Kirby Sentria Review

What the reviewers like:
The Kirby Sentria vacuum does a good job cleaning carpeting and hard floors, and it has useful tools and minimal emissions.

What the reviewers don't like:
Considering its price, reviews say the Kirby Sentria is unusually noisy, heavy and hard to push. Furthermore, experts and owners alike frown on Kirby's high-pressure, door-to-door sales tactics.

Kirby Sentria review highlights

Reviewers say the Kirby Sentria is good at cleaning carpeting and hard floors -- as you'd expect from a $1,000-plus vacuum. But reviewers also say that it's noisy, heavy and hard to push. Other vacuums are smaller, lighter and less expensive, plus they clean every bit as well. Salespeople cite Kirby's flexibility cleaning upholstery and curtains, but some owners complain that the heavy 25-pound weight limits its usefulness.

Surprisingly -- given this vacuum's dismal door-to-door reputation -- Consumer Reports includes the Kirby Sentria in its latest roundup of vacuum cleaners, in which models are tested for their performance on carpeting and hard floors. This is fair enough, but a quick look at some other sources, including Yahoo! Answers and The Ripoff Report, sheds some much-needed light on Kirby's operating procedures.

Also see full report: Vacuum Cleaners

*In order of credibility (see our Ratings Criteria).

1. Consumer Reports
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Vacuums: Top Picks for Pet Hair
Editors of Consumer Reports
Mar. 2007

Consumer Reports tests the Kirby Sentria vacuum alongside dozens of other models for performance, noise, emissions and ease of use, as well as the ability to pick up pet hair off carpeting. This is easily the best performance review we found for vacuum cleaners.

2. Yahoo! Answers
Does Anyone Use the Vacuum Cleaner Called Kirby Sentria?
Contributors to Yahoo! Answers

In this informative thread, "Eunice" says she bought the Kirby Sentria from a door-to-door salesman and asks others for their opinions. Some posters warn that her "brand-new" Sentria is probably reconditioned, and others point out that $1,200 or more is way too much to pay for a vacuum cleaner (though some users do profess satisfaction with their Kirby vacuums).

3. Ripoff Report.com
Report—URBCO: Kirby Vacuum Distributor
"Don" from Oberlin, OH
Oct. 28, 2006

"Don" tells the story of a door-to-door Kirby salesman who told his wife that the Kirby Sentria lists for $2100, but agreed to sell it to her for its real list price of $1600 (many salespeople will come down to $1,000-$1,200 after haggling). However, he doesn't blame Kirby itself, but the distributor used to sell its products.

Also see full report: Vacuum Cleaners