Put the hose and see if suction is good. If it is - you may have had nozzle installed wrong or brush roll may be worn out (bristles must be sticking out of the nozzle by about 1/8 of an inch).
If there is no suction with the hose either - check if bag is not overfilled to the point where dirt is blocking the fill tube hole.
If two above are fine - something must be blocking the air passage from the fan to the bag. Check for clogs in the fill tube (tube inside the cloth bag) and mini emptor (bag bottom plastic part) and also see if there is something blocking the exhaust on the vacuum. You may not even see it so use a piece of wire. Once I found a sock there and it was so close to the fan that I could not see it in the hole and was only able to get it out using a homemade hook made from a coat hanger.
If the spots are NOT at the center of the unit - you may have washed the brush roll. Older style shampooer brush rolls could retain a lot of water and it is all dirty in there. NEVER wash the brush. Just after you are done - raise the nozzle and let it spin freely for 10-15 seconds. It will be clean most of the time.
If you already did or if you will absolutely have to do it in the future - do not soak it. Set it vertically somewhere so water could drain and leave it to dry.
Do not make sudden moves while shampooing so the water does not spill from the tray.
If you oiled Kirby some time or sprayed WD40 somewhere - maybe it is coming out now (do not oil Kirby - it does not need that type of maintenance)
There's no internal fuse, it is in the plug (UK version anyway). Not sure on US version.
If the unit is dead it could be several things. Bag and brush roller not fitted correctly you can check this yourself, motor brushes worn out, broken power cord etc.
First a short explanation of how the Kirby shampoo system works: Kirby uses a “Dry Foam” type of shampoo. Basically, it spreads a shampoo foam solution on the surface of your carpet. This foam needs to stay on the surface of the carpet until it is completely dry (usually 1 to 2 hours depending on temperature and humidity) As the foam dries, it soaks up grease and dirt. You then vacuum the carpet and up comes the shampoo residue along with the absorbed dirt and grease. It does a very good job on the surface but will not extract stains from the bottom of the carpet or carpet pad. Several other brands such as Electrolux, Hoover and Koblenz make Carpet Cleaning machines that use the same system. So, you’ve read your manual, you’ve removed the carpet cleaning nozzle and the bag assembly from your Kirby, you’ve installed your shampoo tank and carpet shampooing nozzle tray and you start to shampoo but all you get on your carpet is a puddle of soapy water and no foam. Here’s a few things to look for:
Make sure you are using a Dry Foam Shampoo(preferably Kirby) and NOT an extraction shampoo, the Rug Doctor shampoo you had left over from your last rental will not work.
Make sure you have the correct mixture. If you are using Kirby Dry foam shampoo you simply fill the tank with water and put a tank cap full of shampoo in with the water. You can use other brands of “Dry Foam” shampoo, but the mixture ratio may be different, so read the label first.
Don’t reuse last year’s leftover mixture, it’s probably no good.
Make sure a family member didn’t pour any leftover mixture back into the empty shampoo bottle - further diluting a mixture will not produce any foam.
Don’t use shampoo that’s seen extreme temperatures.
Check the tank and make sure that the sponge filter is in place and if it is in place that it is not deteriorated. The sponge filter is located under the tank at the point where you attach the tank to the hole that you removed the bag assembly from.
Check the hose that runs from the tank to the nozzle. It should have a screen in the end that attaches to the tank (older models had a cloth screen with a metal retainer, models after 1989 have a 1 piece metal and plastic screen.
no only small amount. slides and wedges come loose when m/c hit of walls and furniture. contact your local kirby agent for service or see utube for repairing yourself
