wjm@whuxl.UUCP (MITCHELL) (07/26/84)
<gulpies> For the best all-around vacuum cleaner, it is hard to beat the Kirby. I have one that is currently pushing 30 years old and was only in the shop once after 25 years of HARD use. They have the advantage that one does not need paper bags for them, the dust goes into a trap that you dump into a trash bag. They are built like Sherman tanks and can take almost any conceivable kind of abuse without complaining (except picking up construction/demolition debris and wet pickup - if you want that kind of machine get one of Sears' wet/dry shop vacs - they can take anything - I've used them as emergency sump pumps on occasions and they work quite well) The only drawback is the $600 price tag. If you want something a bit more reasonably priced, look at the recent Consumer Reports vacuum cleaner article. BTW - Electrolux has a good machine but their high-pressure sales tatics are straight out of a textbook on sales. Bill Mitchell (whuxl!wjm)
jhillis@ihuxx.UUCP (jhillis) (07/26/84)
One note on Kirby's. Although they *are* built like Sherman Tanks, do not ever try vacuuming up the remains of a sliding glass door with one. My father did this once, the inside of the Kirby looked like it had been extensively sandblasted.
larry@hpfclp.UUCP (larry) (08/16/84)
Noone need pay $600 for a Kirby. There are many ways to get one cheaper. One is to go to a Kirby outlet and dicker. Yes, dicker in a store. They pay around $200 (or less) for a new vacuum cleaner and even if they sell it for $400 they get a good enough profit. They also often sell recond- itioned Kirby's that work as good as new. The only problem is there are generally fewer attachments available for older models. Larry (my wife used to sell Kirby's) Fenske