Kirby - Avalir Platinum

That is an outstanding gift! 🎁 The Kirby Avalir Platinum Home Cleaning System is the type of vacuum that makes you look forward to cleaning.

These vacuum are incredible in my opinion - they have excellent suction, they are ridiculously repairable, and parts are the easiest to find of anything out there. My mom bought one new 35 years ago and my sister still uses it. This one was built around 2010. They are TERRIBLE deals brand new (like $1500+ dollars) but what is so amazing about these is that you can find them on Facebook marketplace for $20-$100 all day, every day. Usually when I buy a used one, I'll get a package of bags, belts, and a new brush for about $60 combined. Very often people break the belts and think the whole thing is broken and throw it away, which is why you can get one for $20. I have fixed up used ones like this and given them away for three wedding gifts and every one is still running great. I always see people recommend Miele and Sebo; those might be great, I don't know. But these are much more affordable and I think are the best value out there.

Yeah I wouldn't buy one new or even invite a salesman into my house. But this is one of the very rare cases where an MLM actually makes a really good product behind it

Yes they are! Plus I think I replace the bag once a year or less - as opposed to the canister vacuums I've had where they needed to be dumped constantly

Yeah they are pretty heavy. I'm considering getting a second one since we moved into a three story house

There might be a fix for that, if you take the brush out of the head and look at the end there are three markings on the plastic piece that holds the brush bearing. If you rotate that it alters the height of the brushes relative to the head itself. If you set those brushes up a little higher it might help

Kirby! Find one used on Facebook marketplace for about $200. Buy some new belts and bags and maybe a brush on Amazon. They are more powerful than anything else I've seen and they last absolutely forever. My mom bought one new 35 years ago and my sister is still using it!

Get a Kirby if you're actually not concerned about price. Kirbys are corded, but you will never have to charge or replace your vacuum. It will outlive you.

Are we talking upright or canister vacuum? If upright and mostly carpets, I'd go with a second hand Kirby machine. Something from the later Generation series up to the Avalir (they are all fundamentally the same machine) If a canister, then yeah probably a Shop Vac. Although if he has no patience for being able to fix the vacuums I don't like his chances of dealing with the Kirby, as far as maintenance goes. Also, sounds like the bf needs to do some growing up, if he's breaking stuff regularly because it doesn't work I think he needs to learn some emotional regulation. Sounds like a spoiled child to be honest. If he's breaking them he should be paying for them, and if he doesn't have a job, well you guessed it, he should be working if he wants to break shit. Sure he may have some mental illness or problems, and I can relate, but that doesn't excuse him from acting like an idiot? This is not cute behaviour and it only gets worse if validated. EDIT: Just went through your post history.....get rid of this fucking deadbeat. I'm sorry he had a rough upbringing but he's still alive and he's fucking 33. It's time for him to take responsibility for his own life and stop blaming his past. None of this behaviour is endearing or worthy of any sort of coddling or admiration, it's just plain toxic. You DO NOT owe him a thing and it's time to move him on and find someone more aligned with you, and the fact that HE gave you an ultimatum some time back about moving in or he would leave, I'd have called his bluff and taken that opportunity to leave.

Depends on the needs. I’ve owned many premium vacs. Kirby, Rainbow, Hyla, Riccar, Sebo, Miele, and several cheaper vacs like Dyson, Shark, Kenmore, etc. This includes Riccar Tandem Air upright, Kirby Avalir, Rainbow E2 & SRX, Hyla N and EST Defender, Miele C3, Miele CX1 Blizzard, Sebo E3 and D4 Premium canisters. Canister - Miele Complete C3 Brilliant - easiest canister to use - best-filtering - most suction and airflow out of all canisters I’ve used - best-cleaning power nozzles - comes with my favorite hard floor tool - don’t have to bend over to do things with it Upright - Kirby Avalir - best-cleaning vac for carpet that I have used/ owned - highest airflow available (higher airflow = better carpet cleaning) - most aggressive power nozzle with firm brush roll - this is my heavy-hitter for maximum dirt removal from carpet - can do a ton of other things but carpet is where they shine - I do feel it does a better job cleaning than my Riccar Tandem Air did on our carpet. Water-based Filtration Vac - Rainbow E2 - when paired with the SRX PN3 v1 power nozzle, it cleans carpet very well. - like the Miele C3, it is H13-rated HEPA - parts availability is awesome - super easy to service - The Hyla is a little easier to use and pull around but it doesn’t have as much suction as the Rainbow E2.

I have “favorite” vacuums in each category of vac and for different applications. However, my absolute favorite is my Miele C3 Brilliant, and I use it in tandem with my super high capacity air purifiers to stay ahead of the dust, germs, fur, pollen, etc. Very bad allergies over here. FOR DEEP-CLEANING WALL-WALL CARPET: Kirby Avalir w/ firm brush roll, new belt and bag. It’s a beast. This is my pic for cleaning carpet before extracting. BAGGED UPRIGHT: Sebo X4 Boost BAGLESS UPRIGHT: Dyson Slim Ball Animal BAGGED CANISTER: Miele C3 Brilliant w/ SEB228 power nozzle BAGLESS CANISTER: Rainbow E2 Black w/ PN3 v1 power nozzle CORDLESS STICK: Dyson V15 Detect AREA RUGS: Miele C3 with SEB236 power nozzle HARD FLOORS: Miele C3 with premium parquet twister floor head AUTO DETAILING / ATTACHMENT USE: Miele C3; or the Rainbow E2 Black & RainbowMate EXTRACTOR: Bissell BigGreen Commercial BG10 EXTRACTOR HIGH pH SOLUTION: Hoover Professional 7X Concentrate (amazing!) SHAMPOOER - ENCAPSULATION “DRY” FOAM: Kirby with Kirby shampoo and high traffic pre-spray STAIN REMOVER: Kirby Spot Remover Plus Oxy - but the Unbelievable Stain Remover is identical and is the same solution but without the Kirby label - and without the Kirby price. I scrub stains with a drill and drill brush attachment. ENCAPSULATION POWDER: Sebo DUO-P with the Sebo DUO-P CRB machine. It really does a fabulous job on high traffic areas and for absorbing foot traffic greases and oily soils. LOW pH RINSE FOR EXTRACTION CARPET CLEANING: ProChem All-Fiber Rinse HOT WATER EXTRACTOR + STEAMER + VACUUM (all-in-one unit): Desiderio All-in-One (the big one) MOP: O-Cedar Flat Rinse Mop with 2 bucket system; Kirby mop system; Hyla mop-squeegee system; Swiffer PowerMop with washable microfiber pad. MOP SOLUTION: Odoban LVP + ZEP No-Rinse Floor Disinfectant. We have LVP flooring so we’re pretty limited with what we can use. I love to mop with Clorox, though, when able. CLEANING SPRAYS: Clorox Germicidal Bleach - Healthcare Pro Line Clorox Cleanup + Bleach SprayWay Foam Glass Cleaner Pledge Orange Furniture Polish MicroBan Cleaner & Disinfectant Trigger Spray Bottle AIR PURIFIER(S): BlueAir HealthProtect 7700 series BlueAir Pure Max MedifyAir MA-112 Pro (among the highest capacity air cleaners available)

For carpet, it’s hands down the best. It has the most of everything a vac needs to super clean carpet. Airflow, agitation, etc. 132 - 150 CFM is monstrously high, and that is measured where the carpet intake is. On other vacs, the airflow is about 1/4 - 1/3 of that at the carpet intake, and they don’t agitate as well. I keep a Kirby around for deep-cleaning carpet but daily a Miele C3. The Miele C3 with the SEB 228 nozzle is impressive on carpet, but it still isn’t like monstrously powerful.

I see the appeal of a stick. I have a V15. It’s about 3 yrs old. It’s primary role is for in-between cleans, small messes. Touch-ups. But, if I am going to vac our main living areas or the entire house, I can get the job done a lot faster with my Miele. If I am going to deep clean the carpet, I don’t pre-vac with my V15. I use my Kirby. If I am going to detail a vehicle, Miele. If I am going to use attachments for deep cleaning, Miele.

Kenmore canisters for carpet are very good. For hard floors, they’re awful. Obsolete. Deal breakers. Etc. Why not buy a refurbished Miele or Sebo, or if you have wall to wall carpet in most of your home and rarely use attachments, definitely go for a Kirby, or a Rainbow if you have a mix. Goodvac dot com for Kirby parts, Rainvac dot com for Rainbow parts. Miele parts and Sebo parts are easily accessible. Hyla parts are not, in contrast, but they too last a long time. I think they’re easier to use than the Rainbow but they don’t clean carpet very well at all. Kirby is about the best you can get for carpet.

You can get second-hand Kirby vacs off of marketplace for under $100. I think anyone who is even halfway serious about deep cleaning carpet should get one. Just make sure it’s been taken care of, if not recently serviced.

We had a Kirby salesman stop by our house when we were growing up. My father let him in and allowed his pitch. Now, my parents loved wine, specifically my dad, and the salesman seemed to notice this and capitalized on it. He told my dad that the Kirby can pull wine stains out of a carpet, my father being him, called his bluff. Bout an hour later he cut the check and had a brand new vacuum with the carpet shampoo system attachment. Guy sold about $3k worth of product in the first 5 minutes. Kirby vacuums are truly some of the best, if not the best (they still have it and use it regularly, and this happened 20 years ago)

Kirby upstairs and a Shop-Vac downstairs. The Kirby is an absolute beast, worth every penny.

Kirbys are great because they're so easy to fix. Every single part is user-replaceable

My first choice is Kirby. I don't understand others' posts implying they aren't reliable. Mine is 40 years old and probably has another 60 years left. Plastic crap, Dyson and Shark, is just that. Crap. Panasonic commercial vacuums have been a standard for many years.

If you're looking for a vacuum cleaner that will last several decades, Kirby is the solution. My Kirby is over 40 years old and will probably be going strong 40 years from now.

As well, a Kirby is probably the best carpet cleaning Vacuum made. It’s just antiquated.