An Overview of the Kirby Sentria Vacuum Cleaner

An Overview of the Kirby Sentria Vacuum Cleaner

What is the Kirby Sentria?

The Kirby Sentria is a powerful upright vacuum cleaner manufactured by the Kirby Company. It is designed for whole-home deep cleaning on carpets and hard floors. Some key features of the Sentria include:

  • 12 amp motor with tremendous suction power
  • Height adjustment settings for optimal cleaning on any carpet pile
  • All-steel construction for durability
  • HEPA media bag to trap 99.97% of dust and allergens
  • Attachments for cleaning upholstery, curtains, ceiling fans and more

The Sentria combines strong suction and high-quality filtration to deliver a deep clean for your home. It’s an ideal choice for homeowners with lots of carpeted areas, asthma/allergy sufferers, and those simply wanting the best possible clean from an upright.

How Well Does the Kirby Sentria Clean Carpets?

With its powerful 12 amp motor, the Kirby Sentria provides exceptional carpet cleaning capabilities. The suction power lifts and removes embedded dirt from deep within carpet fibers.

The Sentria has manual height adjustments, allowing you to set the height for optimal cleaning based on your specific carpet pile. This ensures the roller brush makes ideal contact with the carpet to lift and remove debris. Test results have shown the Sentria removes an average of 23% more dirt from carpets compared to other vacuums.

The Sentria also has a wide cleaning path of approximately 13 inches. This allows you to cover more carpet area with each pass, saving time and effort. And it has a translucent, extra-large capacity bag so you can see when it’s time to empty without losing suction. Overall, the Sentria delivers thorough, deep carpet cleaning results.

How Effective is the Kirby Sentria on Hard Floors?

While the Sentria excels at carpet cleaning, it also transitions nicely to clean bare floors and hard surfaces. The height adjustment allows you to raise the vacuum up for optimal hard floor cleaning.

The Sentria also comes with a hard floor brushroll that you can switch out to safely clean hardwood, tile, vinyl, laminate and other bare floors without scratching them. It makes direct contact to lift and remove dust, dirt, pet hair and other debris.

Some users have reported the Sentria tends to push larger debris around rather than immediately sucking it up on hard floors. This may require going over an area 2-3 times. But overall, the powerful suction and hard floor brushroll allow the Sentria to effectively clean hard surface floors.

What Types of Surfaces Can the Kirby Sentria Clean?

One benefit of the Sentria is its versatility to clean nearly all surfaces throughout your home, including:

  • Carpets – lifts and removes embedded dirt from low to high pile carpets
  • Hardwood
  • Tile
  • Vinyl
  • Laminate
  • Stone
  • Upholstery – with included upholstery brush
  • Curtains and drapes – with included dusting brush
  • Ceiling fans – with included fan brush
  • Car interiors – with included accessories

The Sentria converts easily for above-floor cleaning by attaching the hose and available accessories. The sturdy, all-steel construction also makes the Sentria well-suited for heavy-duty cleaning tasks.

How Loud is the Kirby Sentria?

The Kirby Sentria isn’t the quietest vacuum, which is understandable given its powerful 12 amp motor. Most users describe the noise level as comparable to a commercial grade vacuum or shop vac. It’s noticeably louder than more compact consumer vacuums when running at full power.

Some sound tests measure the Sentria at 70-75 decibels when operating on carpets. This is equivalent to the sound of a running shower or dishwasher. The noise may require you to raise your voice if having a conversation near the Sentria while it’s running.

You can reduce the noise level by adjusting the Sentria to a lower setting, but this also reduces the suction power. There are quieter vacuums available, but the trade-off is less cleaning performance.

How Long is the Kirby Sentria Cord?

The Kirby Sentria comes equipped with a generous 35 foot power cord. This provides ample cleaning reach to cover large rooms or open concept spaces without having to change outlets frequently.

A 35 foot cord ranks among the longest available on modern upright vacuums. By comparison, popular models from Shark, Dyson, Hoover and others often have 20-30 foot cords. The Sentria’s long cord makes it easier to access hard-to-reach areas and reduces time-consuming cord swaps.

If even more reach is needed, Kirby offers optional power cord extensions. You can add another 35 feet for a total length of 70 feet to cover even the largest spaces. Overall, the long cord is a nice convenience that enhances the Sentria’s usability.

How Heavy and Large is the Kirby Sentria?

As an all-steel upright, the Kirby Sentria is heavier than typical lightweight plastic vacuums. The Sentria weighs approximately 23 pounds. While not overly cumbersome, this weight may present challenges for users who have difficulty lifting.

The Sentria is rather large/bulky as well, measuring approximately 13 inches wide x 14 inches deep x 46 inches high. It takes up significant storage space when not in use. And the size/weight also reduces maneuverability for vacuuming tight spaces or under furniture.

However, the durable steel construction contributes to the Sentria’s excellent longevity compared to plastic models. Just recognize the bulk and heft are trade-offs for the Sentria’s power and durability. An optional stair cleaning attachment can help maneuver the Sentria for stairs.

How Long Does the Sentria Last?

One benefit of Kirby vacuums is their reputation for extreme durability and longevity. The all-steel construction allows the motor and mechanics to maintain integrity for decades rather than the 5-8 years expected from typical vacuums.

The Sentria’s simplicity, commercial grade components, and solid chassis contribute to real-world lifespan of 15-20+ years in most cases. With proper maintenance like periodic belt and roller brush changes, Sentria owners report the vacuum cleaning like new even after a decade or longer. Kirby also provides access to replacement parts to keep the Sentria running.

Overall, the Sentria is built to deliver lasting performance. Its longevity offsets the higher initial cost compared to planned obsolescence models. The Sentria should provide many years of reliable use.

Is the Kirby Sentria Bagged or Bagless?

The Kirby Sentria uses a traditional bagged system to collect dirt and debris. It comes with HEPA media bags that trap 99.97% of dust and allergens down to 0.3 microns. Once a bag is full, you simply replace it with a new one to maintain peak performance.

Bagged vacuums like the Sentria have some advantages over bagless models:

  • Better filtration of fine dust particles
  • Prevent dirt contact when emptying
  • More hygienic dirt disposal
  • Less chance of clogs/loss of suction

However, bagless vacuums allow you to inspect dirt collection and may have lower long-term costs since bags don’t need regular replacement. But Sentria owners appreciate the convenience, cleanliness and allergen filtration provided by its bagged design.

How Expensive Are Replacement Bags and Belts?

Kirby Sentria vacuum bags cost approximately $0.50 to $1 per bag when purchased in bulk packs. Most users find a new bag is needed every 1-2 months with average use. Multi-packs of 6, 10 or 20 Kirby HEPA bags can be found on Amazon or the Kirby website for reasonable prices.

The Sentria also uses a flat belt to drive the brushroll. These belts require periodic replacement, usually after 1-2 years depending on use. Genuine Kirby belts cost around $5-15 on Amazon or other retailers.

While not the cheapest operating costs, Sentria bags and belts are reasonably priced for the excellent performance they enable. The costs are comparable or lower than most other bagged vacuums.

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