Old GE canister vac

When I was a kid, there was an abandoned house next door. One day I peeked in the wash house and there was an old TV and a vacuum in there. When the house sold they let me have the vacuum. It was a GE swivel top, and it seems like it was beige. There was no hose or any attachments. It had a paper bag inside that was open on top and then a cloth basket like filter under it. It had a slide switch on the side.

That's about all I can remember about it. It was rusted through on the side but I mustered the courage to plug it in on the back porch and it did run well. I cannot recall if it had a blower port or where the exhaust was. I know it did not have any attachment storage. My parents made me throw it out since it was basically junk being it rusted out.

My guess is it was a very basic model from the 60s or 70s?

My grandmother told me once that her first vacuum was a GE swiveltop she got with S&H green stamps from the grocery store. When I was a kid the vacuum was long gone but she still had the attachments to it in her shed. In fact she may still have them. Once I showed her the GE I was given, and she said it looked just like the one she had.

One day I'd like to find one of those simply GE or Premier swiveltops. I never see any old GE vacuums here.


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Post# 430128 8/15/2020 at 22:14 (1,343 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)
Checkrate/Likes When I was a kid, there was an abandoned house next door. One day I peeked in the wash house and there was an old TV and a vacuum in there. When the house sold they let me have the vacuum. It was a GE swivel top, and it seems like it was beige. There was no hose or any attachments. It had a paper bag inside that was open on top and then a cloth basket like filter under it. It had a slide switch on the side. That's about all I can remember about it. It was rusted through on the side but I mustered the courage to plug it in on the back porch and it did run well. I cannot recall if it had a blower port or where the exhaust was. I know it did not have any attachment storage. My parents made me throw it out since it was basically junk being it rusted out. My guess is it was a very basic model from the 60s or 70s? My grandmother told me once that her first vacuum was a GE swiveltop she got with S&H green stamps from the grocery store. When I was a kid the vacuum was long gone but she still had the attachments to it in her shed. In fact she may still have them. Once I showed her the GE I was given, and she said it looked just like the one she had. One day I'd like to find one of those simply GE or Premier swiveltops. I never see any old GE vacuums here.

Post# 430130 , Reply# 1 8/15/2020 at 22:18 (1,343 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)
Checkrate/Likes Also did all GE/Premier swiveltops use those open top paper bags? What a mess, seems it would have been just as easy to create a cardboard collar to mate with the hose swivel and have an enclosed bag. I see Hesco still sells bags for these vacuums on their website amazingly.

Post# 430133 , Reply# 2 8/15/2020 at 22:39 (1,343 days old) by Hoover300 (Kentucky)
Checkrate/Likes I have the Premier version, rusty but spots, no holes. Motor was totally shot but I still have the shell. It was $1 from my local recycling center. I can post a pic tomorrow if I have time.

Post# 430152 , Reply# 3 8/16/2020 at 11:49 (1,342 days old) by Kloveland (Tulsa)
Checkrate/Likes I have two roll arounds. One I got from Tanya at the convention in 2013 in Milwaukee. One I got this past weekend from Chad that he found at an estate sale in Kansas City. The one I got from Tanya is in really nice shape! I have the cardboard tool carrier and tools for it. The one I just got from Kansas City has the tools but they had white mold on them. I cleaned the mold off but the tools have a very strong odor. Probably the plastic disintegrating. I�m wondering if there�s anyway to get rid of the smell. I also have a brown G.E swivel top and the yellow premiere version with the PN. Very fun vacuums to use. Especially the rollaround because it can be rolled from room to room by the wands. I�m keeping the one I just found to use and the one I got from Tanya for display.

Post# 430159 , Reply# 4 8/16/2020 at 14:43 (1,342 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes ~ ~ G.E. Roll-Around and Roll-Easy tools always smelled like that! One of my grandmothers had a Roll-Easy when I was a little boy and to this day I can recall the strong scent. I still have a pink G.E. and the tools do still have that strange scent. btw an easy way to clean off the white mold is to spray the tools with Clorox. Wait a minute or two and rinse off.

Post# 430164 , Reply# 5 8/16/2020 at 16:25 (1,342 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)
Checkrate/Likes That�s so strange...I will never forget the smell of the attachments we had for my childhood blue Eureka Super Automatic 260....must have been the rubber of the dusting brush or the floor brush! The blue braided hose also had a very distinct smell. What we cleanerphiles remember from our toddler years - amazing!!!

Post# 430177 , Reply# 6 8/16/2020 at 21:15 (1,342 days old) by kloveland (Tulsa)
Checkrate/Likes Thanks! I will try the Clorox on the tools.