I went to the Good Will yesterday to check out the vacuums... they almost never have anything, but since I was in the area anyway, I thought I'd check. They had a Kirby G5 (the same G series I have) with attachments, shampooer, and video. The poor thing was so covered in dust, I could have written my name it in. It looked pewter! One could never tell that the machine used to be shiny when new The headlight lens was missing and it looked soooo sad, I actually felt sorry for it. I don't have the matching shampooer for mine, I have a G4 shampooer... but I thought I'd save the 25 bucks and just not get it.
The next thing that really upset me was the Kenmore Direct Drive. This is the purple model that I sold at Sears back in 2002/3, and I've always liked it. It looks good and is really powerful. Ths one even came the 30 food extension hose. it was also 25 bucks. Upon closer examination, I discoverd that the pastic over the brushroll was completely cracked and part of it missing! If someone tried to vacuum with that, it would throw the dirt up in the air! The HEPA filter cover was about 3 feet away under some clothes and the hepa filter (which was black from all the dirt) was laying behind the machine. This really upset me because that was a decent machine (300 dollars new), and had it not been in that shape, it would have come home with me! How hard must you slam a vacuum into something to make the plastic over the bushroll crack? I've seen a Bissell Powerforce and a Dirt Devil Featherlite with these problems as well, but people who buy cheap vacuums are expected to abuse them....
I walked out and just shook my head, wondering why the Good Will people would even try to sell machines in such shape (true enough, the Kirby could have been restored, there was no hope for the Pannymore Direct Drive).
By they way, they also had TWO Hoover Floormates.... I guess they aren't that popular or don't work so well. One was the original model that first came out, and the other was the same model that just had a different color scheme. It was nice to see something other than Dirt Devil Visions and Eureka Optimas!
I just wanted to vent here because I was infuriated by the vacmanity of it all. Thanks for listening :o)
Post# 62261 , Reply# 1 3/11/2009 at 12:20 (5,523 days old) by kirbysthebest(Midwest)
It always amazed me that people would drop a grand or more for a vaccum like Kirby and then treat it like trash. I have seen them sitting on the front porches of houses in the rain before. I always used the analogy, "If you had a Rolls, would you use it to go mudding?" "Why use a Kirby to clean your kid's fish bowl then?"
Post# 62264 , Reply# 2 3/11/2009 at 12:38 (5,523 days old) by danemodsandy ()
I'm with you - it's staggering to see what people do to vacs that cost a lot of money new. How is it that someone can spend the money for a Kirby or a TriStar or another premium vac, and then beat it to hell and gone?
But - and there's always a but - this abuse of vacs can put some very nice equipment into the hands of appreciative owners like us. We know what most people obviously don't know - a high-quality, well-made vac can be reconditioned to new or nearly new condition. Which means we can pick 'em up for cheap, put 'em back in shape, and enjoy all the benefits of a new, premium vac for comparatively little. My own TriStar CXL is a machine I bought for $65, and spent about $325 bringing it back up to perfect condition. I could not possibly buy a new TriStar for that.
So, maybe we should give thanks to the Neanderthals who spend fortunes on our dream machines and then trash them - they're opening up a path to ownership for the rest of us!
Post# 62266 , Reply# 3 3/11/2009 at 14:43 (5,523 days old) by dirtfinder1 ()
I've seen Electrolux Guardians come into the shop looking like someone has dragged it behind there car.....front caster broken off.....lid missing..hepa filter duct taped on. And it seems when you look at the wands, hose and power nozzle it doesn't get any better. Hoses smashed almost flat....wheels broken off power nozzles and wands duct taped together. You think to yourself "lady you spent what $1599 for that a few years ago and look at it........" Then I have other people who bring in there almost 30 year old Diamond Jubliee and it still has the protective cover on the electrolux emblem where they didn't want to take it off so it wouldn't get dirty. Takes all kinda of people I guess.
Post# 62271 , Reply# 4 3/11/2009 at 15:57 (5,523 days old) by danemodsandy ()
...What is it with people who spend $1500-$3000 on a vacuum cleaner, and then they won't spend the money for proper supplies or replacement parts? Filthy HEPA filters that have never been changed, those duct-taped wands - it's all beyond me.
My own mother spent all kinds of money for a new Compact in 1954 or so, beating the hell out of it for 30 years before the poor machine finally decided life was no longer worth living and gave up the ghost. When my parents moved out of their old house to a new, downsized one, I discovered the manual and sales literature for the Compact, packed away for all those years - along with a pristine three-pack of paper bags and a replacement motor filter, never used after three decades.
In all the years that machine was in use, it had never seen a paper bag or a new motor filter - we'd always just shaken out the cloth bag and banged the filter against the back porch steps. Fripperies like disposable bags and motor protection, indeed!
Ya want nice stuff, ya gotta spend the money to take care of it, people!
Post# 62313 , Reply# 5 3/11/2009 at 22:24 (5,523 days old) by normvac(COLUMBUS, OHIO)
When I had my shop in the 80's and people would come in with Kirby's in bad shape. They would say "it dosen't pick up anything" It has a belt, what's the problem, I paid way to much money and the darn thing dosen't do any better then my old Hoover. Number one, the belt is 5+ years old. NO it hasn't broken but it is stretched and thin form heat stress. If it's not broke don't fix it. My reply would be. What kind of car do you drive. Caddy, Lincoln,Buick? Do you buy new tires before the org. ones' go bald? Do you change the oil in it, YES!! Then a Kirby (or any vacuum) needs at the least a new belt (broke or not) and the correct bags and/or filters. I don't want those expensive org. ones. It was just amazing. All I could hope was to get the poor thing back in my shop when they were ready to trade it in. Norm
Post# 62319 , Reply# 6 3/11/2009 at 22:48 (5,523 days old) by danemodsandy ()
I kinda sorta understand some people's reluctance to spend the extra money on OEM supplies and parts when they see generics out there that look the same to their inexperienced eyes. You and I know it's not always smart to use generics, but the average person doesn't know and doesn't really want to be educated, figuring they're just getting a sales pitch.
What I don't understand is how some people refuse to spend any money at all. I have a Lux Diamond Jubilee that was bought for $2.02 in a thrift store. When I bought it, the dust bag in it was so full it was hard as a rock, crammed and jammed with stinky nasty dog hair and dust. I had to cut that bag open and clean out debris for about two hours before I could put a new bag in the machine, which is probably why it got given to Value Village - there was no way to change the bag normally. It had been that long since anyone put a new bag in it!
Now, it could be debated that a nice machine like a DJ deserves only factory, Aerus bags, but if you don't want to do that, what about generic bags, at LEAST, so you can change them regularly? A three-pack of them is only a buck at the dollar store, and while they might not be as good as the Aerus ones, using them still seems better to me than throwing an expensive vacuum away.
Yikes, sez I.
Post# 62324 , Reply# 7 3/11/2009 at 23:20 (5,523 days old) by filterqueen83 ()
I dont mind the abuse it gets us good deals on some great vacuums we can bring back to life. I like to think of it as doing some good work. I got a elux upright for 20 bucks whose bag was so full I had to empty it before I could pull it out because it was so heavy. its just simple maintenance that gets overlooked.
I have a gf at work I told her a cheap good vac to buy, I said a Bagged! bissel power force is a good cheap vac that I actually used for my cleaning company that I would put in my employees vehicles. I had orecks and all sorts of other things but this was the best for the buck. Well she said he got the bagless. She is going from a eureka optima though so I guess this is a plus but in a couple months she is gonna be like whats wrong with it. well you must clean all the little filters and shit and she will never do it. lol thing is the bagless is more expensive and less qaulity for the long term for people who truly just need a workhorse.
Post# 62339 , Reply# 8 3/12/2009 at 08:19 (5,522 days old) by vacuumfreeeke ()
I don't mind dirty vacuums, but when the housing is acutally cracked, that is a repair that is usually more than getting the same model "whole"... it's not something that can just fixed". It's hard to find just the housing unless you're talking about a common machine like an Elite or Bravo.
this is true I saw one of those kenmores at the salvation army in ft myers it was hella expensive I was like uummm no I had never seen one before but I think they wanted like 59 dollars for it. and 69 for a sanataire.
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