I love my blue Kenmore vacuum. It’s 10+ years old. Back then Kenmore was just introducing colored machines. You can tell, this is a funky blue, but I FELL IN LOVE with it.
Me and my blue machine, on top of the world. Cleaning became fun! Similar to a bike or a car, if you LOVE the color, suddenly transportation is a joy.
Lately though, the vacuum wasn’t working properly. This little guy was pushing himself. I vacuumed and felt sad. In the back of my mind thinking, “IS THIS THE END?”
No, it can’t be!!
Before throwing in the towel, I needed to roll up my sleeves, check under the hood, find the product number, Google search, etc. Leave no stone unturned. SAVE my vacuum!!
Sure, I was a girl, not a mechanic, but there is YouTube, I could do this!! I didn’t need a vacuum repair shop… not YET!
A miracle! THANK YOU, KENMORE. The information sticker on my machine was still there. Kenmore telephone number still worked!! Hallelujah!
I spoke to a lovely Kenmore Customer Service Rep. She found my OLD Model #. She said I had two filters. An air filter and motor filter. What? Where? She sent me link to old manual.
WELL — I found the filters. Look at photos. I’m so EMBARRASSED!
No wonder my machine was MAD and not working. The air filter is supposed to be changed a few times a year. That is one dirty air filter!
LESSON LEARNED – change filters, teach daughters vacuum maintenance.
END RESULT — new filters, my machine works at full speed now. Fabulous!
Now, for the cover, it sounds like it will break when I lift it.
Am I BRAVE enough to unscrew the cover and sort that out?
I’m contemplating this…. Youtube, here I come.
Brilliant Viewpoint 
We have a ten year old Dyson that has two filters. If the suction wanes, I take out the filters, wash them and reinstall. When that stops working, I will chuck and replace the whole thing.
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That’s great! Do your filters look like mine? Maybe I could wash mine too. That would be nice.
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No. Mine are little fiberglass filters. Easy to clean and take seconds to dry.
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I don’t vacuum anymore – I Swifter as I have mostly wood floors and I let the maids do the area rugs. If I need to vacuum I borrow my mother’s upright model, but that is one cool blue vacuum! I had an old vacuum once which had bags you had to change when they were full, but if it had filters I never changed them. I got rid of it a long time ago as it was too heavy to drag around and up and down stairs.
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I have mostly wood floors too. I should probably go the swifter route, but I do need the vacuum for a few rugs. 🙂
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Nice-looking vacuum + entertaining story! We bought a Kirby from a traveling salesman back when we were just getting started in California. We spent way more than we should have for our newlywed budget. But it’s bombproof and you can always find a vacuum repair who will service a Kirby. It works as well now as it did thirty years ago. It’ll probably outlast me.
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I got a good laugh about the traveling salesman. Do they even sell that way anymore. I haven’t heard of the Kirby brand, is that an upright one?
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Pretty sure the guy just knocked on our door, we let him in, and an hour later we’d purchased a Kirby vacuum. Different world back then, right? Yes, the Kirby is an upright with all kinds of attachments. Been around forever. A solid appliance.
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