Thread Number: 20826
Tell us your favourite vacuum memory- like that vac you grew up with etc...
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Post# 233167   5/18/2013 at 15:03 (3,966 days old) by dysondestijl (east midlands, UK)        

I love hearing these, and I have many many stories.
I was born into a household where a Dyson DC01 was the main vacuum. It was replaced by a dyson DC07, along with a pro-action canister, they'd a dyson DC14 along with a sabichi canister.

I remember I was once at my grandmas huge house and I wandered off exploring. I went into the upstairs gallery, and I found, right at the end of the room, a what looked to be ancient hoover junior! I was fascinated so I ran downstairs and pestered my grandma to tell me about it. She plugged it in but I got scared. It didn't even work lol. But then I plugged it in one day and it worked! I wasn't expecting it to!!
Then I looked in the cupboard and found an ancient hitachi canister. Once again, I pestered my grandma to tell me about it. I really hate myself now as I watched her throw it into a skip when I was about 5... Come to think of it we were cleaning out that same cupboard last week and we found a pack of bags for the hitachi!!
Another story is that my auntie had an old Henry, from the 90's, and I used to use it EVERY time I went, then she got a DC01 but it was crap and made a strange noise, so I refused to use it and begged her to get Henry back out! She used to keep it just for the fact that she knew I loved to use it:)
Anyway I'll share more tomorrow,
George


Post# 233192 , Reply# 1   5/19/2013 at 00:12 (3,966 days old) by classicfan1 (Ohio, USA)        
Some of mine...

My mom's mother has a Rainbow, she has had it for years. I remember when I was so fascinated by it as I watch it "wash" the floor. Even though the carpet looked clean, the water was nearly black!

Another one would be our white Hoover from the late 80s or early 90s. I have very vague memories of it, though I played with it alot.

But my favorite was my grandma's Kirby Omega. We still have it in the basement, though I don't play with it anymore. Dad tried to throw it out and failed, though the trashman did get the attachments and case.


Post# 233244 , Reply# 2   5/19/2013 at 14:56 (3,965 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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My Mum bought a Panasonic MC-E44 brand new in 1992. The following year, my parents were conned in to Kirby's "free carpet clean" and given a full demo and sales pitch of the G3. After MUCH bartering, my Dad and the salesman finally came to an agreement and my Dad bought an ex-demo Legend 2 with the full kit for £300. My Mum wasn't happy about it - she absolutely HATED using the Kirby. It was loud, heavy, impractical and far too big for our house. The Panasonic remained as the upstairs cleaner at my Mums insistance. She would always use that, but my Dad would nag and say "what are you using that for, use the good one!". Eventually, she just stopped vacuuming when he was in the house. I remember one day, Dad must've been out and Mum was bringing the Panasonic downstairs. She looked at me and said "Don't tell your Dad I did this!". 14 years after they split up, he still doesn't know about that.




Post# 233475 , Reply# 3   5/21/2013 at 14:29 (3,963 days old) by parwaz786 ( )        

Yesterday I was vacuuming my Auntie's old bedroom from before she got married and she & my uncle bought their own house :D, in the spare room she has sliding mirrors with a cupboard/ wardrobe inside! inside was carpeted, so I got the Dyson wand off and used the brush tool, it did a good job, then I saw some of her old university stuff, I was gonna remind her  that she had some of her stuff here, but she didnt need it, and I looked at the stuff with a smile, then I saw a photo album! It contained family photos, I flipped  pages, and there was... a Pic of me as a toddler standing next to my parents DC01! it had no bumper and had a little bit of dust in the empty bin, had no goodbye bag sticker and also had the cyclone handle Dyson logo missing I was amazed, I remember very well I was using it, it was YDK and there was a piece of fluff on the floor, then I had to go over it 3 times :P

 

PS what happened to your Auntie's Henry? and the DC01? what vac does she have now?  Thanks


Post# 233483 , Reply# 4   5/21/2013 at 17:34 (3,963 days old) by vacman117 (Chicago, IL)        

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My parents had so many vacuums when I was younger. I used to love following them around with my toy Dirt Devil while they used the Dirt Devil Deluxe.

When we were building one of our houses, we would have to go to our storage unit every once and a while, and inside was my mom's pink Eureka ESP that I had never seen before. I would always beg her to bring it to the car and let me look at it. I would always ask her to take it home but she would always say it was someone else's. The Eureka was one of the first things we brought into the house when we moved in since it was in the front of the storage unit. I asked my mom to let me use and she was hesitant since it didn't have a bag but she allowed it. That was the first and last time I was able to use it. After that it was her spare vacuum that was always kept in their bedroom closet. Every once a while she'd let me push it around, but I was forbidden to turn it on because it would blow dust everywhere. My dad and I later tore it apart a few years later.

When I was about 4 or 5 I was using my mom's Dirt Devil Ultra Hand Vac and I put it right on the top of my 3 year old sister's head and tore out a lot of her hair. That was the last time I was allowed to use that.

I LOVED going to my aunt and uncle house because they'd always let me vacuum with their Hoover Legacy. And I absolutely loved staring at their Hoover Steam Vac. I had never seen one before so I always thought it was so cool. One of the times I was there I discovered a 1990's Kenmore Heavy Duty Plus Self Propelled buried in the foyer closet. I was allowed to use it once and then it was put back. They then allowed me to push it around while I was there, but I was never allowed to turn it on because it was "broken". One day we went over and I couldn't find it anywhere. I asked about it and my aunt said "Oh we threw it away." I was devastated. It turned out that the garbage was still in the garage and hadn't been picked up yet. My uncle let me use it in there and then they let me take it home that night. I used it all the time until I later tore it apart. It took me about 10 years to find another...

My mom also had a Fantom Thunder and a Fantom Fury that I loved using, although my mom hated them both with a passion. She bought the first Thunder and I sucked up a sock with it the first day and "burnt it up", so it was returned for another. At the the time she loved it and later bought the Fury for upstairs. It was after that when she started to despise them. I think she was actually happy when they finally broke a few years later. In the short 4 years we lived in that house we had gone through 5 vacuums...


Post# 233484 , Reply# 5   5/21/2013 at 17:49 (3,963 days old) by pr-21 (Middletown, OH)        
Christmas Time and ....

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Vacuum cleaner toys when I was young. I always asked Santa Clause for a toy vacuum cleaner when I was 4, 5, & 6. Could not sleep on Xmas Eve waiting for Santa. I never was disappointed. Very fond memories. Also going to Grandma's and running the Premier 21 when I was young.



Sincerely,

PR-21


Post# 233534 , Reply# 6   5/22/2013 at 09:25 (3,962 days old) by jfalberti (Visalia, CA)        
When I was a kid

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about 4 years old, my mom had a Kenmore straight suction canister, and I was always fascinated by it. One day it was out, and I picked up the wand and was pretending to vacuum the floor.  Mom snuck up behind me and turned the vacuum on and it scared the crap out of me.  Sadly, about a year later Mom died in a car accident, and Dad decided to move us to Florida.  I remember the day the movers came, I pulled the vacuum out of the closet and sat there and refused to move until I saw the movers pack up the vacuum and load it onto the truck.  I've searched high and low for a vacuum like the one we had back then, and have not been able to find one.  I did find one close to it, which I bought, and really like it, but it isn't the same.  Funny thing is I remember Mom's vacuum had a triangular shaped dusting brush.  Haven't seen another one like it since.  Here is a picture of the one I have now.  Very similar to what my Mom had.  All the tools are the same except for the dusting brush, and the tool caddy isn't removable.


Post# 233547 , Reply# 7   5/22/2013 at 10:08 (3,962 days old) by r2d2 ()        
Vacuum Parade

My mom has always been a terrible housekeeper. Her first vacuum was a Universal tank vac from the late 40's. My brothers filled the exhaust with rocks which caused it's early demise. It was replaced with an orange and creme Montgomery Wards vacuum in 1955, a totally worthless performer. Next came a Turquoise and white Westinghouse that worked great but the latch for the bag compartment repeatedly punctured the bag filling the motor compartment with dirt. Next up, a Regina Electron Broom. It was a valiant performer but repeated objects wrapping the fan took out the bearings. In 1966,Consumer Reports check rated a Sunbeam hat box model for $39.00 and man alive did it have suction. Running it without a bag was the beginning of it's demise. It's successor was a Montgomery Ward Eureka knockoff with Vibra Groomer. It was faithful if not lack luster. In 1971, I bought mom a rebuilt G which stemmed the flow of dead soldiers but mom continued to buy vacuums in the hope one of them would clean by itself. I remember numerous stick vacs trying to find one as good as the old Regina, a Regina Housekeeper, Eureka Bravo, 2 Dirt Devils and a Shark. Around 1990 the rebuilt G was replaced with an Electrolux Marquis, still in use. Of them all the most exciting experience was the Sunbeam, cheap but mighty. I tend to be the same with a revolving door of vacuums with a fall back to Electrolux every time. A couple years ago I made a switch to Miele as the daily driver and the cost of Thrift Store vacuums has made sucking around with other brands too expensive.

Post# 233554 , Reply# 8   5/22/2013 at 11:45 (3,962 days old) by dysondestijl (east midlands, UK)        

Great stories!
Ps tayyab as for the Henry, my cousin ruined it by using it for building work bagless and the DC01 we gave to my other auntie who threw it out, I think.


Post# 233556 , Reply# 9   5/22/2013 at 11:50 (3,962 days old) by Ultimatevacman ( Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK)        

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What kind of Henry was it George? :)

Post# 233579 , Reply# 10   5/22/2013 at 13:56 (3,962 days old) by dysondestijl (east midlands, UK)        

Had red writing and a power nozzle socket, very worn down hose cuff, can't remember if it had cord rewind, I think it did, so it was a 90's HVR200

Post# 233582 , Reply# 11   5/22/2013 at 14:02 (3,962 days old) by Ultimatevacman ( Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK)        

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Oh yes, I know which one you mean, thanks! Did it get thrown out?

Post# 233588 , Reply# 12   5/22/2013 at 14:30 (3,962 days old) by dysondestijl (east midlands, UK)        

I have no idea, it was in the shed, but then they moved out so it is probably still there

Post# 233643 , Reply# 13   5/22/2013 at 21:37 (3,962 days old) by d-jones (Pittsburgh)        
Filter Queen Model 31!

The only vacuum I remember growing up was a Filter Queen model 31 purchased new in 1975. I grew up in a two story house with five sisters and two brothers. The enormous back yard had numerous trees, but no ground cover like grass or ivy, so you can imagine the dirt we tracked in. The Filter Queen was beyond busy, pulled out of the downstairs hall closet several times a week for one thing or another, up and down the stairs(it even tumbled down the stairs once) and out to the gravel driveway on weekends to vacuum out the family truckster. It just keeps on going and has needed very little in the way of maintenance. I was so impressed with the way it's held up over the years that in honor of this venerable little vacuum I recently put together a two tone model 31 for myself.

Here's the one I grew up with sitting in the downstairs hall closet at my folks house where it's been kept for the last thirty eight years. It still works and is used regularly. That's even the original hose.


Post# 233679 , Reply# 14   5/23/2013 at 03:07 (3,961 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

For me a Kirby that was purchased in 1951 the year I was born-Was bought by my Mom and Dad during a Kirby "Van Campagn" in their area.My Dad used the vacuum to spray varnish on some wall panels in the basement of the house they in and Mom was angry that he got the new vacuum all messed up with the varnish-Dad took it right to the Kirby Co in Ohio-they lived there at the time-and had the machine refurbished.Dad then bought an air compressor from Sears to prevent messing the Kirby up again.
Later when my Dad remarried-my Stepmom had one of those "Wheelbarrow" Kenmore canistors that I liked.Both the old Kirby and the Kenmore were a good cleaning team-used them each week to vacuum my room.Both vacuums were lost in the Rapid City flood of '72.Dad bought a metal Royal upright-my Stepmom didn't like it-she went to Sears and bought a Panasonic style canister with powernozzle.They have now moved into an assited living home-don't know what happened to the vacuums.Don't know if they took them to the new place or gave them away.They gave away a lot of their things when they moved to the assisted living apartment.


Post# 233724 , Reply# 15   5/23/2013 at 14:21 (3,961 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)        

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Growing up out in the country , not a lot of homes around in the 60s, my brother and I had chores, his was outside mine inside, clean and cook, at like age 7? My Compact I used to use as a step ladder, so so many times, I bet I still could, that sucker is strong. I am still horrible outside with plants, I have a black thumb.I tell everyone he is the homo that does decorating and art, I am the cook, clean and repair model. yes, we both are.

Post# 233726 , Reply# 16   5/23/2013 at 14:26 (3,961 days old) by Electrolux137 (Los Angeles)        

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.
.

I have an approximately 21,000-word story about my "sweeper memories." I can post it if anyone wants to slog through it!

(I also love reading other people's vacuum cleaner memories and hope more members will post them.)



Post# 233732 , Reply# 17   5/23/2013 at 14:49 (3,961 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)        

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Yours are the best too Charles

Post# 233754 , Reply# 18   5/23/2013 at 18:15 (3,961 days old) by superj (cos cob,ct)        

post it charles! i love reading those stories

Post# 233770 , Reply# 19   5/23/2013 at 22:07 (3,961 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)        

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Growing up we always had Kenmore Power Mate canisters and I was fascinated with them. My mother had a green one from the 1970s, and then a tan MOL one she bought in about 1982-83. We have a photo of me pulling it around the house. Since I liked vacuums so much, I got a few vacuum toys. One was blue and looked like a Hoover Convertible. I also had a Dirt Devil toy upright, but I sucked up a piece of cereal with the hose and broke the fan so we took it back to the store. I felt bad about it. The store was out of them and no other stores we called had them in stock, so we didn't get another. I also had a Dirt Devil toy hand vac for many years that I later sold at a yard sale. I think it may have been bought to replace the broken upright.

My grandmother had a Hoover Concept One self propelled from about 1981, and a Singer Silver Glide canister from the 1970s. When she moved again, she got a Hoover Elite Supreme in hunter green and kept the Singer in the coat closet. She gave my mom the Concept One. When I was visiting, I would get out the Singer and put it together and we would talk about vacuums. I remember being interested in all of the vacuums on the back page of the manual as well. One time I was explaining her Hoover Elite's attachments to family who were visiting. LOL


Post# 233839 , Reply# 20   5/24/2013 at 05:28 (3,960 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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On top of my earlier post regarding my Mums Panasonic/Kirby drama, one of the strongest memories I have is of my grandma's Electrolux 610. Thankfully for me, my Dad has a pretty good memory and remembers both my Grandma's Hoover Constellation and Electroulx 502 prior to the 610. My Grandad was a bin man and used to find allsorts of treasures on his rounds - the Constellation was a bin find, or so I'm told.

My Grandma got her 610, in her own words, "when the first came out" being the first domestic upright in the UK with on board tools, so she must have bought this around 85/86. It was ALWAYS stood against the back wall behind the kitchen door and next to the coats and shoes in the utility room - it was the first thing you'd see when you walked in the back door. In the early 90's, it was accompanied by a Goblin Aquavac although I don't remember this ever being used for dry vacuuming in the house - mainly just for shampooing and vacuuming the car.

By the end of the 610's life in 1997, the bag door release had broken and was held together first with celotape and later with one of those elsatic bin lid thingys, the handle release had broken, the height adjuster was stuck on low making it almost impossible to use on thick carpet and meant that it went through belts like most people go through underwear, the top cord hook had snapped off and the hose was split in several places and secured with duct tape. It finally died a death in summer 97 and was replaced with a Dyson DC01, the first of 5 Dyson's that my Grandma has broken.


Post# 234167 , Reply# 21   5/27/2013 at 07:06 (3,957 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

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That story did make me chuckle Chris.

11-12 years isn't too bad I suppose, especially in comparison with the length of time the Dysons lasted.



Post# 234169 , Reply# 22   5/27/2013 at 07:15 (3,957 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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Indeed. Bare in mind, Jamie, my grandma still does and always has vacuumed twice a day, everyday, just over a decade isn't bad. She's currently on her fifth Dyson, although this has now been superseded by a George as my Grandma now has a mixture of wood floors and carpets downstairs, meaning the Dyson is only used upstairs where the dogs don't go.

She bought a DC01 in 1997. That died about 99/2000 and was replaced with a DC04 Silver Lime that she had until 2005 and then got a DC07. This lasted just over a year and was replaced in late 2006 DC15 (the first "ball" cleaner). She never got on with The Ball and ended up snapping the thing in 2 (she's rather rough with them). It was replaced with the DC27 in 2010.


Post# 234170 , Reply# 23   5/27/2013 at 07:21 (3,957 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

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"She never got on with The Ball and ended up snapping the thing in 2 (she's rather rough with them)." Now, now Chris this is a family forum!!

As for the Lux, that is very good for the amount of use it got.

I never used to fully understand people vacuuming twice a day until we moved from a house with expencive carpets into our current one, with paper thin carpets which show up every bloody crumb. My poor TP1000 is being used 2-3 times a day now.



Post# 234171 , Reply# 24   5/27/2013 at 07:26 (3,957 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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I've always found it excessive. My Grandma has ALWAYS had dogs and yet if there is so much as a spec of hair on the carpet, she feels the need to vacuum. If you're going to get a pet, you need to be prepared for the mess.

I have pretty cheap carpets and a lot haired cat, but I don't vacuum more than a few times a week. Infact, it's now Monday and I don't think I've vacuumed since Thursday.


Post# 234172 , Reply# 25   5/27/2013 at 07:31 (3,957 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

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Shame on you Chris, shame on you.



Post# 234173 , Reply# 26   5/27/2013 at 07:34 (3,957 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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Jamie, I have a life, you know! I work full time, have friends and family to see and a house to sort out! I clean up as and when it needs doing.

Post# 234271 , Reply# 27   5/27/2013 at 22:02 (3,957 days old) by vacuumman206 ()        

My old house, the one I grew up in 15 years ago, saw many vacuums. When purchased by my then-married parents in 1990, my mom came to the house with a Hoover she says must have been an elite, and she bought a Dirt Devil can vac for the upstairs. My dad had a panasonic she said had to be thrown out because it stunk and didn't work. Around the time I was born her Hoover died and was replaced with a turquoise Hoover Runabout. Somewhere in there she bought a BOL Legacy for the basement area rugs. That was a machine I got to use when the machine became my dad's when they divorced in 97'. It lasted till 2001. In 1994 my mom bought a(now mine)Eureka Bravo 85th anniversary edition from a tv sale because she needed something stronger than the canister and something with a brushroll. Coincidentally, the canister stopped working around the time she wanted to replace it, and it became my toy. Shortly after, the Runabout burnt up and was replaced with a Singer poweramp, which was used up till 2000 in our current home when my mom decided she didn't need 2 vacuums. Not long after buying the Poweramp, my mom got tired of the Bravo and bought a rather expensive Panasonic, which she later came to hate too.I Still have that) The Eureka was sent to my dad's office where it sat barely used but non-the-less abused until he gave it to me in 2003.In 2002 the Panasonic was replaced with a Bissell, which lasted till 2010. At my dad's, when he moved into a bigger house in 2001, the Legacy came along, along with a new Dirt Devil Vision. The legacy died not long after, and was replaced by a Bissell Lift away which he still has and uses. The Vision died 3 years later and he bought a Windtunnel supreme, which he also still has but no one uses. When I was given the Bravo, it spent some time as a main vacuum at my dad's house probably until he got the windtunnel. The can vac mysteriously started working a couple years after it stopped, and we still use it today for heavy dusting every couple months. Same goes for the Eureka, I still have it, along with it's very very beat up twin my grandma bought at the same time. My dad also still has his craftsman shop vac he bought in the early 90's too.

Post# 234430 , Reply# 28   5/29/2013 at 00:39 (3,956 days old) by kirbytradition7 (Denver (Aurora), CO, USA)        
Kirby Tradition--my childhood family vacuum

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I grew up with a Kirby Tradition. One day, one of my older siblings answered the door--there was a Kirby salesman. He got in the door before Mom knew what hit her. He talked and sucked her into buying the whole Kirby Tradition kit and kaboodle--he even spread dirt on her floor and sucked it up! She remembers spending over $1000 on it (it was sometime between 1979 and 1981, the Tradition model run). I remember she had the Rug Renovator and everything else (I don't remember if we had the Handi-Butler though). She kept all the attachments in a big yellow vinyl carrier (with pockets on it) she had slung over the back of the rear foyer door, and the hose draped over that. I remember she always used the Tradition in upright mode; I never saw any of the attachments being used. In my junior high and high school and college years, I took over using the Kirby once every fortnight on house cleaning duty, to clean the entire 2-story, 14-room ex-funeral home we lived in in Garrett, IN, just north of Fort Wayne. It took all day to vacuum and dust the house. In its latter years of life, our Tradition was beginning to wear out, and always sounded like a jet engine. Looking back, I think I didn't use it with the rug nozzle all the way down (like it should be)--it was harder to push that way (I was just a sub-90-pound skeleton of a boy then, a weakling, even in my high school and university years). Plus, my dust allergy was aggravated every time I used it, to the point where I wore surgical masks. The Tradition was finally retired in 1998, traded in on a new green Sharp Twin Power upright with HEPA filtration (which greatly helped me with my dust allergy). The vacuum shop owner, in Auburn, IN, added it to his shop's antique vacuum cleaner display!

Recently, I have found a good used Kirby Tradition at Newby's Vacuums here in Calgary, Alberta. It works great, and I use it every Sunday to clean up the grotty Sunday school room carpet in my church's borrowed building. I am now hunting down as many accessories as I can find for it; I now have the blue plastic attachment box, with a Suds-O-Gun, an extra belt, and the air intake guard. There is much more for me to find out there somewhere--a hose, portable handle, attachments, etc, that I need to find that are correct for the model's period.

kirbytradition7



Post# 234432 , Reply# 29   5/29/2013 at 01:59 (3,956 days old) by ned_flanders ()        

I grew up with a few vacuums. We had an 80's Eureka canister that was grey and black like that green rotomatic model that a lot of you guys like and collect. It said 'Quiet Kleen' on it, and I was always amused because it didn't seem quiet to me at all. It was used a lot and eventually the hose was all taped up and got replaced by one of those wonderful Eureka worldvac uprights in a beautiful emerald green. Most of you know those have problems. We went through 2 of them and the 2nd one blew up and caught fire. My dad tried taking that one to a vac shop and that didn't do much. Then we went through 2 kenmore canisters that did the job for about 15 years, but eventually they wore out. They're now on a Dyson (I don't like it). They sadly got rid of all the old vacuums, but they were in pretty bad shape.

Grandma had a rainbow. She died recently, and there's a chance I might be able to get it. I remember finding it in her closet while playing hide-n-seek, and being a little afraid of it, not knowing what it was. I never saw her use it and I wonder how often it was used.


Post# 234442 , Reply# 30   5/29/2013 at 08:51 (3,955 days old) by kenkart ()        
We had...

First Mother bought a 815 GE the first swivel top, it was used until 66 when she got another GE ,which was not anything like as good as the first one, then a Dial A Matic in 69, a 1140, then a Celebrity Powermatic in the late 70s...which is the main reason I dont collect Hoovers to any great extent, it cleaned great, but I wanted a SuperJ which Mother wouldnt buy because she thought 379.00 was outrageous!LOL..." But she bought that first GE in 52, and it was 99.95!!!!

Post# 234464 , Reply# 31   5/29/2013 at 13:37 (3,955 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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My mother started out with a Kenmore round canister bought in 1956. The top flipped open and the paper bag pushed onto the spout. She was talked into buying a Compact C-4 in 1958, and they put the Kenmore in the basement. She got a Rainbow in 1962 (the year I was born) - and that's the cleaner I remember the best. I talked my aunt into buying a Model G Electrolux (bronze) when I was six years old and she gave me her 'old' Automatic F, which I promptly took apart, rewired, and popped all the circuit breakers with. After taking it the Lux office to be repaired, I was told 'don't touch it again'. I immediately took it apart again, but this time got it wired correctly. I've been working on vacuums ever since.

Post# 234479 , Reply# 32   5/29/2013 at 15:58 (3,955 days old) by mjm0424 (Chicago suburbs)        
vacuum memories

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In 1947,my mother bought my grandmother a 116 brown Kenmore Birtman upright,for Mother's day. Guess who did the vacuuming-not my grandmother. I guess mom got sick of pushing the the old carpet sweeper.I still have this machine,the only thing I've had to replace was the cord.Around 1966, somehow the handle fork cracked,I remember going to a vacuum shop on east 79th st.in Chicago,with my dad, to get another one.He also brought home a very dirty 1963 Kenmore upright,that was used to vacuum the Beverly country club.At the time we lived in a two story house.Mother wanted one for each level,so she wouldn't have to lug the Kenmore up,& down the stairs.The 63'was very tempermental.I remember it being in the shop,to fix the tricky handle mechanisim.After she was widowed,my grandmother moved in with us until the house was sold a a year or so later.She brought her Hoover 29 that never failed her,& the 63 Kenmore went to goodwill.In 1975 mom bought a new dial a matic,the 29 went in the basement till I moved out,& got it.

Post# 234666 , Reply# 33   5/31/2013 at 16:57 (3,953 days old) by SUPER-SWEEPER (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)        
Here's the long line of my Family's vacuums...

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Let's start with my Grandmother in the 60s, She and her husband had a cute little ranch house finished in 1960, that was built for them by a contractor. I believe back then she said she had a Kenmore canister, I want to say it was a lady kenmore in pink, or maybe a commander or Kenkart, I'm not sure. From there on, I believe the next vacuum came around in the 70s or sometime, when she bought a Rainbow (A D series, I belive) and the Kenmore was donated. Well, sometime in the 90s she let my Mother borrow it, and she left it sitting with water in the pan, and... Well you know what happens then, :D

Mother than bought my Grandmother a Fantom Cyclone XT as a replacement, You'll learn what happens to it later on. The Cyclone XT died in it's explained tragedy below, and I (Being born in 1999), was put in charge of selecting a Wal*Mart vacuum (This had to be in 2005). I was rushed, as we had to go and pick up my sister from Pre-K, And I decided on a Blue Eureka "The-Boss", I'll include a picture. This vacuum has likely been used less than 2-3 dozen times, and has sat in the closet while all my other cleaners were of more interest to me. We still have it, like new.

On my Mother's side, A nighbor friend donated her an old Kirby Classic III (With a Classic Brown bag) way back when, and some of her pets (She had gerbils and bunnies and what-not) Apparently chewed a hole in the bag. When my parents married in 1993, Dad came along with his Singer "Singer-System" in grey, and the Kirby was sent to my Grandmother's house, and stowed away in the attic. Dad had that signer since he first moved out and into an apartment, and ofcourse the bag was also chewed by pets, plus the fan busted (If I can recall correctly). The singer got replaced around the same time as Grandma's (Now rusted-out) Rainbow, around 1998 I believe. The singer was replaced by a Fantom thunder, which switch busted and was replaced with one in the cord. This also died the same way Grandma's Cyclone XT went. When the thunder met it's match, It was replaced by a Bissell powerforce bagless.

Unfourtunately, my parents later split, and when dad moved and re-married, his new bride had a Hoover Soft & Lite, And I'm %99 sure the Bissell was given away to his new bride's sister. The Hoover later was trashed due to a busted impeller fan. I was then tasked with it's replacement, and made the quite smart (Especially considering I was likely 8 or 9) Choice of a Eureka The-Boss smart-vac, which lasted until My new stepmom called into a Radio station, and I got a $150 or so coupon for a purchase at the Sears Refurbishment store. I narrowed the choices down to a Red Kenmore Progressive, and Older 90s Kenmore canister in white, and a Hoover savvy. I decided on the Red Kenmore, which we still have and is in quite regular use, although it is quite beat-up and dilapidated (Plastic clips busted,Etc). The Eureka The-Boss Smart-Vac was given to me, and some "Friend" We used to know borrowed it and a Bissel my Farther's Dad gave me, Without asking me permission, and returned the Eureka with an odd, high-pitched sound, The Bissell with no cord, and an 90s Kenmore Canister, With NO back wheels, and a frozen power-nozzle motor. I wasn't happy.

Now, onto the explanation of the Fantom's unfourtunate implosion:

When we where moving out of our house, likely 2004, Dad had the bright idea of using The Fantom Thunder with CARET FRESH! OH NO! Which of course, burnt out the motor before he could finish the living room. He then borrowed Grandma's Cyclone XT, Which also died off before completing the living room. The solution came when the Kirby Classic III was released from the attic, the hole in the bag was covered with a plastic grocery bag, and mussled trough the whole house and CARPET FRESH without a problem.

I later continued to use the Classic III, with the same plastic bag patch in place @ my Grandma's house, and although the bag was continually repaired thanks to my Dad's sewing skills, It continued to randomly burst from time-to-time.

Back to my Mom's side, we moved into a rental house down the street from Grandma's, and guess what the landlord left us?

A HOOVER caddy-vac style cleaner, with a cool red see-trough bag (Funny part- I remember taking the Thing to Grandma's for the night, and sucked up some scrambled eggs in the house, LOL).

And...

A RAINBOW E SERIES!

The Hoover was mainly used, I don't think mom liked tolling with the water filtering rainbow, and didn't want to break it like last time...

The Economy completely failed misserably then, and mom was out of a job.
We ended up moving into Grandma's 1960 Ranch house, which for the last 20 years was a rental property, as the house was too much for Grandma to keep up with, especially since we had a barn and an acre or 2 of land!

Grandma and the Landlord became good friends, with Grandma being in charge of collecting rent. The landlord lived in Virginia, and took his Hoover back with him, and Left the E-series with Grandma for a few years. He later took it back to Virginia, and I think he left the aqua-mate, But I know he left the power-nozzle manual. I remember trying to use the aqua-mate on the backyard patio, LOL.

I took the Kirby and some other machines to the 1960 house, and Mom tossed out the Kirby (I think what happened was I took the brushroll head off, and mom considered it junk). I still have the head. Ironically, she did the opposite for another kirby, I left the head off, and mom threw out the head. I managed to combine the classic III head and heritage body to make a functional kirby, and the heritage did not receive a proper head until late 2012 I believe.

I used to be able to find awesome vacuums in the trash, I recall a red Eureka, a Blue Early oreck (70s maybe), and a Bissel powerforce turbo, and a Bissell power-partner type (Singer designed). The Eureka was tossed due to me not knowing about belts, and smelly bags, the oreck was tossed becuase i didn't know about bags, and the Bissell (Singer one) was tossed because I didn't know how to replace an impeller fan.

I'll leave it off at this, let me know if i can be of further assistance.
-Alex.


Post# 235056 , Reply# 34   6/3/2013 at 17:15 (3,950 days old) by director12 ()        

I had a Hoover Convertible Soft & Light growing up. Performed like an Elite, and lasted unti 2006 or 2007. I also had a bagless twin-chamber Hoover from 2000 up until 2003.

Post# 235104 , Reply# 35   6/4/2013 at 01:46 (3,950 days old) by Electrolux137 (Los Angeles)        

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I am working on my "Sweeper Obsession" story... I am doing a major rewrite-rework of it with lots of stuff I've never written about. And it seems the more I write, the more the memories come pouring forth from the cobwebbed recesses of my mind. It's going to be long but I hope fun to read and worth the wait!


Post# 235133 , Reply# 36   6/4/2013 at 12:14 (3,949 days old) by jfalberti (Visalia, CA)        
Can't wait for it

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Hi Charles. Can't wait to read it. I love reading your stories..

Post# 284759 , Reply# 37   6/15/2014 at 16:54 (3,573 days old) by fantomfan57 (Central Texas)        
Mom's Vacuum

The only ones I remember were The Aqua Westinghouse canister and the small portable GE gray vacuum. I still have the Westinghouse, but sold the GE. The Westinghouse probably isn't interesting to anyone else because I repainted the top loosing the gray band that read WESTINGHOUSE and the Logo. Otherwise it runs perfectly, has the attachments and a huge supply of Glamorene Bags. However, if anyone is interested in the Westinghouse, I will supply pictures and let you make an offer.

Garreth


Post# 284923 , Reply# 38   6/16/2014 at 17:38 (3,572 days old) by SeamusUK (Dover Kent UK)        
My Earliest Memory??

Hi Guys
This is the model I have the earliest memories of- Imagine the memories finding this on Ebay brought back!
Seamus


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Post# 285473 , Reply# 39   6/19/2014 at 21:10 (3,569 days old) by VacuumSalesman (Berlin Heights)        
The Funniest Kirby Memory

When I was about Three, the latest Kirby I think was either the G7 or the G6. I lived in Milan, Ohio and in the evening a Kirby Saleslady came to our house.
My mom told her that she couldn't come in because I would go nuts. The saleslady persisted that she come in and my mom kept refusing. But I got to the door and saw it and my mom told the lady that she wouldn't get it back. Since my Aunt had a G5 and my Grandma had a G4 I already knew how to use the vacuum. I took it a part and put it together, used the hoses and attachments and finally I passed out while using it. It was 2 o'clock in the morning when I was done, and the saleslady was gone. My mom set the Kirby out on our porch for the lady to pick up in the morning. I do remember though that a little girl across the street tried to run up to our house to take it since she thought it was a play vacuum that we were throwing away. It was pretty funny.


Post# 330819 , Reply# 40   8/2/2015 at 21:52 (3,160 days old) by vacuumlad1650 (Wauponsee, IL)        

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Say Charles, we still want to see that 'Vacuum Story' of yours!

Post# 330835 , Reply# 41   8/3/2015 at 11:19 (3,159 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)        

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My earliest memories of vacuum cleaners were of my parents' pink and gray Lewyt canister. It looked like a fat fire hydrant. It was the main vacuum in the house until the early '70s when they got a tan and green "Brady Bunch" Hoover Convertible. My maternal grandmother had a yellow Hoover Constellation. I remember liking the spherical shape but don't remember much more about it and I have no idea what became of it.

My dad's parents had a 1950s vintage Electrolux--an LXI, I think--that they used right up until the end. My grandmother died in 1993 and it was still in service when my grandfather went into assisted living in 1998. This is no doubt where my affinity for Electrolux began. There was also an ancient, 1930s vintage Hoover upright in the basement but I never remember seeing it being used. I have no idea what happened to either of these machines, either.

Sometime when I was a teenager, Dad brought home a 1205 that a neighbor had put out on the curb. It was just the canister, the hose, and the two-sided rug and floor nozzle. The woven hose apparently leaked badly because it had very little suction at the nozzle end. I wish I knew then what I know now, but alas, that one also got away. Nonetheless, Dad still insists the 1205 I have now is that one. He doesn't remember getting my 1205 at a thrift store in 2004.

Nobody in my family ever owned a Kirby but my affinity for them goes back to when I was about nine or ten years old and Mom let a Kirby salesman demonstrate a Classic Omega in our living room. I think it was cheap entertainment for her to listen to sales pitches, collect free samples and show them the door without buying anything. I was fascinated by how it could be reconfigured so many different ways and I hoped they'd buy one but being ever frugal, they got the aforementioned Hoover Convertible instead. Interestingly, my elementary school had the same model Kirby. It lived in the library, which was the only carpeted space in the school. I always wanted to go take it apart but never had the opportunity. Knowing what I know now about Kirby's business model, I have to wonder how they ended up with that machine. I seriously doubt it was purchased on a low-bid government contract. It would be almost 40 years before I got my own Kirby--a G6 that somebody left beside a dumpster in the apartment complex where I lived.

And the rest, as they say, is history.


Post# 330838 , Reply# 42   8/3/2015 at 12:14 (3,159 days old) by gsheen (Cape Town South Africa)        

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Mine was watching my Grans House keeper vacuum the long red carpet that ran from the backdoor to the front door over the wooden floor.

She would use my Grans Electrolux 404 to vacuum. I loved how the bag blew up and the Electrolux logo printed all over it.

It took me 20 years of searching to find a Electrolux 404

Then she would roll uo the long carpet into a huge roll and bring out the Columbus B11 polisher to polish the wooden floors.


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Post# 333408 , Reply# 43   9/7/2015 at 02:02 (3,125 days old) by BrianKirbyClass (Eudora Kansas)        

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My Vac story begins in around 1969 when i was about 4. My Grandma had an Electrolux Model E, that had been converted to use a PN 1, when they came out. The salesman came to the house and put a blue cord on the Model E hose, with the blue straps and put a little PN outlet near the right front wheel, and sold Grandma the PN1. One day my Dad took me to Grandma's for her to babysit me. She was using the Lux, and said i was scared to death of it. She had to show me what it was, and after that, she said i have been in love with Vacuums ever since. Other grandma had a Kiry, with basic attcments and kit.

My mother (who HATES vacuum cleaners with a passion and considers then nothing more than a glorified trash can) first had a blue Eureka Stick Vac from early to mid 60s.She also later got a Hoover Connie, Yellow and Taupe color. In 1972 my parents built a new home. I dreamed of having Central Vac or a new Electrolux 1205 with PN.
Unfortunatly for me, my mother specifically went to buy the new vacuum for the new house WITHOUT ME. And, came home with a Hoover Dial a Matic Powerdrive. No attachments. It turned out to be a dust belching mess that i HATED.
A favorite neighbor lady had a Wards/Eureka Princess with the Vibra Beat, and eventially got an Oreck 4000 and finally Kenmore Central Vac, with early 70s PN,,i was absolutely in LOVE with it, and she was nice enough to let me use it often. ( i was just a pesky neighborhood kid)


A move across the country a year later left me very unhappy, having to leave all friends and family and fun vacuums behind. No more Grandmas Aunties,or neighbors with their Kirby, Lux or PNs,or Central Vacs. (We moved to a run down former army base with barracks type housing. Every house was exactly the same, and NO carpet. So, no vacuums, only dust mops and waxers)

Then one day a post card came from Grandma with the Kirby. On the front of the card was a BRAND NEW Electrolux 50th Anniversary model Golden J Deluxe! ( Deluxe means WITH Power Nozzle, i was told by an old Lux salesman once)

I nearly cried i was so excited that MY Grandma had a NEW ELECTROLUX!!! And I would be using it soon,,as we were going back for vacation in a few months.

Long story short - The new Golden J was more wonderful than i could have ever imagined. I used it whenever i visited for the next 20 years that Grandma lived. I bought her a new hose for it in 1987.
Grandma with the Lux Model E let me have it, and i got her a newer Lux Silverado 1997. She used it until 2012 when she went to the rest home. I have all of Grandmas vacs in my personal collection now.

As for Mom and her Connie and DAM. The Connie went to the trash man in early 80s. Was shooting fire out of the exhaust.
Im 1984,after belching dust for over 12 yrs, the Dam finally started to whine, and the handle was so loose you were affraid to use it for fear of it taking off for the moon! I took the old Dam and traded it for a use Rainbow D2, with PN. We still had the 70s thick gold shag carpet at the time. You wouldnt believe the 100s and 100s of Rainbow water pans of THICK MUD i emptied. It took 100s and 100s of times of going over with the Rainbow until the water stopped being so dirty, but it finally did. Our carpet never looked so good! (Sorry Hoover. Not meaning to bash, but that DAM just didnt work right)

Mom eventually got an Electolux Discovery 3, and used it for many many years. I still have the Rainbow. She reciently bought a Sears orange cannister with PN, but pays someone to clean her house. STILL HATES VACUUMS!!


Post# 333441 , Reply# 44   9/7/2015 at 16:59 (3,124 days old) by vacuumlover (UK)        

Seeing how the thread has been rehashed I might as well have my input on it!

This ones going to be a long one!

This ones a little fuzzy but here it goes ~

I remember my mum having a DirtDevil upright,it was blue,I must of been about 2 or 3 at the time I always remember pushing it about (when it was off) and seeing my mum pushing it into the living room and as she unwound the cord I would quickly scurry off.

I also rememberer once I was sat in a dining chair and my brother "terrorized" me with it :P I would start screaming and I remember my mum and grandma being in the kitchen then grandma came storming in telling him off.

Next one ~

I remember when my mums DirtDevil burnt out that she replaced it with a Lux Cyclonic Lite and I remember being ill in bed and hearing her vacuuming with it in the living room,oh how its groaning brushroll fulfilled the whole house :)

T'other ~ (2nd favorite)

I was probably about 5 - 6 at the time, and I remember that at my grandmas,while my mum would natter away with her, I would go and "snoop" around and I was absolutely fascinated by this beautiful Lux standing proudly there in the cupboard, I would just stand and stare at it for a good 5 mins. Why I don't know! And to this day,it still sits in the exact same place.

Another ~

I'll mix these two together ~ (I was 11)

It was a cold day heading up the road to school,there was what must of been a Sebo or at least a very commercial looking vacuum, dumped outside someones home and unfortunately I wasn't into collecting then thus leaving it,and when I came back, it was destroyed :(

I vaidly remember all these Sebos under the stair,loads of them! All over the place,all standing there proudly.

Last one ~ (My No~1 favorite!)

This one was back in 2011 sometime in late November to be exact,my grandma just came home from the hospital, and she was too ill and knackered to vacuum up, so I used her Lux (Don't know its model number,but picture will follow) The very first time I ever used it. Its belt was stretched but it still groaned :)

Sorry for wittering on but those are about all of what I can remember. There is another one but I won't witter on anymore.


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Post# 333589 , Reply# 45   9/9/2015 at 13:04 (3,122 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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that's a very unusual Lux. It has the same colour of the z1055 and z1070, but the earlier Twin Turbo logo from the z1010 and z1020, but in the wrong place. It also doesn't have a bag full indicator, which I've never seen before.

Emma, if you could next time you get the chance, could you take a snap of the ratings sticker? I'd be interested to see where this fits in the line up.


Post# 333594 , Reply# 46   9/9/2015 at 15:27 (3,122 days old) by vacuumlad1650 (Wauponsee, IL)        

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When do we get that story, Charles?

Post# 333598 , Reply# 47   9/9/2015 at 15:44 (3,122 days old) by vacuumlover (UK)        
@Turbo500

I could try. I might try pestering her for me to use it :P

Post# 377382 , Reply# 48   8/28/2017 at 18:02 (2,403 days old) by buster1849 (-)        
That takes me back

By the time I was 6 we had alot of vacuums. A 2003-05 bissell cleanview bagless powertrak,a 2006 oreck electrik broom,a 2007 Hoover floormate, 2 sanitares from the early 2000's,a 2003 Riccar 8850,a 2007 bissell healthy home,and a 2009 eureka quick-up. Those were some fun memories. We also had a euro-pro bagless stick shark from 2004 that was a huge POS. It was $40 from HSN so what did my mom expect? I was a baby when it was new and at first I was sad when the cord broke and it got thrown away in fall 2008 but looking back on how horrid it was I am glad I don't have it anymore. The bissell healthy home and the 2 sanitares broke because my dad manhandles everything. He doesn't know you are not supposed to stomp on a vacuum when it does not work. The Riccar 8850 got scrapped because it was in terrible condition and since stupid little kid me never cleaned the filters on the cleanview it had W.M.S and I cleaned it earlier this year and the vacuum died a month later.

Post# 380411 , Reply# 49   10/29/2017 at 15:07 (2,341 days old) by cocobird5 (Laguna Hills)        

I remember my parents having an Electrolux with sliders on it in the 50s. I thought it was cool looking, and it lasted forever.

I was married in 1966, and we bought a Hoover constellation. I loved the round shape of it, and it lasted for a long time too.

A few years later, we bought a house that had shag carpeting. A Kirby rep came to the door, and my husband thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. It worked very well on the shag but it was very heavy. We gave the Hoover to my parents, who had it for another 20 years.

After the divorce, I used a Bissell sweeper for a long time. The Kirby stayed in the house with my ex and the shag.


Post# 380421 , Reply# 50   10/29/2017 at 20:23 (2,341 days old) by kirby519 (Wisconsin)        

One of mine is my grandmothers Kirby 519 hence my screen name. I loved to play with it. Before I could even read the instructions in the book. I could set the vacuum up like any picture in the book. Didn't hurt that my grandmother was very well adept with it. I remember the weekend she did it in. Grandma insisted that she use it long enough that day to vacuum under the beds in their room. She ended up catching the bag on the corner of the bed frame and tore a hole in the bag. I nearly had a heart attack. I was 5 at the time and that was how I got love and attention. At least in my mind. Grandma came to the rescue with a roll of tape to patch the hole in the bag to get us though the weekend. Needless to say I couldn't vacuum to the extent that I other wise would have. Grandma promised to have the vacuum working good as new by the next weekend.

She was true to her word. I didn't ask about the vacuum until we got back to their house after Friday night fish fry and grocery shopping. When I did ask about it she replied "go look in the closet". I went to the closet in the sewing room where the vacuum was kept Grandma following close behind. When I opened the closet door I found a new Kirby Classic staring out at me. I looked at Grandma with disappointment and said" I thought you were going to get ours fixed!" I'm confident that my Grandmother was standing there thinking. I just spent $350.00 on a new vacuum for you to entertain us and yourself with and your not happy. She then went on to say. "If you think you like the old one you are really going to like this one even better. The only changes from the old one to this new one is the head is wider, It has a more powerful two speed motor and the on off switch is now on the back of the vacuum instead of on the side. Other than that you set this new one up like the old one. I have the book for this one if you want see it. This one can do things the other one couldn't if you have the attachments for it.

She was right. It took me all of 10 minutes to make friends with the new one. Grandma and Grandpa are now gone. But I still have the Kirby she bought for us.


Post# 380438 , Reply# 51   10/30/2017 at 14:22 (2,340 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)        
That is a touching story, Steve.

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Perhaps you should send that story, along with photos to the Kirby Company.They might love to hear something like that.
John


Post# 380667 , Reply# 52   11/4/2017 at 19:06 (2,335 days old) by kirby519 (Wisconsin)        

@gottahaveahoover That's not a bad idea to submit the story to Kirby.

Grandma did in the bag on my new Kirby about 12 years later. The Grandparents retired to their property about 2 hours away in 1977. They bought a mobile home and added an addition to the side of the trailer. The addition was the new living room and her sewing room. To keep the cost of heating the dwelling down a wood stove was used to for heating. Got to say that wood stove felt good after a shower or coming in from a cold Wisconsin winter day.

I was there for a weekend and did my usual honey do list for my aging grandmother. Our rolls changed over the years. Early on I cleaned the middles and she did the edges. By this time I was doing the edges along with the middle when I was there. All went well that weekend and I parked my vacuum after completing my "honey do list". About 3 weeks later I went up for the weekend again. As usual I had a list waiting for me of areas to clean with my Kirby. I went to the sewing room closet to find that once again there was tape wrapped around the bag of the vacuum.

We met up in the living room as I was getting ready to get started on the current honey do list and looked at Grandma and looked down at the vacuum and asked "what happened this time?" with a grin on my face.

She replied "Take it from the voice of experience what ever you do be careful around that wood stove" Now at this point we had been vacuuming around the wood stove for 7 to 8 years with no major malfunctions. The ash pan on the wood stove had been emptied and therefore a few ashes and small chunks of unburned wood fell on the stove board. Knowing this Grandma went on to do some other things and let things around the stove "cool off". Upon return and thinking things had cooled off went on to clean up around the stove. Lo and behold those chunks of unburned wood still held enough heat that when blown in the bag. Burnt a couple of holes in the bag.

I put on a big grin after hearing this and reminded her that all I ever use the vacuum for is to clean the concrete garage floor. (This done with the first Kirby) and clean the ash trays in the car. (This done with the new one.) My grandfather took the heat for both of those incidents. Grandma knew who really did it. I then went on to say "You keep putting holes in the bag on my vacuum rendering it useless until it can be fixed. Grandma then put on a smile and laughed. Her reply was "Look at it this way. Both times it appended I did it" And besides I'm the one that will have to pay to have it repaired or buy a new one." She then asked if we needed to think about a new vacuum or if I still like this one. I answered "I still like this one but would like it better with a new bag." She agreed she would like much better with a new bag too. Once again true to her word Grandma had my vacuum working good as new by the next trip there.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO kirby519's LINK


Post# 380780 , Reply# 53   11/6/2017 at 14:12 (2,333 days old) by Real1shep (Walla Walla, WA)        

I don't really have a childhood story of vacs...other than observing them in use; Rexair and a big Hoover. When I really started using them was in college. I bought a pink Hoover on sale that didn't have a light and the snap button bag. John told me what model that was.....I never understood why it didn't have the light...lol. I used to have a reloading room and my mother-in-law decided that it needed vacuuming. She went in there with my Hoover and started vacuuming up live primers that had fallen off the table. That was interesting when they started going off...lol! I ran in there just in time to see the fireworks/light show. I rebuilt that vac a couple of times.

 

Then we bought a farm in western WA...the rainy side. Still had the Hoover but my mother-in-law being a diehard Elux customer, gave us her old G to use.  That was my first Elux and I was hooked. Still, I liked the roar of the old Hoover from college. Rebuilt it the second time. Came in to lunch one day and a strange lady was in the living room and everyone looked a bit sheepish. She was the Electrolux salesperson and it was an ambush. I made her do her whole demo again. She did the four steel ball trick and the G almost pulled up the forth ball. Then she vacuumed up the wood stove ashes, which was CRAZY. Out gunned, I bought the new Diamond J and accessories for like $1,300 back around '84.....and she took my Hoover....I never got over that, as I had just rebuilt it the second time. I told her to keep the demo model with the fireplace ash, as she could burn down someone else's place.

 

Soooo...that started me on the road to rack & ruin with Elux.... 

 

Kevin

 

Post# 380820 , Reply# 54   11/7/2017 at 02:28 (2,332 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

I have a reloading area,too-haven't used it in a while.Ammo has gotten less expensive for some calibers-so the reloading doesn't get used like it used to-and ammo makers are offering bullets that you had to reload to use-now they are standard-IE Barnes bullets are now factory loaded by Remington and Federal.But-yes vacuuming my reload area with my M1 and a Kirby-the live primers make a nice loud BANG!!!when picked up in a direct air vacuum!Esp shotgun primers!

Post# 380931 , Reply# 55   11/8/2017 at 10:46 (2,331 days old) by Real1shep (Walla Walla, WA)        

Yeah, I haven't reloaded for yrs. I have stored all my powders well though, in case I start again. But the majority of my gun collection was sold long ago. I've got dies I'll never use again. I don't even have a reloading table anymore. 

 

Makes sense that the ammo manufacturers started putting custom bullets in retail ammo......and bringing their prices down. That's the whole reason reloading was started; to defray the cost of factory ammo and to make shooting more accurate with variable bullets specific to what you were shooting. I have an older 50AE Desert Eagle and I waited forever for the bullets and dies to come out for that round. I can remember having the brass, the primers, the dies and the shell case holder finally all bought and no bullets available!

 

Kevin

 

 

 

 


Post# 380951 , Reply# 56   11/8/2017 at 20:20 (2,331 days old) by Gj3476 (Prosper,TX)        

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Around the late 90's, when I started walking around, I remember we used to a green dirt devil can vac canister vacuum and I remember playing with the hose before and I have know idea what happened to it but I wish we still have it, also the same time we also had a Hoover wet dry vac and I think it was 6 gallons but I used to be afraid of it before because it was loud. Then in 2000 when I was 4, I remember going to a Walmart supercenter and my mom brought a green dirt devil swivel glide vision bagless and it featured a indicator on the front which I enjoyed, and somehow I got a little afraid of it, and sadly I never got my self a chance to use it to vacuum but I remember playing with it before, and somehow in 2003 I think it got thrown out, I think, I was 7 back then, but later that same year my mom went to the same Walmart store and was going to buy a eureka the boss wide track victory model vacuum that I loved because it's same vacuum as the whirlwind (my favorite vacuums), but she changed her mind and got a bissell cleanview bagless and it was actually a good vacuum till the following year the handle release pedal got broken and somehow the motor was acting unhealthy probably because we never cleaned the filters!😱 So the bissell sat in the garage for 3 years till it got thrown out. And that's when I started collecting vacuums starting with a 2007 bissell powerforce turbo which I still have and 10 years later I still collect vacuums.👍

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Post# 381118 , Reply# 57   11/11/2017 at 04:23 (2,328 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

Kevin:Just that lower ammo prices and bulk packed ammo like 9mm,.45,.40,.223/5.56MM,.308,and so on has made reloading less viable.You can still buy case lots of ammo cheap these days-so reloading equipment gathers dust.To folks I know are machine gun collectors---imagine trying to reload for a machine gun!!!???Yes,my reload equipment gathers dust,too.Haven't used it in years.Even have some new dies I haven't used-IE .300 Weatherby and .454 Casull.

Post# 381219 , Reply# 58   11/12/2017 at 18:31 (2,327 days old) by Real1shep (Walla Walla, WA)        

Rex: yeah, I get it. I had a Thompson in the 70's. Single station reloading press...no progressive reloaders back then.  Would spend the entire night loading .45ACP so that I could shoot it all in a few minutes. Not my idea of a good time....lol! Traded the gun for a M-37.

 

Kevin


Post# 381239 , Reply# 59   11/13/2017 at 02:10 (2,326 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

The guys that I knew who had the machineguns bought the case lot ammo-or bulk ammo.One has a .50 machine gun-he does not handload for that!He did have a linker-so he could link loose ammo.-and he saved the links after shooting it.
Off reloading-my best vacuum memories would have been the Kirby that was bought by the parents the year I was born-1951-was bought from a DTD salesman in Dayon,Ohio-my Mom told me about the machine-she liked using it either as an upright or canister.My Dad go in trouble in using it as a sparyer for apaying varnish on some wall paneling-got the vacuum messed up bigtime-my Dad took it to Kirby for refurbishment-believe it didn't cost anything back then.He then bought an air compressor from Sears to use in future sprayer projects.
another vacuum memory would be my Stepmoms pink "wheelbarrow" canister-it didn't have the powernozzle-remember the power jack on the machine for it.Used the Kenmore along with the Kirby for our vacuum duties.We dumpted the Kirby in the plantbeds.The Kenmore had HUGE paper bags-took awhile to fill them up.


Post# 381563 , Reply# 60   11/18/2017 at 15:32 (2,321 days old) by Ultralux88 (Denver, Colorado)        
FAVORITE memory? Oh my, so many to choose from...

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Of all the machines that really mesmerized me at an early age, Grandma's, and then some other relatives, central vac always blew my mind. Have memories farther back than I can remember of that thing, plug the hose in and instant suction!

I also remember the first Electrolux I saw (and used) a 1205 at a church in Nebraska that a lot of my relatives out there go to. I loved it because it was quiet, and I liked that about it.

And then there was the time my Aunt gave me a Kirby Classic, my first vacuum, and I still have it.

And I also remember the day I saw something that looked like a "canister Kirby". A canister vacuum with a massive inflating bag, mind blown again... I guess that was the day I became fascinated with commercial monstrosities, starting with the Pig.


Post# 381582 , Reply# 61   11/19/2017 at 01:53 (2,321 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

The first time I saw the "Pig" was at a bank---It was being used after it closed-fantastic sight-the janitor was vacuuming the carpet.Got the idea of getting one for myself and the radio station I worked for-vacuumed out their studios and transmitters with it!

Post# 382078 , Reply# 62   12/2/2017 at 11:56 (2,307 days old) by Oldskoolguy (Chicago and Orlando)        
Pig at a bank huh?

Well, if there was a pig being used at a bank, I guess you could say the place was a piggy bank!
*ba dum tss* (okay, that was a really lame pun)


Post# 382093 , Reply# 63   12/3/2017 at 02:30 (2,306 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

Yes,wonder if that bank "pig" picked up any money!!!???It had the dump bag on the machine.I exclaimed to a friend who was with me---"Look at the bag in the Bank!" A woman was using the ATM at the bank where the pig was working and gave us both a dirty look!We didn't mean her-but the vacuum!My friend loved the pig.Sometime he was going to get one of his own.On some of the transmitter-studio clean jobs at a station he worked for-he would say-"help me out!! Bring the BAG!!"So I did was extra money cleaning their transmitter and fixing problems in it.One time vacuumed out a whole paper bag of stuff from the owners TV transmitter.He was shocked!This stuff got past the air filters-the transmitter had a 7 hp blower and a 1 Hp one-so they could suck in and blow the air.Cooled the tubes and cavities.


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