Thread Number: 20826
Tell us your favourite vacuum memory- like that vac you grew up with etc... |
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Post# 233244 , Reply# 2   5/19/2013 at 14:56 (3,966 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.
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Post# 233483 , Reply# 4   5/21/2013 at 17:34 (3,964 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 (3,964 days old) by pr-21 (Middletown, OH)   |   | |
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Post# 233534 , Reply# 6   5/22/2013 at 09:25 (3,963 days old) by jfalberti (Visalia, CA)   |   | |
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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# 233554 , Reply# 8   5/22/2013 at 11:45 (3,963 days old) by dysondestijl (east midlands, UK)   |   | |
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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 (3,963 days old) by Ultimatevacman ( Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK)   |   | |
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Post# 233579 , Reply# 10   5/22/2013 at 13:56 (3,963 days old) by dysondestijl (east midlands, UK)   |   | |
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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 (3,963 days old) by Ultimatevacman ( Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK)   |   | |
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Post# 233588 , Reply# 12   5/22/2013 at 14:30 (3,963 days old) by dysondestijl (east midlands, UK)   |   | |
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I have no idea, it was in the shed, but then they moved out so it is probably still there |
Post# 233724 , Reply# 15   5/23/2013 at 14:21 (3,962 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.
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Post# 233726 , Reply# 16   5/23/2013 at 14:26 (3,962 days old) by Electrolux137 (Los Angeles)   |   | |
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Post# 233732 , Reply# 17   5/23/2013 at 14:49 (3,962 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 233754 , Reply# 18   5/23/2013 at 18:15 (3,962 days old) by superj (cos cob,ct)   |   | |
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post it charles! i love reading those stories |
Post# 233770 , Reply# 19   5/23/2013 at 22:07 (3,962 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 (3,962 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 (3,958 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)   |   | |
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Post# 234169 , Reply# 22   5/27/2013 at 07:15 (3,958 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 (3,958 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 (3,958 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 (3,958 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)   |   | |
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Post# 234173 , Reply# 26   5/27/2013 at 07:34 (3,958 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)   |   | |
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Post# 234430 , Reply# 28   5/29/2013 at 00:39 (3,957 days old) by kirbytradition7 (Denver (Aurora), CO, USA)   |   | |
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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# 234464 , Reply# 31   5/29/2013 at 13:37 (3,956 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.
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Post# 234479 , Reply# 32   5/29/2013 at 15:58 (3,956 days old) by mjm0424 (Chicago suburbs)   |   | |
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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.
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Post# 234666 , Reply# 33   5/31/2013 at 16:57 (3,954 days old) by SUPER-SWEEPER (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)   |   | |
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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 (3,951 days old) by director12 ()   |   | |
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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 (3,951 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 (3,950 days old) by jfalberti (Visalia, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 284923 , Reply# 38   6/16/2014 at 17:38 (3,573 days old) by SeamusUK (Dover Kent UK)   |   | |
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Hi Guys This is the model I have the earliest memories of- Imagine the memories finding this on Ebay brought back! Seamus |
Post# 330819 , Reply# 40   8/2/2015 at 21:52 (3,161 days old) by vacuumlad1650 (Wauponsee, IL)   |   | |
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Post# 330835 , Reply# 41   8/3/2015 at 11:19 (3,160 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 (3,160 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. |
Post# 333408 , Reply# 43   9/7/2015 at 02:02 (3,126 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# 333589 , Reply# 45   9/9/2015 at 13:04 (3,123 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. |
Post# 333594 , Reply# 46   9/9/2015 at 15:27 (3,123 days old) by vacuumlad1650 (Wauponsee, IL)   |   | |
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Post# 333598 , Reply# 47   9/9/2015 at 15:44 (3,123 days old) by vacuumlover (UK)   |   | |
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I could try. I might try pestering her for me to use it :P |
Post# 380438 , Reply# 51   10/30/2017 at 14:22 (2,341 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)   |   | |
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Post# 380951 , Reply# 56   11/8/2017 at 20:20 (2,332 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# 381219 , Reply# 58   11/12/2017 at 18:31 (2,328 days old) by Real1shep (Walla Walla, WA)   |   | |
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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# 381563 , Reply# 60   11/18/2017 at 15:32 (2,322 days old) by Ultralux88 (Denver, Colorado)   |   | |
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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 (2,322 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)   |   | |
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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 (2,308 days old) by Oldskoolguy (Chicago and Orlando)   |   | |
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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) |