How to Change a Belt on a Kirby Vacuum?

Kirby vacuums are one of the more popular vacuums in the market. It is easy to use. After some time you may want to change the belt of the vacuum for better performance.

Why and When Replace the Belt?

You should replace the belt every 6 months. The belt in the Kirby vacuum helps the brush to rotate properly. It stays stretched inside the vacuum. So as time passes, the belt gets looser and looser.

As a result, the brush loses rotation and does not clean as well as before. So you should change the belt every 6 months since they are pretty cheap.

Changing the Belt of the Vacuum

Changing the belt of Kirby vacuums are a little complicated than the other ones. Nonetheless, it is pretty easy to do. By following these steps you can change the belt of your Kirby vacuum right now.

Opening Up the vacuum

First, if you want you can separate the cleaner head from the body. It is not necessary but by doing this, the cleaner head and belt changing will be easier to do. 

Okay, now that the head is separated from the body take the cleaner head and lift the hood that’s in front of the head. Under the hood, you will find a green saying belt on and a red line saying belt off on the bottom.

Under the line, there is a rectangular plastic lever that can be turned to on and off of the belt. Turn off the belt by rotating the lever. That will release the belt from the vacuum.

Now, turn the lever that’s above the plastic lever. That will release the plastic head part of the vacuum along with the brush and the belt. Take the head and turn it around.

On the bottom of this headpiece, there are two more levers to release the front grill which is in front of the brush. After getting the grill out, you will have access to the brush. 

Getting the Belt Out

Now use the plastic lever to set it on brush on mode (along with the green line). That will loosen the belt. Then, you can just grab and pull the belt to get the brush and belt out of the vacuum head.

Replacing the Belt and Settings

Now that the brush is out of the head, take the belt out of the brush. You can replace the belt with a new one.

You can change the brush settings. You can set how long will the bristles of the brush be. On both sides of the brush, there is a turnable circle that is labeled from one to three. By turning that, you can set the height of the bristles.

If your vacuum brush is old then you may want to set the brush to a higher number in order to compensate for the decaying of the brush.

Setting Everything Back

After you are done setting the brush settings, slide the new belt on the brush and place it roughly to the middle. Now, push the brush inside the vacuum head. The magnetic side should be able to catch it in place.

Then, set the front grill back and put everything back together. 

How Do You Change a Belt on an Old Kirby Vacuum Cleaner?

Kirby vacuums have been more or less been the same over the years. So the technique on how to change the belt.

But if it is too old, then, some lever may not work properly. Some of them may get loose or too tight because of corrosion. 

If it is too loose you may need to change or replace it. But if it is too tight, then you can use a hammer to turn the levers. Make sure that you are not damaging any other part while using the hammer.

How do you change the belt on a Kirby g4 or g5 Vacuum?

Kirby g3 to g6 uses the same machine configuration. These models from g3 to g6 gets some part upgrade as they move from three to six. But all the lever, motor and setup remains the same.

So you can follow the steps above and you will be able to change the belt of your Kirby vacuum even if it’s a model g4 or g5.

Changing Belt on Kirby Sentria Vacuum

You may have guessed it by reading till now. Yes, Kirby Sentria also uses the same setup as Kirby g4 or g5. So aside from some visual changes and there is no orientational change.

So, just follow the step above like any other model and you will be able to change the belt without any problem.

FAQ

Q: How frequently do I have to change the belt?

Ans: Every 6 months preferably. Even if you are not using the vacuum you should still change it before using it after six months. The reason being, the belt always stays stretched inside the vacuum. So it will lose its tension even if you don’t use it.

Q: I get a burning smell from the inside of the vacuum head. What do I do?

Ans: Because the rubber belt got lose and it is generating less rotation and more friction. Changing the belt should solve the problem.

Q: Do I have to clean the belt for extended use?

Ans: No, you do not have to clean the belt itself. You can clean the brush if hair or anything gets mixed and stuck in there but the belt itself doesn’t need any cleaning.

Q. Are all vacuum belts same?

Ans: No. You have to buy the specific belt that is compatible with your vacuum.

Conclusion

Changing the belt is just as important as cleaning the vacuum and maintaining it. If you use the same belt for too long then your vacuum will start to lose performance. It is good practice to change the belt every four to six months.

Make sure you have a bunch of extra belts. You can buy them for as low as a dollar. So always keep some extra for the emergency change of the belt. That way you can always get the full potential out of your vacuum.