From 1935 through today, continuous improvements and refinements are made to the Kirby home care system. One of the popular selling points is that it can be easily configured into a canister vacuum, hand portable vacuum, blower, floor buffer, and more. It can also be converted into a shampoo system for carpets and a mopping system for bare floors. The characteristic chrome appearance is due to the bulk of the machine being constructed from aluminum, a tradition going back to the very early days of manufacture when plastic was a novelty and aluminum was more plentiful.