Kirby Vacuum Reviews – Are They Worth The Cost? - Home Vacuum Zone (2024)

The Kirby brand name has been around for well over 100 years, and they have just released their newest and best all-in-one vacuum, mop, and carpet cleaner, the Kirby Avalir 2. Well, in fact it was released early last year but we've only just got around to doing a review!

Keep in mind, if you want to buy a Kirby, you can really only do so from their authorized dealerships. Kirby has several dealership locations in North America, plus you can order parts online as well. Just keep in mind that you won’t be able to find this thing in just any vacuum shop out there. You'll also need to negotiate to get the best price.

What makes Kirby different from other vacuums, is that they are all built in the US. In today’s world of outsourcing manufacturing to third world countries, being made in the US is a pretty big deal. What also sets Kirby apart is that it is one of the longest living brand names when it comes to vacuums.

Furthermore, they only use the best parts; they make super durable products; plus, they offer a good warranty. We'll cover warranty in detail as this has been a point of confusion for customers.

The Kirby Avalir 2

The Kirby Avalir 2 is really a fantastic tool for cleaning your home. It may be a vacuum, but it is also so much more than that. Yes, it comes in at a pretty hefty price, but all of the features it comes with are well worth the investment. It’s a state of the art vacuum and floor mopping tool built into one neat package.

Let’s take a closer look at it to see what it is all about.

Let’s take a closer look at the main features which the Kirby Avalir 2 brings to the table.

Easy and efficient vacuuming

The Kirby Avalir 2 has really great suction power. It comes with special technology which helps to increase suction power to outclass most other vacuums out there at this time. It won’t lose suction when the bag starts to get full, and it has the ability to suck up fairly large debris with ease. If you have mainly carpeted flooring in your home, this is where the Avalir 2 excels.

Moreover, the Kirby Avalir 2 comes with an on/off brush roll. This means that you can leave the brush off to vacuum your hard floors to prevent scratching, and then turn the brush roll on when vacuuming your carpets.

Even better is the fact that you can manually adjust the pile height of the vacuum's floor head. Using the foot pedal you can raise or lower the brush roll depending on the specific surface underneath. This feature is unusual on modern vacuums. For example, when comparing the Kirby Avalir to the Dyson Big Ball Animal, one of the differences is that the Dyson has an automatic height adjustment.

What also helps make the Kirby Avalir 2 so useful for vacuuming is the fact that it comes with a propulsion system. In other words, this vacuum is self-propelled, which means that you don’t actually have to push it around because the wheels turn on their own. Also, the stem can swivel where it attaches to the base for easy maneuverability.

Although the Avalir 2 has good maneuverability it is fairly heavy and weighs in at 23 lbs. This is certainly not a lightweight vacuum cleaner.

If you want to see the Kirby Avalir 2 in action then check out the video review below, courtesy of the good folks at Vacuum Wars.

Something else that is important to note about the Kirby Avalir 2 is that it comes with a Kirby Micron Magic HEPA filtration unit. Therefore, while you vacuum, it filters the air that it sucks in. This means that the air which it spits out has up to 99.7% of particulates, dust, and allergens removed from it. It’s a really useful feature, especially if you have allergies or breathing issues and want to get rid of dust mites in your home.

The Avalir's filtration is achieved via its Filter Bags, which is something to bear in mind as these will need to be replaced on a regular basis.

A Canister and Handheld Vacuum

What is definitely very convenient about the Kirby Avalir 2 is that you can remove the canister from the main vacuum to turn it into a canister vacuum. It’s convenient if you have to go up or down stairs, or if you do not want to have to use the full vacuum all of the time.

At the same time, it can also convert into a smaller handheld vacuum which can be operated with a single hand, which makes the Kirby Avalir 2 ideal for small spot treatments and for picking up small messes.

Shampooing carpets and scrubbing floors

The other thing which really stands out about the Kirby Avalir 2 is the fact that it can also expand into a carpet shampooing system. You can attach a water and soap canister, which then soaps up your carpet, and then uses the brush roll to work the soap in and loosen dirt.

After you have shampooed the carpet, just use the wet vacuum features to suck up all of the water, soap, and the dirt along with it too. This feature can even be used for furniture and pillows, as well as car interiors.

Furthermore, the Kirby Avalir 2 also comes with a few different attachments which you can use to mop hard floors, to scrub tile and grout, and to polish hardwood floors too.

Conclusion

Remember that if you ever need Kirby customer service, you can contact them via phone, email, chat, or you can visit a dealership in person. Kirby vacuum salesmen are always knowledgeable and happy to help with any issues that you might have. At any rate, the Kirby Avalir 2 is really a fantastic machine that can clean, scrub, and vacuum pretty much any kind of surface and flooring. It really is quite an impressive piece of equipment.