are you sure there wasn't some left-over debris in the water pan or the hose of the Rainbow? Crazy!
Alas, one man's junk is another's treasure. How much are you selling your Sentria II for?! :-) | ||
| Post# 333241 , Reply# 21 9/4/2015 at 17:14 (3,155 days old) by kirbymodel2c (Nottingham, England) | ||
Hi Charles When people don't like a brand they often "do it down" whether it's true or not. And it can quickly become brand bashing. Peoples "tests" can often also be influenced by their view point as well. Not to mention the general rule "Who goes last wins". If you look at CRI they rate the Kirby as gold on carpet pick up not to mention someone on here listed all of a current comsumers magazines "Excellent" rated vacuums when tested on carpet. Kirby was on that list but no canisters.
But if you can get a good deal on a Sentria II go for it!
James | ||
| Post# 333252 , Reply# 22 9/4/2015 at 18:47 (3,155 days old) by CharlesKirby66 (Manteca, CA) | ||
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Bye bye Sentria II, hello Rainbow and Vac-U-Flow! | ||
| Post# 333303 , Reply# 23 9/5/2015 at 09:45 (3,154 days old) by dysonman1 (the county) | ||
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I was happy with the Kirby. It cleaned the carpet just fine, in my opinion. I know the 'he who goes first - loses' trick. I guess where I was surprised with the sand and grit in the Rbow pan came from the fact the rugs are not old, had been professionally shampooed before they listed the house for sale, and no one had brought in dirt. We're not even living there yet. I had vacuumed the rugs four or five times with the Kirby. We hung my pot rack in the kitchen and installed my 1984 KitchenAid Superba (and got rid of a new Maytag that was in the kitchen when we bought the house). But no real 'dirt' entered the house. That's why I was surprised at the quantity of sand.
I still like the Sentria 2, but I don't think I'll be using it much. Probably just for quick pick ups. Donnie hates it (his mother had a Dual 80 when he was growing up and he HATES Kirbys). He can't wait for the dual motor commercial Vac-U-Flo to be installed. We'll use a Riccar dirt sensor power nozzle and hose with it. He wants a Wally Flex and a Vac Pan. | ||
| Post# 333384 , Reply# 27 9/6/2015 at 15:08 (3,153 days old) by ralph123 (Little Rock, AR) | ||
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If the carpets were professionally "shampooed" rather than steam cleaned (i.e. hot water washed), the shampoo bonds with the dirt/oils/etc and crystallizes. Could this be the source of the "sand"? | ||
| Post# 333475 , Reply# 28 9/8/2015 at 05:14 (3,151 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY) | ||
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Kirby and Rainbow
are WAY WAY WAYYYYY better than a Shark could ever think about being!!
But the shark is light and easy to grab and run through the house....But without my Rainbow or Lux, it would be hard to keep the dust clouds at bay during emptying..But thanks to my Rainbow and Lux, I can keep the shark running great with max suction... I only wrote this because I didn't want anyone to think that I was claiming Shark was better, because it's NOT! If I didn't have my Lux or Rainbow, I probably would never use the Shark - back when I had a Fantom Fury in the late 90s, it was my ONLY vacuum...Emptying it, dust flying collecting on the outside of the machine while vacuuming was horrible. I hated everything about bagless after that vacuum. If this Shark was my ONLY vacuum, it would be the same horrible experience trying to keep the vacuum itself clean and running good. The only difference from the Shark and the Fantom is the Shark is sealed and everything is tight fitting so not dust escapes like it did with the Fantom Fury I had. I dealt with that Fantom Fury for 2 solid years and hated it. | ||
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