I saw this article on the web and i thought everyone on the site would like to see it too.

Memories of Suction Past

"Not that you could get a coffee-table book out of it, but every few weeks or oftener I encounter a used-up vacuum cleaner put out to pasture somewhere in town. Today's example: a canister model apparently abandoned on the sidewalk along Monterey Avenue. What's going on with these things? Maybe they're too awkward to throw out -- the trash haulers probably won't take them in the regular weekly pick up. Maybe there's some sort of emotional attachment that might equate discarding a well-loved vacuum cleaner with taking a pet to be put down. Maybe the vacuum owners have talked themselves into believing that their old machines still have a few months of useful life left in the service of some thrifty passer-by. Maybe all of the above".

Back view of this long lost Electrolux.

Unfortunately in this town you can put just about anything out for the garbage collectors and that includes sofa's chairs,tv's washer/dryers which is probably why there isn't any good old stuff around. Back in Calgary you couldn't put anything out on the curb other than household waste and all those above mentioned items you had to personally take to the dump/landfill and pay. Thats probably a reason why the thrifts in Calgary had loads of good stuff, nobody wanted to take it to the dump and pay to dispose of it.

There used to be a web site with hundreds of photos of abandoned vacuum cleaners - the guy who put up the site began noticing thrown-out vacuums all over the place so he started photographing it. Planned to make a coffee-table book from the photos but just ended up putting them on line. He found my site quite a few years ago and sent me a link; now I don't remember the URL and can't find it on google. It's out there somewhere.......

please who would even want to dispose of these awesome and unique machines if it were I they would be in one room where they would be serviced, used and put up on display.

In our town, we have a system of wheelie bins - each house gets one large rubbish bin, and one large recycling bin (except ours being a larger family, we get a smaller version of each in addition to the standard large ones!). The rubbish men come once a week on a Friday, and take either the recyling, or the rubbish, on alternate weeks. They're very strict about what they'll take; they won't empty the bins if the lids aren't totally shut, and they won't take any items which aren't in the bin. Thus, anyone wanting to dispose of vacuums or any other larger items have to take them to the tip.

The tip is an awful fate for an old appliance - each of the large containers is guarded by a man, and you're not allowed to take ANYTHING! You're not even allowed to throw anything in without the man asking if it works or not. If it does work, they take it and use it in some recycling scheme. Basically, it means that if I go down there, and see some beautiful, mint condition all-original vintage Hoover, I can't rescue it from the crusher! That pain's too much to bear, so usually I avoid the tip completely!

I know other guys in the UK who live in areas where the tip-men actually SAVE vintage Hoovers for them for a small fee. Why can't I live there?! :(

So far haven't found any abandoned vacuums out here.