I thought LUX was a soap, and Electrolux was a vacuum cleaner.

Is there ANY way that we could, as historians, only use the ACTUAL COPYRIGHTED names of appliances, and not made up shortened versions which may well cause confusion?

Please?

I'm sure opinions vary on this, as with anything else.

Holla from Hollywood

Bob

bob, thats funny. the same thoughts come to mind when i see the Hoover Constellation being referred to as "connie". i also think "Katie" is a dubious (name) choice for a network news persona.

Historically, "Lux" has always been a part of the Electrolux name and it is a common abbreviation for that brand. And there is currently a Swedish line of machines called "Lux." See link below for an interesting history.

Originally, the name was derived from the merger of two companies. May I quote from my Electrolux History:

"In 1920, at its Annual General Meeting, Aktiebolaget Elektromekaniska (wholly owned by Wenner-Gren-dominated Elektron) changed its name to Aktiebolaget Elektro-lux. The new name was a combination of Elektromekaniska and Aktiebolaget Lux. ( "Aktiebolaget" means "Company" or "Corporation." Most Swedish companies contain "Aktiebolaget" in the name, or the abbreviation "AB.")"

In fact, the first machine that was a product of that union was called the "Lux I."

And indeed, the URL for my Electrolux history is...

http://137.com/lux/

So there is some precedence for this shortcut and sorry if it causes anyone some confusion.......

so, in other words, the shortened version of the names are acceptible to those in the know, and the rest of us can just fake it as we see fit too.

I still prefer to call things by their correct names.

My foolishness for thinking that asking nicely and even saying please would bear any weight at all.

Pardon my ignorance.

Bobo
(short for bobofhollywood)

it's not a matter of being "in the know" or "not in the know" and speaking only for myself I mean no slight to anyone for using the abbreviation LUX, it's just been a matter of course for so many years that I really haven't thought about how it would affect anyone else or confuse them. CERTAINLY, there was no inference on my part that you are "ignorant." It's just what it is, with nothing personal intended at all.

p.s. Wouldn't the short version of "Bob of Hollywood" be Boho?!
haha

Bobo:

Consider yourself educated. You are inferring that using the term Lux is incorrect, slang or "insider" jargon. I beg to differ. I offer up one of the current models from the successor company to the many that have been Electrolux.

Fred (lover of Electrolux/Lux)

that if shortened names bother you, then maybe you should refer to yourself as Robert. Come on man, life is way too short to worry about what people call vacuum cleaners. Sorry if Lux offends you. It has always and probably will always be used in reference to Electrolux cleaners.
Tim

Now you may say that the current "Electroluxes" are not truly Electroluxes, but I would say that they are truly the successor to the Electrolux tradition over the Eureka machines that currently bear the Electrolux name.

Anybody have any idea why the name 'Electrolux' was shortened to 'Electrux' on some UK machines, such as the ZA48?

Now I can't justify the name "Connie" except as a term of endearment for the Hoover Constellation. Remember, this is a club site, set up and paid for by and primarily for members of the Vacuum Cleaner Collectors Club, but also for those with an interest in vacuum cleaners. Visitors are totally welcome. If you visit here, however, expect to converse with club members who have "nicknames" for favorite machines.

Is my pet name for the Electrolux Rennaisance. The Eureka canisters are sometimes refered to as "Canned hams" or "tear drops"

I can dig it, guys.

Particularly if the machine SAYS it's a LUX...well, then I can see calling it a Lux.

Bob's my name. You're right - it's a nick name.

Bobo is pronounced like beau beau, not BOB-O, and I apologize if I've caused a ruckus. That was not my intention. And no offence taken at all, Charles-Richard - I very much appreciate the education - and that's why I brought it up.

Thanks a million.

Bobo

I thought you might be amused by this photo.

Please don't take me too seriously. It's all in fun, fellas.

Marty that's exactly what I call mine too Renny

nice picture. Love the the XXX models. NICE pic of you too. You are in great shape. Hope I didn't come across too forceful in my post about LUX. I sure didn't mean to. We are all good people in here. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Tim

just a short note when I worked for Electrolux as the servicemanager we always referred to them as luxs and likewise when I worked for a Hoover service center in Sacramento CA we all called them connies ... so I guess we will always have our nicknames for our machines and thanks Marty I'm going to call my Rennaisance Renny from now on too now just got to figure out a pet name for all my baby Kirby's (anyone got any suggestions) Kirbykid

How about "Screamy!" haha

Actually, that could apply to nearly all modern vacuum cleaners, which is one big reason I don't care for most of them -- they are more powerful and have greater suction but that power comes with a price -- noise.

Think back to the gentle, muffled purr of an Electrolux XXX or the pleasant humm of a Kenmore Commander, the sweet throbbing whirrr of the Hoover 61; even the older Kirbys. Yes the Kirbys were noisier than most other vacuum cleaners, but the early Kirbys still had a pleasant, musical sound.

Most of the modern vacuum cleaners I have heard shriek like shop vacs! Even the ones that are not particularly LOUD still have a piercing, high-pitched whine -- sounding like jet engines or hair dryers on steroids!

I think the machine that would get the award for being the quietest of all would be the Electrolux G. When you are using the floor tool on hard surfaces, the motor is so quiet that all you hear is the rush of air into the nozzle. I love listening to people vacuum with Electrolux Gs and the other early models, especially the Fs, AEs, LXs and XXXs. All you hear is swissssh-whooosh as the floor tool goes back and forth. And when you use the power nozzle with the G, the power nozzle makes more noise than the vacuum cleaner motor!

Maybe this should become a new thread: See new thread topic: "What is the quietest vacuum cleaner of all time, and what is the noisiest?

... is VACS.

That word drives me up the wall. I can't stand that abbreviation! It sounds like a cat coughing up a hairball!

The term "vacuum cleaner" sounds so elegant and graceful. Why call it a VAC ?!

i have to AGREE with that one, CR.

Hi Charlie

Unless its one of these!!!

ICKX !!!

I can't believe the Vax line is nothing more than Dirt Devils! I have some friends that had the orange VAX shop vacuum for their only house vacuum and were very happy with it. One day I found a VAX Turbo nozzle and I gave it to them. It transformed their vacuum! They have since moved into a new home and now have a Kenmore upright vacuum.

Hey Tim that's a no no quit flirting with Bob your married HEHEHE

Just joking Timmy

Skip...

I have used that term all of my life so it is very inbedded in me and would be hard not to say it, sorry if It offends anyone but that just me.

Skip...

No prob. Just call it as I see it. Skip, you still got that GE Swivel Top? Tim

Yes I do Your name is written all over it I told You it was yours, I have been waiting on You but I've heard nothing yet

Skip...

I would imagine that the American machines bear the LUX moniker as the only chance that Aerus has to hang on to it's history in this country. Since the licensing of the name changed, this is all they got. If it was just Aerus, I doubt if I could ever look at the machine again quite the same way. My favorite nickname of all time was when the Compact was referred to as the
"little piggy" because of its shape. I even remember seeing a few machines from the 60's painted in a flesh pink color with little eye decals on either dide of the hose inlet to give it that pig-like look.

The NSS Model M1 also goes by the name "Pig" they even copywirted it.You see a "Pig" logo on their new M1 machines.

hi there

just reading with interest the discussion of shortened-names....i must be honest it doesnt both me one way or the other, certainly i'd sooner hear a vacuum refered to as a 'vac' as opposed to a 'Hoover' because in many cases the 'Hoover' is in fact not a Hoover.

As for Vax, i am intrigued to hear that it is Dirt Devil equipment. Vax was a UK company originally, producing a range of cleaners that could wash as well as vacuum up wet or dry debris. This was a first for the UK, at least so far as domestic machines were concerned.

The UK public went into a frenzy over them, will sales peaking in the late 1980's. Unfortunatly Vax cleaners lost thier popularity in the early 90's onwards as there was a lot of competition, plus a lot of folk never bothered to use it to wash carpets, so ifi t broke they just bought an ordinary vac. Sorry i mean vacuum cleaner.

Vax bought out a range of uprights that would wash, but these had numerous manufacturing faults and were very bulky. As such they never caught on. Eventually Vax had to start making ordinary cleaners in order to stay in business. This began with the 'wizard' which was a bagless dry-only version of the wet/dry/wash machine. As time went on production shifted abroad, and then they started bringing out all these crappy generic upright and cylinder cleaners that simply bore the Vax name. The original Vax was a good quality cleaner and in the UK was known as such - by contrast they are now regarded as cheap junk. Pity.

Stephen

I did not know until a couple of years ago that in the U.K., the slang term for a vacuum cleaner is a "hoover," and that vacuuming is called "hoovering." This gets kinda confusing for us dumb Americans when perusing the international vacuum cleaner listings and seeing "Electrolux Hoover," "Kirby Hoover," etc.!

The one thing I can't understand is the astounding number of people who spell it "vacume." (Look at ebay.) Vac-you-um, people. Two U's, no E. Either ask a dictionary, or turn the spell checker back on.

I actually have a 120v, US-assembled VAX machine from their brief foray into the US market in the early '90s. It's a decent vacuum, and it's fairly unique.

I have to put my two cents in here. I also like the term Electrolux and NEVER use simply "Lux!" But then I also have a problem with the term vacuum! The old timers in this club will notice that I use the term Vacuum Cleaner. It's a persomal thing, I have no problem with others who use sweeper, cleaner, vac or other terms but for the record I opt for Electrolux, or Electro-Lux.

Alex

Somewhere around here I have a list of all the various spellings for "vacuum" that I have seen on eBay. I don't recall them all now but there were some two dozen variations, including:

vaccum, vaccuum, vacum, vacume, vaccume, vacuume, vaccuume, vaccuumn, vackume, vacumn, vakyum, vacuumn etc etc etc

And for "sweeper" I have even seen sweaper, sweepeer, sweeperr, sweepure and sweepir.

What is this country coming to when the average citizen can't spell such simple words?

Sorry, I couldn't help it :)

I also can't belive all the different ways people slaughter vacuum ans sweeper. I also have to laugh at all the terms they come up with for vacuum parts. Some of my favorites are: "the spinney thing that chops up the dirt" "the flat round thingy that makes the vacuum part turn" (I will add more as I remember them) Believe it or not People have said these to me.

I have seen the following, with various spellings - and of course in addition to people making all sorts of guesses as to what some of the old and mysterious attachments are, such as the various moth killers:

POUNDER (power nozzle)

TOOL EXTENSIONS (wands)

POLES (wands)

CARPET FLUFFER (rug tool)

COUCH SNOUT (upholstery tool)

CRACK CLEANER (crevice tool)

Hey Byron

Would love to see a pic ;)

Seamus