Wednesday, April 7, 2010

How To Clean Your Kirby Vacuum Cleaner Generation 3 to Sentera

Did your Mom ever tell you "make your bed," and you said "But I'm just going to mess it up when I go back to bed latter." Well even though that's true you still had to make your bed in the end and you still messed it up again at bed time.


You can say the same thing about your car, house and garage but did you ever think about cleaning your vacuum. Sounds a little ridiculouse but having a clean vacuum will make the vacuum last longer and help the performance of the vacuum for years to come.

I'd like to share with you how to clean your Kirby to make it look brand new again wheather it's 1 year old or 50 years old you can rejuvenate your vacuum to make it 100% again and here's how I. M. Systems Vacuum Sales does it.


You will need the following tools and supplies, WD 40, hex screw driver, razor blade, Mothers Aluminum Chrome Polish, Armourall, Comet, rags and a polisher.



First step - Lift the light up and unlock the head from the base of the vacuum. Turn the belt lock dial and the head should come right off. Turn the head over and look at the roller brush. You will probable see hair and carpet strings wrapped around the brush. Unlock the bottom plate and remove the rubber bumper guard off of the head. The roller brush will come right out.


Second step - You will need a razor blade or a sharp knife and cut off the hair and the carpet strings. Examine the barrings on each side of the roller brush. Squirt a little WD 40 on the sides of the barrings to lubricate. Pay special attention to the barrings and make sure there is no hair or strings around the ends of the brush so the barrings don't get bound up.


If one end of the roller brush is bound up or doesn't turn properly you should replace the roller brush. You can order a new brush from troysvacuums.com. Whip down brush with any all purpose cleaner.


Third step - Take the head of the vacuum and whip out all the extra dust and dirt. If the dust and dirt is caked up enough you can use a screw driver or scrapper to help. If need you can also wash out the excess in your sink. If you do this just make sure you spray WD 40 on the locks and around the dial on the inside to keep from rusting up or locking up in the future. After this step set the head and roller brush off to the side.

Forth step - This is an important step. Take the bag off the base of the vacuum. You'll see arrows on where the base of the bag goes on the base of the vacuum. Just twist a half of turn and the base should come right off. Unhook the bag from the handle and the bag should be free. Take your disposable bag out of the cloth bag and examine the tube inside. Lint and hair often clogs up any vacuum and cuts off the suction power. Just free up the clog and it should fall out of the tube. Set the bag off to the side.

Fifth step - Take the cord off the handle and base of the vacuum. There is a plug cover over the base and is held in place by a hex screw. Take the cover off and unplug the cord from the base. Take the top cover off the back of the base. There is a hex screw that holds the cord in plase and then another at the bottom of the base just above the drive and neutral switch. Push the handle button release and remove the handle. Take off the cover and expose all the chrome possible for polishing.

Sixth step - Polish the chrome. There are two ways of doing this. If you have a Black and Decker Mouse that works the best but if not you can purchase a polish tool that goes on the end of your drill.

Use the Mothers Aluminum polish. I start on top of the base by appling the Mothers polish with my finger in a small area. I take the Mouse tool and hold it on the area with the polish for two minutes. After two minutes shut the tool off. Using a rag wipe off the black residue where the Mouse or polishing tool was. You will see the chrome will be just as shiny as the day you bought it. If not reapply the Mothers Polish and repeat the step again. The lighter scratches that have accomilated over the years will diappear but the deeper ones you can't remove but they will be shiny. Once you have done the base repeat by doing the same with the head. Try and get all the areas on the Kirby Vacuum so the dull bad spots won't stand out.


You can use just a rag and the polish but it takes longer and is harder work but it does work.


Last Step: Put everything back together. Put the belt on the roller brush and place the brush in the head. Place the rubber bumper around the bottom and then the metal roller brush guard on. Place the head on the base. Put the cord back on the unit the same way you removed it. Place the handle back on with the bag and a new paper bag inside.


You have a vacuum that is refurbished and runs 100% again.