Electro Hygiene Company Question

I'm the guy who used to sell Electro-Hygienes back in the mid 70's, and I'd like to add a few more details to what Tom and Ben said. After Royal introduced the Purifier model in the 1920's, a young man named Art Frankenfeld went to work for P.A. Geier, the parent company of Royal, as a salesman. He had a charisma about him and could sell the Purifier like no other. Don't know if it was he or Philip Geier who came up with the idea, but in 1934 the Purifier was rebranded as the Electro-Hygiene, and the Electro-Hygiene Co. was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary of the P.A. Geier Co., with Art Frankenfeld as the head of the division.
In 1941 Electro-Hygiene was incorporated as a company on its own, with headquarters in Dayton, OH and Art Frankenfeld as president. And although Royal started making revolving brush uprights in the late 30's, the Electro-Hygiene remained straight suction, as the crystal chamber was the main thing that set the EH apart from Royal, and such an important part of the sales presentation that building a machine without it was unthinkable. The problem was solved when a crystal chamber was designed that would snap on in place of the front cover plate (adjust-o-rite) and the model 285 was introduced in 1955.
Another difference between Royal and Electro-Hygiene was that EH had the same type of warranty as the Kirby, where after the unconditional warranty ran out, it was covered by lifetime rebuild insurance, where the owner could send it back to the company and get it rebuilt for a small fee. It was then guaranteed to look and perform like brand new, and the unconditional warranty started over again after the rebuild.
The crystals used were called the Electro-Hygiene Sanitizing Crystalline Preparation, and were 99.6% paradichlorobenzene, otherwise known as moth crystals, and .4% formaldehyde, which according to the sales pitch, would "kill germs in the air as you clean."
Here are some pics of Electro-Hygiene through the years. The first is a model 2-230, their last straight suction model. Next is an early model 285, their first revolving brush model, then a 903, which was the current model when I was selling them, a 950 tank, and a 966 tank, which was made for over 25 years and was the current tank model when I was selling them. These machines are all in my collection, and the 903 is a frequent driver at our house. I got to meet Art Frankenfeld at a sales convention in 1974, and at 67 he was every bit as charismatic as he was in his younger days.
Jeff

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 5 View Full Size


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Post# 405614 2/17/2019 at 20:51 (1,886 days old) by fairfaxclass (Tillamook, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes Hi everyone! I know there is a fellow who used to work for Electro Hygiene on here and have read a number of threads, but I want to know this: Do we know why the company went out of business? I heard something about direct selling practices, but nothing specific. Secondly, what was in the scent/sanitizer crystals that were such a big part of what made them special? Thirdly, could a modern formula be concocted using the same type of glycol (and other ingredients) that Air-Way used and Rainbow uses for air sanitizing? Why am I asking? I have a Royal Pro Series vacuum coming which I believe has the scent chamber (since Royal took it once Electro went out of business) and it got me thinking. Thanks!

Post# 405672 , Reply# 1 2/19/2019 at 08:30 (1,885 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)
Checkrate/Likes Royal and Electro Hygiene were the same company. Royal was sold in stores, EH was sold by door to door salesmen. The scent chamber was first designed and sold in the 1920's. On the Royal "Purifier" model. It led customers to believe that by letting the fan inhale the moth ball flake fumes, they were actually sterilizing the contents of the bag - thus fooling a customer by a mere 'whiff' into thinking the machine could do something it could not. By the time they were no longer making EH machines for direct sale, the crystal chamber became the 'scent' chamber and other fragrances could be used.

Post# 405681 , Reply# 2 2/19/2019 at 11:30 (1,885 days old) by sptyks (Skowhegan, Maine)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Royal Scent Chamber...* Nicholas, I have a Royal 8300 with a Scent Chamber. I have found that the laundry scent crystals sold wherever laundry detergent is sold, works fairly well in my 8300 scent chamber.

Post# 405705 , Reply# 3 2/19/2019 at 22:21 (1,884 days old) by fairfaxclass (Tillamook, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes *dysonman1* I did know that they were just Royal machines more or less re-branded (with the scent chamber). It is an interesting idea and I do wonder if it is possible to make it actually work with the right chemicals (and still be safe).

Post# 405706 , Reply# 4 2/19/2019 at 22:40 (1,884 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)
Checkrate/Likes *Hey* If you just talk straight facts. Febreeze or any air freshener works. It's apples to oranges but fresh air is fresh air. Les

Post# 405709 , Reply# 5 2/20/2019 at 00:13 (1,884 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes Until the model 285 (same product as the Royal 801) came out in 1955, Electro-Hygiene uprights were always straight-suction cleaners, since at the time the designers couldn't think of a viable way to place the scent chamber on the nozzle with a revolving brush. In the end, a separate scent chamber accessory was designed that was attached in place of the standard belt cover. ~Ben

Post# 405711 , Reply# 6 2/20/2019 at 00:56 (1,884 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)
Checkrate/Likes *Hey* Ben that does make sense. No pun intended but I noticed it on 880 but didn't pay attention. I like the idea Kirby doesn't have anything on top to add scent as theirs is in emtor sweet air. I do like it as the most common smell I get is burning belts. The reason I have that smell as opposed to others is I wash entire vacuum getting most odors before I use vacuum. Les

Post# 405730 , Reply# 7 2/20/2019 at 17:12 (1,883 days old) by bikerray (Middle Earth)
Checkrate/Likes *Hey* You wash the entire vacuum? How do you fit it all in the washer? That washing machine must really be rocking with the motor spinning around in the basket on the spin cycle.

Post# 405740 , Reply# 8 2/20/2019 at 22:56 (1,883 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)
Checkrate/Likes *Hey* I didn't say entire vacuum in washing machine. I clean like spray dirt wipe off dry. I know it's a weird concept. I have been told cleaning yourself daily helps keeps you healthy. I do bath regularly but I guess cleaning is a different concept for everyone. Does that mean people clean themselves by jumping in the washing machine. Les

Post# 405783 , Reply# 9 2/22/2019 at 01:40 (1,882 days old) by hygiene903 (Galion, OH)
Checkrate/Likes *Hi Fairfaxclass,* I'm the guy who used to sell Electro-Hygienes back in the mid 70's, and I'd like to add a few more details to what Tom and Ben said. After Royal introduced the Purifier model in the 1920's, a young man named Art Frankenfeld went to work for P.A. Geier, the parent company of Royal, as a salesman. He had a charisma about him and could sell the Purifier like no other. Don't know if it was he or Philip Geier who came up with the idea, but in 1934 the Purifier was rebranded as the Electro-Hygiene, and the Electro-Hygiene Co. was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary of the P.A. Geier Co., with Art Frankenfeld as the head of the division. In 1941 Electro-Hygiene was incorporated as a company on its own, with headquarters in Dayton, OH and Art Frankenfeld as president. And although Royal started making revolving brush uprights in the late 30's, the Electro-Hygiene remained straight suction, as the crystal chamber was the main thing that set the EH apart from Royal, and such an important part of the sales presentation that building a machine without it was unthinkable. The problem was solved when a crystal chamber was designed that would snap on in place of the front cover plate (adjust-o-rite) and the model 285 was introduced in 1955. Another difference between Royal and Electro-Hygiene was that EH had the same type of warranty as the Kirby, where after the unconditional warranty ran out, it was covered by lifetime rebuild insurance, where the owner could send it back to the company and get it rebuilt for a small fee. It was then guaranteed to look and perform like brand new, and the unconditional warranty started over again after the rebuild. The crystals used were called the Electro-Hygiene Sanitizing Crystalline Preparation, and were 99.6% paradichlorobenzene, otherwise known as moth crystals, and .4% formaldehyde, which according to the sales pitch, would "kill germs in the air as you clean." Here are some pics of Electro-Hygiene through the years. The first is a model 2-230, their last straight suction model. Next is an early model 285, their first revolving brush model, then a 903, which was the current model when I was selling them, a 950 tank, and a 966 tank, which was made for over 25 years and was the current tank model when I was selling them. These machines are all in my collection, and the 903 is a frequent driver at our house. I got to meet Art Frankenfeld at a sales convention in 1974, and at 67 he was every bit as charismatic as he was in his younger days. Jeff Photos... < > Photo 1 of 5 View Full Size

Post# 405846 , Reply# 10 2/23/2019 at 00:32 (1,881 days old) by fairfaxclass (Tillamook, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes *hygiene903* Very cool machines! Yes, you were the fellow I was thinking of! Thanks for the breakdown of the Crystal contents. Do you know why the company went bust?

Post# 405909 , Reply# 11 2/24/2019 at 01:47 (1,880 days old) by hygiene903 (Galion, OH)
Checkrate/Likes *Hi Fairfaxclass,* Thanks for the compliment! Glad you enjoyed the pics and found the info helpful. As for the demise of Electro-Hygiene, I don't know for sure what caused it either, but I think there were several things that contributed. When I was still selling them, EH did their own financing. Customers could make a down payment when they bought the machine and would get a payment coupon book from the home office in Dayton. They could then mail in their monthly payments or bring them into the local office. The first "nail in the coffin" was when they were told they prohibited from doing their own financing. And once when I was doing a Google search on Electro-Hygiene, I learned that at one point they were sued for making false claims concerning the "health crystals." And as you mentioned, some of their sales practices were called into question. But I can't narrow it down to any one factor that caused them to fold, neither do I know just when. I do know that my newest 903 was made in 1983, but I've heard of some collectors having newer ones than that. If anyone has additional info on this, I'm all ears. Jeff