The Kirby

So the Kirby door to door salesman finally got to my house.  I think they stopped once before but I didn't really even give them a chance because it was not a good time.  Probably had toys all over and my kids running around still in their PJ's (hopefully and not just their diapers :)

The way it was approached was that I would get the carpet in one room cleaned for free and all I had to do was share my experience with a friend. 

Well it was a bit more then that...it was a 2 hour demonstration about the Kirby vacuum and how amazing it is.

I had about and hour to pick up the house from the time the salesman first came and when he returned for the "scheduled appointment" in which they asked that I vacuum before they came back.  I of course vacuumed and knowing that when he started the whole sales pitch, right off the bat he had me thinking how dirty my floors still were.

Now don't judge me by the dirt in my floors!

This picture is a view of how they show you the dirt in your carpet.  They have this filter thing that they put on the vacuum and then after only 10 seconds or less (sometimes more) of vacuuming an area they pop it off an put on a new filter, kindly laying them back on the floor in a display sort of way.

In the mean time they are also showing and telling you all the reasons you need to have a vacuum this great.  Such as reducing allergies, carpet and furniture lasting longer, etc.

They even have you get out your vacuum so they can do the '50 passes' test. 

They dump baking soda on the floor then vacuum 50 times over the small area with my vacuum, then they pull out a black filter for the Kirby and vacuum up the rest of the baking soda. 

and of course they just set them back on the floor in the same manner so that you can continue to see all the DIRTY filters piling up.

They then pull out the accessories and show you how you can basically clean everything in your house.  It can even unclog the kitchen sink!

They even vacuumed a small portion of the bed (again with black filters) claiming that what was on the filter was bed mites and their feces (majorly gross if I didn't think that there was also some of the white sheet fibers in it)

Of course by this point they have already introduced the price of the machine and then dropped it once or twice or even three times.

Finally they get to the shampooing part. 

So I did get my floors cleaned after two hours of sitting and listening to the sales pitch.

Luckily I had the excuse that my husband was out of town at a work seminar and that I wouldn't be able to talk to him until that evening.

So despite the great appeal to have my floors really clean and a vacuum that can clean everything, I kept telling them I couldn't make a purchase till I talked to mu husband.

I will admit that I WAS SOLD. 

And, had I been someone to make large purchases without consulting my husband or taking time to look up reviews, I would have probably bought.

They (I say they because a "manager" would come by and see how the salesman was doing and then a managers discount onto the already reduced price.  Or there was the person on the other end of the phone calls, but I am not sure who that was...the person who was okaying then next step or the next price adjustment.) 

So despite the fact the Kirby seems amazing, I don't like that the attachments require a whole setup change to the vacuum.

I am also not a fan of the smell that existed after the shampoo and it took more then the claimed 20 minutes to dry.

I will also say that I didn't expect much of my vacuum.  I think I paid $40 dollars for it and that was 3 years ago. 

But it does the surface like I expect. 

Anyway the next time I went to use it I decided to change the bag.  I should have taken a picture because I have never seen a bag so full. 

I thought they had a "shut off" mechanism that stopped them before they got so full. 

Literally the bag was firm to the touch the entire bag, top and all.  The only area not filled with stuff was the part that was attached to the vacuum. 

I will say that it did a much better job at vacuuming with a new bag.  Probably why the see able filter thing the Kirby does allows full suction for the demo's.

The salesman left probably thinking that he wouldn't hear from me, but once I talked with my husband and he looked online at some prices and also talked to his dad (who bought a used one last year), I called him to tell him we would pass at this time.

Maybe if they come back in a year or two I will have more money in the savings account and a few items paid off and will spend the $$ for the "once in a lifetime" vacuum.  Maybe.

Until then I will remember to change the bag in my vacuum a little more often!

Oh, and if you were wondering where my kids were during all this...part of the time they were downstairs playing, part of the time sitting on the couch with me, and part of the time playing outside.