Alley Allert!! A cliffhanger...?

[hoovercelebrity]

So, it's 12:15 am; Robert and I just got home. About a half hour ago, we went to go investigate the ad posted below... ((We were winding down on the sofa, watching SNL -- not intending on going out again tonight)).

I was sure it was going to be gone. And I also had no idea what it was!

Alas, it was still there! It's not super duper fabulous -- but it'll be fun to have, and kind of bottom of the line-ish.

Stay tuned.....

 

[luxg]

Wow Fred, I have never seen an AD like that before. Do tell what did you find???

 

[crevicetool]

Knowing Fred, he will have found sixteen other things on the way back from getting this one. All new and in the boxes....


Rick

 

[unimatic1140]

knowing Fred, he will have found sixteen other things on the way back from getting this one. All new and in the boxes....

and at 1:00am in the morning no less, lol

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Like I said, nothing super duper extra spectacular... but nonetheless, it's a complete machine that will clean up rather nicely. And it's a Wards, too!

There's a part of me that has a soft spot for bottom of the line machines.

Surely, though... It would have come with a combination rug/floor tool? Maybe not.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Here's Harriet giving it a go.

 

[alexb1186]

Fred, great score and you can't beat free either! I happened to have my fall/winter '85 Wards catalog handy, apparently this one isn't BOL as the 4014 below it has the combo floor/rug tool and no tool caddy, this one should have the dial edge clean floor tool.

 

[vintagecanister]

I ran across an ad..........

like that posted in Madison, WI a few weeks back.

Must be a new trend for bleeding hearts. They can't just kick 'em to the curb. God bless them!

Yes......the circle of life. =o)

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

I guess it's not too bottom of the line because it has a bag indicator.... does it have a cord winder too? How nice that it came with all the attachments. I can't believe it actually says BY HOOVER on it.... usually store branded items are so mysterious about their manufacturer... I would have thought it was a Convertible from the add....

 

[luxg]

Hey Fred, Harriet looks so pleased with her new vacuum!!! How fun. I agree though I am sure that it would have came with a combination rug/floor tool. Great find at any rate and sure worth a trip out in the dark!!

Terry

 

[vintagecanister]

You should.......

Leave an picture of Harriet back in the alley with a thank-you note signed from her! Or is there anyway to reply to the CL ad?

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Just an update...

Today I finally got around to tearing the cleaner apart and giving everything a good bath. I had to order a few parts for it, those should arrive within a few days. While I don't think these motors were really meant to be serviced -- they do come apart, which makes it easy to clean all of the fans and get the 'old dirt' stink out of the vacuum.

Here's most of it drying after getting a bath...

 

[hoovercelebrity]

The other half...

These all went through one of Robert's dishwashers. I ran them through 3 times ... there was a lot of nasty inside this cleaner. Now it just sparkles!
There is some minor discoloration on the bag-lid. Hopefully some of that will buff out without too much trouble.

Stay tuned for pictures when I get it all done! I'm excited to get this done.. I'm postponing vacuuming the hardwood floors for a few days so I can give this a real run through its paces when it's all back together.

~Fred

 

[suckolux]

Nice work there Fred! A trooper!

 

[kenmore81]

Wow! That is too awsume Fred. You sure do have the Luck!

 

[Klectrolux]

Excellent find! My Dad used to have the Hoover Spirit version of this, but with a power head. Non straight-suction machine. I want to find one eventually. Great photos!

 

[DysonAnimal]

Wow, it'll be glowing by the time you're done - can't wait to see the finished results!

 

[jayelux]

Dishwasher

I've been tempted to clean vacuum attachments in the dishwasher. Is there a type of detergent I should use or more importantly, a type I should avoid? The dishwasher is a Sear-branded Bosch that has been superb. The attachments run the gamut.
Thanks for your advice.
Jay

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Jay-

Good question...

I've only done it a handfull of times, but I know there are some folks who run anything they can fit into the dishwasher in the dishwhasher (hubcaps included). Be careful of detergents; they can haze the plastic sometimes (that happened to one Hoover spirit bag lid I ran a while back. I ran this particular load 3 times with super hot water and no detergent... Only about a quarter cup of STPP (phosphates), that Robert has. It just helps soften the water.

Maybe try it with some attachments that you don't care too much about at first -- just to try it and see what happens.. and maybe add a few tsp of detergent.

I also don't let it run through the entire dry-cycle. Only about 5 min. of it. Just lay it out to dry for a day or so. Also, if something is super nasty, you could probably soak it in really hot water for about 20 min before you put it in the dishwasher. Even though most parts come out very clean, sometimes manual scrubbing is still necessary.

And you'd probably want to run an empty cycle after -- to clean everything out, before you run dishes again. I would always do that whenever I used my parents dishwahser. Just to avoid any cross-contamination.

Try it and report back!

 

[rolls_rapide]

That style of cleaner (minus the tool caddy) and with UK hose and tools, was sold in the UK as the Hoover Compact; a smaller cheaper version of the Sensotronic.

The same basic design seems to have been the core of the UK Hoover Sprint models.

 

[vacfanatic]

Dishwasher and Dyson DC07 Animal...

Fred,

I tried the dishwasher out on a purple Dyson DC07 about a year ago, and while it worked great to de-scud everything, it totally wrecked the coloring in all of the plastic. What was a nice purple before, turned out to be a faded pink/light purple LOL. I think the heat and regular dishwasher detergent I used is what did it...

Oh well, at least it smelled good

Andrew

 

[hoovercelebrity]

All Done!

Like I had predicted, this cleaner turned out really nice! Not too bad to work on either. These cleaners that are more on the BOL end of the spectrum are by far the easiest to work on... no powerhead or cord-winder to deal with!

Enjoy the pictures!

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Tool caddy...

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Inside...

 

[hoovercelebrity]

I cheated -- and replaced the hose. I can't stand that cheap blow-molded plastic hose that Hoover switched to in the late 80s. Feh. Although I think I have a longer Tufflex hose somewhere in my hose bins, this one will do for now. I robbed an extra PortaPower hose and just swapped the end. I love the Tufflex hoses.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

One more glam-shot...

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Harriet, taking a break from her busy holiday decorating to give take the freshly restored Spirit for a spin.

 

[arh1953]

Their loss is your gain!

I love those Spirit clones, at least they had the decency to post it in Craigslist, even as a discarded item. I love the eeny weeny Admiral TV next to your lady friend too! And the lamp-I have a slight variation of it that I found in Mustard Seed, with its shade stolen from a Goodwill lamp.

 

[henrydreyfuss]

Wow!!

Fred your Ward's Spirit turned out great! I really like the simple look of this model. It looks clean and 1980's modern. I also like the way all the tools store on top. I love how you have the upholstery tool and dusting brush sitting on the vac at an angle... it looks cute!

Congrats on the alley find! Kudos for further investigating that bizarre craigslist ad!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!