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Kirby Company
Kirby Opco, LLC, doing business as The Kirby Company (stylized as KIRBY), is a manufacturer of vacuum cleaners, home cleaning products and accessories, located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is a division of Right Lane Industries. Dealers, sales reps, service centers, and distributors are located in over 50 countries. Kirby vacuum cleaners are sold via door-to-door or though arranged-scheduled in-home demonstrations via their website and the company is a member of the Direct Selling Association. The Kirby website can also take vacuum cleaner orders and ship directly to the customer as well, without having to arrange for a scheduled in-home demonstration. All Kirby vacuum cleaners are built in both Edgewater, Cleveland, Ohio and Andrews, Texas, United States.
Jim Kirby (1884–1971) designed the first Kirby vacuums for George Scott and Carl Fetzer after World War I, although the Kirby name was not used on a vacuum cleaner until the 1930s. James Kirby invented the "vacuette" circa 1919. The company's primary competitors included The Hoover Company and The Eureka Company, both of which began operations in 1909, as well as Bissell that started building carpet sweepers in 1876. Their primary European competitor was Electrolux, which started 1924. Dyson, Miele and Sebo followed in the 1980s, and Shark began in the 1990s.
Introduced in 1916, the Edgewater, Ohio, factory was opened by the Scott & Fetzer Company at Locust Ave. (now Franklin Blvd.) and W. 114th St., and the Vacuette Electric was introduced. It featured a removable floor nozzle and handle and became the forerunner of current multi-attachment Kirby vacuum models. The Vacuette was briefly offered as a manual vacuum cleaner, utilizing a spring-loaded worm gear driven by pulling the vacuum cleaner backwards; when pushing the machine forward, the worm gear would power a turbine that provided suction (in the late 1980s the Vacuette name was resurrected and used on a corded handheld vacuum called Vacuette Handvac, which in design closely resembled Royal's iconic Dirt Devil corded handheld vacuum but featured a built-in headlight). As long as the cleaner was consistently pulled backwards, tension in the spring would remain constant and the turbine would continue spinning. It was designed for rural areas that did not have electricity and was very similar to the carpet sweeper. In 1935, the company introduced the Kirby Model C, the first product to carry Jim Kirby's name.
One of the key features is the amount of suction the motor generates. Beginning in the 1950s, owner's manuals listed an innovation the company called "Triple-Cushion Vibration" rug cleaning action. The current Avalir 2 has been given an airflow rating of 132 cubic feet per minute, which allows it to lift the carpet off the floor, flexing the surface to be cleaned, whereby the brush roll that spins at 3,200 RPM agitates and lifts the dirt, while grooming the carpet fibers from the base of the carpet. The owners manual recommend that the carpet nozzle be lowered close enough to the surface so as to maintain a secure suction and minimize breaking the suction while cleaning the carpet. Another feature of the Kirby system is the modular design of both vacuum and accessories, allowing machines to be configured for numerous uses, from normal floor cleaning, tile surface scrubbing, wet floor mopping, to furniture shampooing and as a compact, handheld vacuum with extension hose attachments for various cleaning chores. This versatility also provides for add-on sales or bundling of the complete system.
Starting in the late 1940s the carpet cleaning floor nozzle with the brush roller could be removed, and the 1948 owners manual for the Model 508 called it the "Triple-Cushion Vibrator", which was powered by a removable rubber belt that was in contact with a metal shaft extending from the vacuum turbine blades, powered by the electric motor, and reattached to a brush used to polish floors, or an extended plastic hose that could accommodate a furniture dusting attachment. The Model 508 was also the first to offer a simple device on the front of the carpet nozzle called the "Belt Lifter" which was a metal lifter that easily removed the rubber drive belt and allowed other attachments to be installed on the drive unit. To accommodate cleaning rugs of a delicate nature, the "Belt Lifter" could disengage the rubber drive belt, allowing just suction to clean the surface which is still offered on all machines.
These attachments are still offered and the floor buffer was updated in the mid-1960s with a dry foam carpet shampoo attachment Kirby called the "Rug Renovator" that was first introduced with the two speed motor on the Dual Sanitronic 50 and is also still available. The carpet shampoo cleaning solution is in a clear tank that attaches to the motor exhaust where the dirt collection bag is attached as a vacuum cleaner, and uses compressed air generated by the electric motor. A plastic tube then sends the shampoo to the carpet scrubber brush that agitates the surface to be cleaned.
Kirby has remained with its original design, materials and functionality with enhancements added to aid in its operation and durability, and uses the "dirty-air" vacuum design. The company changes the appearance of the cleaner with revised color schemes and introduces new models with a similar core design. The attachments and appearance items are interchangeable between generations and some machines consist of parts from multiple models. Machines built in the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s are in operation worldwide and can be repaired or rebuilt with factory original parts.
All models used a cloth bag that allowed airflow to pass through and clean the air exiting the machine. Earlier versions of the cloth bag used dense duvetyne, and later corduroy cotton and wool fabric bags where fine grit, dander and other foreign contaminants collected. The cotton bag briefly had an integrated cleaning pocket within, called the "Sani-Pocket" introduced in 1964 with the Sanitronic, where embedded dirt could be dislodged from the interior surface of the bag while keeping the dirt contained inside. The owners manual for the cloth bag equipped machines recommended that the cloth bag be emptied after cleaning had been finished, to avoid dirt, fungus and bacteria from setting in the fibers of the bag, and preparing the machine for the next time.
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Kirby Company
Kirby Opco, LLC, doing business as The Kirby Company (stylized as KIRBY), is a manufacturer of vacuum cleaners, home cleaning products and accessories, located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is a division of Right Lane Industries. Dealers, sales reps, service centers, and distributors are located in over 50 countries. Kirby vacuum cleaners are sold via door-to-door or though arranged-scheduled in-home demonstrations via their website and the company is a member of the Direct Selling Association. The Kirby website can also take vacuum cleaner orders and ship directly to the customer as well, without having to arrange for a scheduled in-home demonstration. All Kirby vacuum cleaners are built in both Edgewater, Cleveland, Ohio and Andrews, Texas, United States.
Jim Kirby (1884–1971) designed the first Kirby vacuums for George Scott and Carl Fetzer after World War I, although the Kirby name was not used on a vacuum cleaner until the 1930s. James Kirby invented the "vacuette" circa 1919. The company's primary competitors included The Hoover Company and The Eureka Company, both of which began operations in 1909, as well as Bissell that started building carpet sweepers in 1876. Their primary European competitor was Electrolux, which started 1924. Dyson, Miele and Sebo followed in the 1980s, and Shark began in the 1990s.
Introduced in 1916, the Edgewater, Ohio, factory was opened by the Scott & Fetzer Company at Locust Ave. (now Franklin Blvd.) and W. 114th St., and the Vacuette Electric was introduced. It featured a removable floor nozzle and handle and became the forerunner of current multi-attachment Kirby vacuum models. The Vacuette was briefly offered as a manual vacuum cleaner, utilizing a spring-loaded worm gear driven by pulling the vacuum cleaner backwards; when pushing the machine forward, the worm gear would power a turbine that provided suction (in the late 1980s the Vacuette name was resurrected and used on a corded handheld vacuum called Vacuette Handvac, which in design closely resembled Royal's iconic Dirt Devil corded handheld vacuum but featured a built-in headlight). As long as the cleaner was consistently pulled backwards, tension in the spring would remain constant and the turbine would continue spinning. It was designed for rural areas that did not have electricity and was very similar to the carpet sweeper. In 1935, the company introduced the Kirby Model C, the first product to carry Jim Kirby's name.
One of the key features is the amount of suction the motor generates. Beginning in the 1950s, owner's manuals listed an innovation the company called "Triple-Cushion Vibration" rug cleaning action. The current Avalir 2 has been given an airflow rating of 132 cubic feet per minute, which allows it to lift the carpet off the floor, flexing the surface to be cleaned, whereby the brush roll that spins at 3,200 RPM agitates and lifts the dirt, while grooming the carpet fibers from the base of the carpet. The owners manual recommend that the carpet nozzle be lowered close enough to the surface so as to maintain a secure suction and minimize breaking the suction while cleaning the carpet. Another feature of the Kirby system is the modular design of both vacuum and accessories, allowing machines to be configured for numerous uses, from normal floor cleaning, tile surface scrubbing, wet floor mopping, to furniture shampooing and as a compact, handheld vacuum with extension hose attachments for various cleaning chores. This versatility also provides for add-on sales or bundling of the complete system.
Starting in the late 1940s the carpet cleaning floor nozzle with the brush roller could be removed, and the 1948 owners manual for the Model 508 called it the "Triple-Cushion Vibrator", which was powered by a removable rubber belt that was in contact with a metal shaft extending from the vacuum turbine blades, powered by the electric motor, and reattached to a brush used to polish floors, or an extended plastic hose that could accommodate a furniture dusting attachment. The Model 508 was also the first to offer a simple device on the front of the carpet nozzle called the "Belt Lifter" which was a metal lifter that easily removed the rubber drive belt and allowed other attachments to be installed on the drive unit. To accommodate cleaning rugs of a delicate nature, the "Belt Lifter" could disengage the rubber drive belt, allowing just suction to clean the surface which is still offered on all machines.
These attachments are still offered and the floor buffer was updated in the mid-1960s with a dry foam carpet shampoo attachment Kirby called the "Rug Renovator" that was first introduced with the two speed motor on the Dual Sanitronic 50 and is also still available. The carpet shampoo cleaning solution is in a clear tank that attaches to the motor exhaust where the dirt collection bag is attached as a vacuum cleaner, and uses compressed air generated by the electric motor. A plastic tube then sends the shampoo to the carpet scrubber brush that agitates the surface to be cleaned.
Kirby has remained with its original design, materials and functionality with enhancements added to aid in its operation and durability, and uses the "dirty-air" vacuum design. The company changes the appearance of the cleaner with revised color schemes and introduces new models with a similar core design. The attachments and appearance items are interchangeable between generations and some machines consist of parts from multiple models. Machines built in the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s are in operation worldwide and can be repaired or rebuilt with factory original parts.
All models used a cloth bag that allowed airflow to pass through and clean the air exiting the machine. Earlier versions of the cloth bag used dense duvetyne, and later corduroy cotton and wool fabric bags where fine grit, dander and other foreign contaminants collected. The cotton bag briefly had an integrated cleaning pocket within, called the "Sani-Pocket" introduced in 1964 with the Sanitronic, where embedded dirt could be dislodged from the interior surface of the bag while keeping the dirt contained inside. The owners manual for the cloth bag equipped machines recommended that the cloth bag be emptied after cleaning had been finished, to avoid dirt, fungus and bacteria from setting in the fibers of the bag, and preparing the machine for the next time.