Thread Number: 39673  /  Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
Mom, you have 1 smart son and 1 son with a master's degree. Vacuum story, the worst I've seen!!! :-O 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 420941   3/2/2020 at 17:50 (1,509 days old) by ericwt01 (Bloomington, MN)        

"Don't forget to clean the appliance that cleans your house." The story of a mom, 2 sons, and the little red Riccar vacuum that might outlast us all. Written by me, enjoyed by and shared with many.

A bit of history: growing up (I was born in '82), we had a 70's Kirby Omega which my mom loved. My two memories of it are using it as a bridge for my hot wheel highway (cars would drive up the base and handle to the top of the coffee table) and how dang heavy that machine was to use on long pile carpet. An Electrolux salesman came to the door once and tried to impress my mom in the mid-90's, but with a Kirby dealer 2 blocks from our house and a vacuum that was built to be darn near bulletproof, there was no reason to switch. "But it's so old!" I remembered complaining, "It's such a pain to use!" Old meant heavy in my mind. Quality appliances were still made of metal and not plastic, and I had to clean and vacuum my own room. Trying to push around that Kirby on 70's carpeting on any of the lower height settings was nearly impossible. I always used it on the highest/longest pile setting because it was easier to maneuver. I'm sure I spent hours vacuuming without the vacuum actually in contact with the carpet, but I digress.

By the late 90's, ripping up all the carpeting and going with hard wood floors was all the rage. And without all that carpeting to vacuum, my mom purchased a little red Riccar RC-1400 canister vacuum. I've since grown to love Riccars--my aunt has had several Riccars over the years, my mom has 3 between homes in 2 states including the little red RC1400, and my uncle bought a Riccar Contempo when he needed a new one. When I bought a condo in 2005, one of my first purchases before moving in was a floor model R500 I bought for $300 from a local dealer.

But oh how I despised that little red canister vacuum! Dragging it like a puppy dog by its leash from room to room, banging into doorways and furniture, and changing the floor brush to a rotating brush for rugs all seemed like more work for the same amount of clean we got with the Kirby. After living with my uncle and using his upright Contempo model, I realized I hated canister vacuums (and I still do, but that's for another thread).

After 15 years of owning an R500, I had more respect for Riccar as a brand. I bought the entry level model with no extra bells or whistles, but the thing always worked and cleaned well with no fuss. It needed a new electrical cord after I ran over it (hasn't everyone done that once?) and I eventually needed a new onboard wand at a cost of $18, but otherwise it was just changing bags and filters every few months, and occasionally cut any threads that got wrapped around the brush.

Simple, easy stuff--you have to clean and maintain the appliance that cleans your house, right? I vacuum 2-3 times a week (that keeps the dust down which helps my allergies). I've since upgraded that R500 and am very happy with all the years of service I've gotten and will get from my new purchase. We also have a GREAT dealer in town that's been in business almost 50 years (it goes without saying that a good or bad dealer really can shape the overall ownership experience, so in that regard we're very fortunate).

Up until now, my brother had been at college in another state. After graduating, he moved back and purchased a town home for him and his girlfriend. Soon they had 2 cats and a dog they were always cleaning up after, plus the two of them. My mom, having since replaced her little red Riccar 1400 with a newer model, gave him the 1400 which had been downgraded to being the "basement backup".

Last Xmas rolls around, and my brother and his now-wife decided to buy a black-Friday sale vacuum because the ol' little red Riccar just "wasn't up to the task of cleaning their house anymore." But my mom knew that Riccars are good vacuums, so she asked for it back in case it was needed for the cars, a messy cleanup, etc.

A couple months go by and few weeks ago, I was checking in on my parents house since they were down south. I am doing some sanding and painting at my place, and thought that 20 year old Riccar would be perfect to clean up with so I don't clog my new vacuum with that fine dust from sanding the walls.

After owning a Riccar upright for 15 years and knowing only changing the bags, filters, and cleaning the roller keeps it in top shape, I figured getting it back in good condition would be quick.

As I started looking it over, I grabbed my camera knowing this would need to be seen to be believed. Here's what you're looking at below: the first picture is with the grey top of the brush roller removed after 8 years of use and no cleaning. My brother's wife has long brown hair, which is most of what is wrapped around the brush roll and belt. Obviously some dog and cat hair too, plus some upholstery stuffing(?) and a bunch of white powder (Salt? Sugar? I wasn't curious and didn't taste it to find out, lol).

With so much wrapped around the roller, it didn't rotate at all when turned on; very little air moved through the machine. The bag was a solid brick of hardened dust and the bag itself had been pulled off where it attached to the hose, so opening the vacuum was like setting off a dust bomb. The post filter I'm sure was never changed and was the same color grey as the machine itself. The plastic impeller which helps the brush rotate was broken and jammed, and so was the belt attached to it that spins the brush. For good measure, every moving part beyond the roller was wrapped in more hair and fur and dusted with more white powder.

It took 2-2.5 hours to completely disassemble, clean, and re-assemble the head/brush roller. Tools used were: a screwdriver, wire cutters, needle nose pliers, and a brush with stiff bristles. I also re-greased a few contact points so everything moved smoothly. Now when I flipped it on and cranked up the suction the first time after that cleaning, that brush roller spun like a top and belted out a song like the schoolgirl glee club in the perfect pitch; it was every bit as powerful as it had been 20 years ago. I easily found new bags and filters for sale online, too.

Now, after 37 long years of being the younger brother, I finally had the proof I needed and made my comeuppance. I texted my mother the pictures I took of the before/after cleaning job of her 20 year old little red Riccar with these token words of wisdom: you have one smart son, and one son with a Master's degree. After this, don't ever confuse us. My mom's reaction, once she stopped laughing, was we should just throw it in the trash at this point. I told her there was no way we were throwing it out now! First, I just spent 2 hours cleaning it, they still sell the filters and bags, and now it's actually working well. The control/hose has been discontinued and my brother glued the extensions into the handle, but it vacuumed my dad's golf putting green nicely. I shared the photos with the family for a good bit of sibling shaming, and also to be a little tongue-in-cheek that when their new vacuum dies, mom's little red Riccar will be there for them. And if nothing else, we have a used vacuum for sale: $50! Very clean!

Sorry for the blurry pic, but I blocked the serial number because if word ever got out associating me with how my brother maintains his vacuum cleaners, I couldn't show my face at a vacuum store ever again :-) But, seriously, their praise here has been well earned and I must tip my hat. In our family of (mostly responsible) vacuum owners, my brother, nor his wife's long brown hair, nor their 3 pets could kill a Riccar after 8 years. You know if something runs that well after not being maintained or cleaned for so long, it's the real thing and worth the money.

This is why I will continue to be a happy customer for a long time, and how a little red Riccar canister vac I once despised earned top respect and praise as something that just might outlast us all.

Sorry for the shaky videos, but I wanted to share them. The sound of that spinning brush roller is just glorious.

Bottom view, after cleaning.





Top view, cover off, after cleaning.








  Photos...       <              >      Photo 1 of 5         View Full Size
Post# 420950 , Reply# 1   3/2/2020 at 20:52 (1,509 days old) by texaskirbyguy (Plano, TX)        

Nice fun bedtime story - glad I stumbled onto this.
Yep, having a degree often just puts the smarts in one narrow place.
Two hours on a 20 year old machine is nothing. Hopefully now it will go another 2 decades!


Post# 420962 , Reply# 2   3/3/2020 at 00:43 (1,509 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)        

madman's profile picture
Nice! The difference between book smarts and street smarts.

Post# 420969 , Reply# 3   3/3/2020 at 03:57 (1,509 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)        

huskyvacs's profile picture
I have never seen a Riccar canister that old! Wow! Also very clever taking a photo of it on a putting tee, very good little artistic backdrop. And this looks about on par with every vacuum I get before it's restored.

And yeah - I am the same way. I dropped out of high school in grade 10 and got my GED. I have done all kinds of work on the house since then, and I can fix a lot of different things. Have rebuilt 3 laptops from the ground up so far, as well as practically tore apart the entire washer to fix the boot seal on the door. Have done some carpentry, electrical, etc, too.

Sad to say pretty much the only thing a college application is good for is a job application credit and that's it. Employers only care about a diploma in the perspective as it shows you can pay off debts and manage money, and you can be on time and punctual - they could care less about your major because it doesn't pertain to the job at all.

When I was in high school, we never even learned much history in class. Just the romans and egypt for the entire time I was there. They skipped over WWII and the civil war on purpose, so those were completely un-discussed. English class was exactly the same as middle school English, and math class was utterly useless - they would switch the lesson plan every week making it impossible to learn the stuff.

It's better to just pick up a trade school right after HS and move your way up or find something you like to stick with. I had a friend that started out in a mechanics trade school (one of those ones that they advertise on tv), eventually he got hired as a bus mechanic for Greyhound, pays good money because the jobs have long labor times.


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