My Kirby seems to be putting more dirt on the floor than what it is picking up? The brush roller is turning but it leaves dust streaks . It also shoots particles out the side instead of vacuuming it up. Any help?

White streaks might be soap residue, get carpet slightly wet and agitate it to see if it foams up. It may dpneed to be rinsed out.

look for a blockage in the head elbow of the suction pipe or in the pipe itself
check foe air leaks that lessen the vacuum

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Sounds like it's picking up the dirt, running it around the brushes and dumping it back out after one full circuit. I would check to see if anything big is caught in the brushes and preventing dirt from going into the filter compartment. Do you need to empty out the filter compartment and shake out or change the dust filter? If the filter is too clogged, dust won't get pulled into this compartment because there's no air passing through the filter to draw air.

It can be due to several things. from dirty filters to clog/s in the hose or tubings to incorrectly placed dirt cup.
You didn't mention the model you have, but you can find the manual on the following site, and it will tell you how to take care of the filters.

http://www.bissell.com/searchresults_userguides.aspx?searchtext=Bissell%2520PowerForce%2520Model%25203522-1&searchType=search&mode=228

Hi There,

Here's a step by step guide explaining what you have to do to change your Kirby from a vacuum into a blower:


Step 1. Make Sure That Your Kirby is Unplugged from the wall. Remove the front nozzle of the machine by lifting the housing that contains the headlight upwards. Now rotate the belt lifter from the green "Belt On" setting to the red "Belt Off" position:


Step 2. With the belt lifter turned to the red "Belt Off" setting, Turn the knob at the top of the bell shaped agitator housing to release the brush housing from the vacuum:



Step 3. Locate the attachment called the saftey cup that attaches on the Kirby in the exact same place as the brush housing did. This part does two things; Activates the safety switch to the left of the fan, and secondly covers the opening to the fan chamber to prevent anything from getting inside the fan housing and damaging it.



Step 4. Once you install the safety cup it is a good idea to check if the vacuum is working. If it is not (assuming it did work with the nozzle) - check if safety cup switch actuator isn't broken (see picture).

If it works then but it does not when you install the hose (next step) you will know that you did not turn the hose far enough.


Step 5. Take the bag off the Kirby. On the bigger end of the hose there is a line that you have to match with a little bump on the kirby fan housing (marked with red dots). Push the end of the hose over the Kirby exhaust as far as it can go.



Step 6. Turn this hose end clockwise (you may have to apply considerable force).


Step 7. It has to be turned far enough to press another safety switch that is on the unit just behind the exhaust neck.



Step 7. You are done and ready to use it as a blower. We would recommend turning it on outside. Hose may have some dust accumulated on the inside and it may blow a lot of dust in the first few seconds of use. Also shake the hose well while outside to loosen any dust/dirt accumulations on the inside.

Be very careful when blowing dust out of computers or other electronics.
1. Dirt from inside of the hose may damage components.
2. Airflow is so strong that it may break circuit boards if they are not well mounted around the perimeter.
3. Using Kirby a lot of static electricity may be generated that may cause circuit failure due to electrostatic discharge (harmless to people - deadly to electronics).

NEVER operate blower with the nozzle on. There are 3 important reasons for that:
1. Kirby is designed to have much higher RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) with the hose or safety cup so it will push more air than with the nozzle.
2. If you use kirby as a blower with the nozzle - dust and dirt that is in the nozzle from vacuuming carpets and/or rugs will be blown into the air.
3. If there is nothing (no nozzle no safety cup) Kirby vacuum simply will not turn on.

I really hope that the above instructions were helpful to you in converting your Kirby into a blower. If you have a question on any of the steps, please feel free to use the comment field to ask them, I'm always more then happy to answer any follow up questions you may have.

If this was helpful to you, please be so kind and rate the repair helpful, or by leaving feedback for me. This is really appreciated by the Fixya community when a repair was able to solve your problem.

Thanks again,

Chris Jones
GoVacuum.com

If your brush roll is turning and your bag is not overly full, then the only other thing it can be is a clog where the bag connects to the vacuum. Turn the plastic part out away from vacuum and lift off to see if you have something clogging it. It would have to be something big, but not so big that it could not get past the fan. As a rule of thumb, KIRBY never clogs. I suspect that your belt is stretched out and your brush roll is not turning while on the carpet so the brush roll is just in the way rather than brushing your carpet to pick up dirt.

To put it simply, no. By floor mode I'm assuming you're stopping the brush roll from turning so that you can clean hard surface floors instead of carpet. When the brush roll doesn't turn you do lose agitation which vibrates the carpet so that the dirt is more easily picked up by the vacuum. But you don't lose suction because the brush is not turning.

http://geeksquad.fixya.com/ThreadView.aspx?prdid=618616&thid=682390
Not as strong when bought, weird noises too.
Posted by Swork100 on Jun 18, 2008
The main problem is a weird noise caused by the brush not spinning on the carpet like it used to do strongly leaving a sweep mark on the carpet, which helps pick up the dust through suction. Seems to have lost the power, so I raised it, but it still doesn't pick up that well. What should I do, I already checked the belt, ripped all linen spinned on the brush. It just doesn't leave that mark on the carpet after being swept, it just stops. What should I do? Dirt Devil Featherlite Bagless Vacuum

Hello,
I would advise you to ALWAYS to FIRST UNPLUG YOUR VACUUM before beginning any service procedure. A couple of the problems you seem to be having is that the belt is stretched out and not picking up well and the other is the brushroll is not spinning freely in order to pup the dust and dirt. The average flat belt change is every 4 to 6 months for the best cleaning and the check your brushroll to see if that spins freely if not it is probably bound up with thread and hair and needs to be cleaned off @ every belt change. If the belt is tight it cleans well and the brushroll does not get a chance to wrap around the brushroll and slow it down. All part of the maintenance of a vacuum cleaner. So if you need further assistance, please feel free to contact your local vacuum cleaner dealer in your area or in the yellow pages, or contact the factory phone number or website to further assist you with your questions.
http://royalvacuums.com/ Customer Service 1-800-321-1134
Hours are: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM (EST)
Thanks, Don the Vac Man
Go Ahead. Use Us.

Yep check the hose at the back as it may well be clogged. Also undo the soleplate/floorhead and have a look up the dirt channel behind the floor brush. Either that take off the main bin and check the dust channel leading down to the hose.