Childhood Household Vac Acquired!

[henrydreyfuss]

Hello Vaclanders!

Well as the title suggests, to my surprise, I re-acquired the model vacuum cleaner my family used when I was growing up. It's a Eureka ESP, which we purchased in 1990 from a sadly recently-closed department store. The funny thing is that in my 16 years of thrifting and vac hunting, as well as working in a vac shop for several years, I NEVER saw this same model (I've seen some that were close, but never again this one). Last weekend, I decided to head to an estate sale randomly near my home, and there it was, sitting in the basement next to their washer and dryer, in shockingly excellent condidtion. It was marked down from $5 to $3, and came with the instruction manual. I quickly purchased it and threw it in my car, before I looked at (and passed up) the other vacs they had for sale.

I would say this is a cheaper Eureka ESP, with a plastic handle and short cord, but it has a strong 6.5 amp motor with TONS of airflow, and a VGII brushroll to really beat the hell out of the carpet and deep clean. The machine runs perfect, the brushes aren't worn down, the bag is perfect. Couldn't be happier!

While not a particularly exciting model Eureka, this model is ultra-nostalgic for me, and brings back a mountain of memories. What vacuum did your household have growing up, and do you still have it?

 

[vacuumguy91]

Congratulations. Very nice vacuum.

 

[kenkart]

When I was born We had

A General Electric swivel top model 815-AVC Which was the first canister type vacuum GE made, Mother bought it new in 1952, the hose and wands were worn out and when I was about 2 or 3 she got another GE which was of course no where near as good as the original, in 1969 they put down wall to wall carpet and Mother got a DialAMatic 1140, Then a Celebrity 2 Powermatic in 77 or 78, I don't have any of these but I do have machines like them, I do have our next door neighbors Automatic F Electrolux that I used as a kid,She was my Mothers first cousin and like a aunt to me and I goot to vacuum for her many times, I also have my Kindergarten teachers Eureka 910 Roto Matic She bought new Oct 10, 1962.

 

[vac-o-matic]

Congrats Corey! That's the only other model I've seen with that particular handle style other than my mom's gray 5.5 amp Eureka. They must not have used that very long. That looks like a pristine machine!

 

[s31463221]

Childhood Vacuum

Somewhere shortly before or after I was born, my mom bought a brand new Electrolux Olympia One. She and her younger sister bought identical machines at the same time and growing up that's all I remember being around as her sister would babysit me when I was little. The machine did have to get a new motor when mom accidentally picked up some water that had sprung from the washing machine and she didn't realize it until it was too late, other than that, that O-One was around all of my life! In the late 90's, she did buy a Kenmore Whispertone to use for the house, but we still kept the Electrolux as a backup/upstairs vacuum. None of us really liked the Kenmore and I always opted to use the Olympia, or my Super J which dad had picked up for me from somewhere. When the Kenmore finally burnt the prongs out at the end of the hose (like many of them did), I broke down and bought her an Electrolux Ultralux 2000 (like many of the country folks in Eastern KY, Electrolux was a household name and folks are VERY brand loyal if it's a product they liked and had good service out of!) and the old Olympia One was finally retired to the garage to be used on cleaning out the cars (my Super J had long since died and disappeared). A few years ago, I bought her a new Aerus Legacy and decided to work the tired, old Olympia One over and give it a chance at new life. I'm happy to say that the old girl still runs and looks really good after all of these years, and I still proudly have the childhood vacuum I knew and grew up with!

 

[justjunque]

Congratulations!

That's a great looking Eureka!
One of the vacuums I remember from childhood was a Eureka upright.
I have no idea what model.
It must have been older than yours.
It was light blue, with an all metal hood, and no headlight.
I remember the Dial-a-Nap knob too...one of the settings being "Shag".
All of my childhood vacuums are long gone.
I think Mom would give them to people when she would get a new one.

Barry

 

[dysonman1]

I'm so old my childhood vacuum was a broom.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I still have my childhood vacuum

My late father bought a Hoover Convertible, model 67, shortly before I was born. It's been used and abused. 2 yrs ago, I got another one during my annual trip to North Canton, Ohio. It's just about 'perfect'. I also have (not the actual cleaner), but, ALL of my relatives' Hoovers. I can point to any machine and say, "This was aunt...."
Isn't it 'comforting' to either have the actual OR a replacement machine from our childhood?
Good luck w/ your vacuum. I've seen a few of them "out there".
John

 

[electrolux137]

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There is something special about finding the machines we remember from childhood. Your Eureka find is a real beauty in excellent condition!

 

[broomvac]

It seems you forgot to mention that this Eureka you found is absolutely, literally spotless. Going off of those pictures, you found one which is truly immaculate. Good for you! I’m glad you managed to find one after years of searching.

What’s with those bristles? They look thinner and/or softer than the blue or white bristles I see on Sanitaires. Are they? If so, I would be very interested in trying to find some because I have delicate carpet.

I used to have a very similar ESP when I was a little kid. I actually donated it to Goodwill back then because I was somewhat afraid to use it. The “extreme” agitation from the VGII concerned me at the time because I didn’t know better. Fast forward to today and now I do know better; I ended up getting a very similar F and G blue Sanitaire years later. It even has the same hood, just chrome instead of painted.

 

[hoover61]

HOOVER MODEL #61 WAS MY FIRST VACCUUM ALSO HAD A LUX TANK MY MOTHER GOT A MODEL#35 CONVERTIBLE WHICH DID NOT LAST LONG