Thread Number: 39477
/ Tag: Pre-1950 Vacuum Cleaners
Is it bad to use a antique vacuum as a evey day cleaner? |
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Post# 418871   1/21/2020 at 11:01 (1,527 days old) by 4501933ho (Canfield ohio)   |   | |
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Is it a bad idea to use my 1934 hoover 450as a every day vacuum so what's your answer?
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Post# 418872 , Reply# 1   1/21/2020 at 11:32 (1,527 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)   |   | |
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Post# 418878 , Reply# 2   1/21/2020 at 14:08 (1,527 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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Mechanical things, be they cars, kitchen appliances or vacuum cleaners, need to be run at least occasionally to stay in good condition. Sitting unused isn't good for any machine. In addition to the things John mentioned above, the question of whether a particular machine is up to the rigors daily or even weekly use would also largely depend on the condition of its wiring and power switch and possibly the brush roll as well. There's really no reason not to, if everything is in good shape.
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Post# 418880 , Reply# 3   1/21/2020 at 14:24 (1,527 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)   |   | |
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Post# 418882 , Reply# 4   1/21/2020 at 15:12 (1,527 days old) by kloveland (Tulsa)   |   | |
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Post# 418888 , Reply# 6   1/21/2020 at 16:25 (1,527 days old) by bikerray (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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I use a Hoover 541 or a Hoover 105 on my Karastan rugs all the time.
I know the other day I was thinking is it wrong to vacuum a rug with a vacuum that's almost 100 years old, but as long as you take care of them they last a LOT longer then the Craptastic Plastic that's out there now.
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Post# 418892 , Reply# 8   1/21/2020 at 16:55 (1,527 days old) by 4501933ho (Canfield ohio)   |   | |
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Post# 418896 , Reply# 10   1/21/2020 at 19:41 (1,527 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)   |   | |
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Post# 418899 , Reply# 11   1/21/2020 at 19:50 (1,527 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)   |   | |
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If you look at the armatures off 1920's,1930's,1940's are made of the same material except fan on armature. There is even bigger carbon brushes on newer vacuums. If you use type c bags on the bellows it's better filtration and no bag exhaust sir.
The asbestos cord you have to be kidding me. I guess Tom Gasko and John long should be dead with all the old vacuums running excessively. In all reality use the vacuum. If you love it and you love to vacuum it's like therapy. You can't use the vacuum when your dead. Use it love it enjoy it. I'd get life insurance because i guess it's a serious health hazard. It gets offset by the therapy sessions. Use your vacuum. Les |
Post# 418901 , Reply# 12   1/21/2020 at 20:02 (1,527 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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Just like old cars - they are made to be run. You cannot leave them sit or the rubber belts will harden and snap, and the grease will gum up or leak away from the parts from gravity and leave them dried out. It does not hurt them to use them at all. Now maybe every day for hours upon end for years - yeah that might be bad for it. Just use it as a daily vacuum for a month, switch it out and use another the next month, and so on and so forth. Or even every 2 weeks, whatever you want to do.
The main issue is just parts wear and tear and you would need to keep spare parts on hand or know where to get them when they wear out to avoid being stuck with a paperweight. One challenge is finding a proper spec belt for a modern vacuum that will fit these old vacuums, it takes some ingenuity to find one that is close to the same size. Also the bristles are horsehair I think? So those can also be a challenge and I think those have to be manually re-threaded by hand, I have no idea how that's done. Phaeton, (I think that's his name if I remember it right), many years ago when I first started collecting sent me two tiny little handle screws for my 700 series Hoover that I needed because my handle was detached. I mean so tiny "you would need a magnifying glass to find them" tiny. I would have been totally stuck without his help sending me those screws, so I thank him for that. But yeah, use them and enjoy! |
Post# 418903 , Reply# 13   1/21/2020 at 20:03 (1,527 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH)   |   | |
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the average of the vacuums i use is 40-55 years old. i restore, service and maintain all my machines so i know they're cleaning properly. most "hepa filtered" vacuums today may fliter better (barely), but cleaning performance is generally (except like new kirbys and rainbows) is far inferior to anything i use.
dont be afraid or worried to use vintage machines for daily use. i rotate mine out and use a different one each week, sometimes different ones per floor. the older machines long as like everyone else says you have belts and brush strips for them, will clean far better than anything today most people have in thier homes. even an old coffee can like this is perfectly fine in daily use. long as its serviced every 5-10 years youll be fine |
Post# 418928 , Reply# 14   1/22/2020 at 03:26 (1,526 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)   |   | |
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Post# 418938 , Reply# 16   1/22/2020 at 08:56 (1,526 days old) by bikerray (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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Yes the bristles are horsehair, they didn't start using nylon bristles until the late 1940's.
And as far as I know horsehair doesn't contain asbestos. I clean all of my vacuums when I get them, so none of my vacuums have any smell to them. People have come to the hobbit hole and been amazed that I had so many vacuums but they don't detect any vacuum odor. |
Post# 418939 , Reply# 17   1/22/2020 at 08:57 (1,526 days old) by Oreck_XL (Brooklyn, New York 11211)   |   | |
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You know it's funny. Vintage vacuums are a testament to the fact that you DON'T need a gas-guzzling 12 amp or 15 amp motor to get your carpets clean. Save for filtration, new vacuums have NO advantage over vintage ones. And build quality has definitely suffered on the whole in the last 25 years. Personally, I love the soothing hum of the 2.8 amp motor in my Oreck XL100C. It's no powerhouse, but it gets my carpets clean and it's what I enjoy using. I agree that problems develop simply from lack of use. Use them, maintain them, take care of them and they will last FOREVER.
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Post# 418956 , Reply# 18   1/22/2020 at 18:11 (1,526 days old) by vacuumlad1650 (Wauponsee, IL)   |   | |
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Say what you want about Asbestos, when left alone it can do you no harm.
We have a farmhouse with a roof from the 1940s, asbestos shingles. Doesn't leak a drop and it never will. They were the best brake pads, and asbestos insulation was the best you could get. I agree, run them. It wont do you (or them) harm |
Post# 418965 , Reply# 19   1/22/2020 at 21:05 (1,526 days old) by Kloveland (Tulsa)   |   | |
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Post# 418976 , Reply# 22   1/22/2020 at 23:26 (1,526 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)   |   | |
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They had a Nationwide effort and it was massive and swift. There is no loose asbestos lying around. If the house had been bought sold refinanced or anything it wouldn't have asbestos.
Kirby Hoover and other vacuum companies wouldn't have old vacuums on display with any possible minute chance it was an issue. The issue would be if some knucklehead chopped up and start munching on an ectrical cord. There is no harm. In California where you get cancer if you get out side your car and knock on the car three times. It's California proposition 59. It's on every Honda if you don't believe me read up it's true. If these baby killers are on the loose in California where it rains cancer what do you think they would do if there was any chance it could happen. The tree huggers would have a bonfire burn everything. So Greg do you eat asbestos cords, do you live in a house that has Ben condemned, do you make your vacuum bags out of cancer I mean asbestos. You don't none of us do. This farse idea is fine down the rabbit hole. Just let the asbestos go. We're not dead and not going to be. Asbestos buscuit? There tasty. Les |
Post# 418980 , Reply# 24   1/22/2020 at 23:41 (1,526 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)   |   | |
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Post# 418983 , Reply# 26   1/23/2020 at 00:22 (1,526 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)   |   | |
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My god, you really do have asbestos-phobia.
Greg... did someone seriously tell you that you got a tumor on your hip because of asbestos exposure? I'm sorry to tell you this, but they were mistaken. Especially given that you believe a *carcinogen* caused a *benign* tumor... on your hip. Not in your lungs or internal organs. I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. Please do some more research on the topic. Asbestos isn't even really a carcinogen per se, as it's chemically inert. It causes lung cancer because its fibers are sharp and barbed, and get stuck in your lungs, and your lungs develop a bunch of scar tissue and eventually cancerous tumors. Not benign hip tumors, I'm afraid. Of course, now I understand where you're coming from, you want to protect other people from what you thought had been a danger to you in the past. But it's important that you go about it in a way that informs and educates other people. And not to cause them to have an irrational fear about something they don't fully understand. Your current way of talking about asbestos is like: "this thing will kill you, and it's everywhere, avoid it like the plague." Whereas when I talk about asbestos, I inform, I say "this is what it is, this is how it works, handle it like this." As I just explained a second ago, the process by which it causes lung cancer. Also, don't attack Les over this. He's always speaking gibberish! That's not evidence that he's wrong or in denial or whatever. Let's not go down that road. Just as an aside, I have no intention of licking the radium off of my vintage clock dial. But just as with asbestos, I've educated myself on the topic. I know what it is, what it does, and under what circumstances it is a danger. And because I know it and understand it, I do not fear it. And that's kind of how everyone should look at it. |
Post# 418986 , Reply# 27   1/23/2020 at 08:34 (1,525 days old) by bikerray (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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WOW do you ever go outside? Are you worried about lead, radon, sunlight causing sink cancer? Do you live in a bubble? If you're worried about any risk in life do you seal yourself in a baggie? There could be dangers in plastic as well.
I intend to enjoy what I do and collect what I want and not worry about any of this. Now go save a koala and donate to help Australia, I have. |
Post# 418987 , Reply# 28   1/23/2020 at 09:36 (1,525 days old) by 4501933ho (Canfield ohio)   |   | |
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Post# 419004 , Reply# 29   1/23/2020 at 17:23 (1,525 days old) by bikerray (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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Anyway back to the thread at hand, I use my vacuums but I do plug them into a variac just as a precaution so if they were made to run on 100 to 110 I set the voltage at 110, if they were made for 115 I set the voltage for 115, if the vacuum is new it can handle 126 V AC. I just don't want to burn out the motors with excess voltage.
Here's a picture of my Hoover Special model 102
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Post# 419006 , Reply# 30   1/23/2020 at 17:44 (1,525 days old) by 4501933ho (Canfield ohio)   |   | |
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Post# 419025 , Reply# 32   1/23/2020 at 21:04 (1,525 days old) by bikerray (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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Post# 419026 , Reply# 33   1/23/2020 at 21:58 (1,525 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)   |   | |
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Post# 419977 , Reply# 34   2/13/2020 at 15:27 (1,504 days old) by luxz80 (England)   |   | |
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Is there asbestos in old vacs or hoses ?? Never heard of that before. Or is this not true?? |
Post# 420000 , Reply# 35   2/14/2020 at 14:02 (1,503 days old) by bikerray (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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Post# 420030 , Reply# 36   2/15/2020 at 12:18 (1,502 days old) by luxz80 (England)   |   | |
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Good to know. Not sure why the subject came up in this thread. |
Post# 420078 , Reply# 37   2/16/2020 at 23:17 (1,501 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)   |   | |
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Post# 420081 , Reply# 38   2/16/2020 at 23:29 (1,501 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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Hey bikerray, how does your old Hoover do on those tiny throw rugs? I have been looking for a good old vacuum that can clean them without eating them, aqnd having just bought my second 700 series Hoover I never really seen many people cleaning with them in day to day life. Pretty much every modern vacuum I have is a PITA to vacuum small mats and rugs.
I have a bunch of Electroluxes too but none of them are operational right now. |
Post# 420089 , Reply# 40   2/17/2020 at 02:06 (1,501 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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Yeah I seen that the Kirby Ultimate Diamond Edition I do believe has a 2 stage motor that has a slow speed mode for cleaning throw rugs - but I have not found one cheap yet so I've been trying to get information on which of my vintage vacs can do throw rugs good, as I kind of have to stand in a tripod pose with my foot on each end of the rug to hold it down, and then vacuum from a sideways standing position. lol
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Post# 420093 , Reply# 41   2/17/2020 at 08:35 (1,500 days old) by bikerray (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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The Kirby only has one fan it's not a 2 stage
Kirby has had a High Low speed ever since the Kirby Dual Sanitronic 50. The Kirby Ultimate Diamond Edition has a switch next to the handle spring that divides the motor speed again giving you four speeds. I have one small rug that I have to hold down when I vacuum, all the other rugs have pads underneath that hold them in place. |