Coming Out Of The Vacuum Closet

[SeboU1]

Growing up, I was always told that this is an embarrassing hobby by my parents, so I never told anyone except family. I always hated being asked what my hobby was, because I knew I couldn’t say that it was vacuum cleaners. Have you ever told anyone such as friends, teachers, professors, or coworkers? Were your parents supportive of your hobby?

 

[royalfan103]

Growing up, I was always told that this is an embarrassing hobby by my parents, so I never told anyone except family. I always hated being asked what my hobby was, because I knew I couldn’t say that it was vacuum cleaners. Have you ever told anyone such as friends, teachers, professors, or coworkers? Were your parents supportive of your hobby?

I've been into vacuums since 2013. My parents are mostly supportive and I sometimes tell people. I'm kinda confused on the wording of the poll, though.

 

[SeboU1]

I've been into vacuums since 2013. My parents are mostly supportive and I sometimes tell people. I'm kinda confused on the wording of the poll, though.

So sorry about the wording, choose your highest academic level and then choose either you work in the vacuum industry or choose non vacuum industry. I have also confirmed that the answers to the poll are confidential.

 

[human]

I have long had an appreciation for premium, high-end vacuum cleaners, going back to childhood. I got my first Electrolux 1205 in 2004, not counting the one my dad rescued from a neighbor's trash pile in about 1981, which I used extensively and finally took ownership of some 25 years later. I rescued my first Kirby from beside a dumpster in 2013, getting a second one from my dad a few weeks later, some 40 years after seeing a Classic Omega demonstrated in our living room. But I didn't really start collecting in earnest until about 2016 or so. It's funny. People think it's kind of a weird hobby, but when they need a vacuum cleaner, or advice about them, who do they turn to?

 

[cheesewonton]

I got into vacuums late in life trying to refurbish two old Kenmore canister vacuums my parents left when they passed. Even before they were refurbished they felt like luxury goods compared to the loud, crude Hoover Caddy ( Crappy ) Vac I owned at the time. In the process of scouring the internet and vacuum shops for parts and knowledge to buff up those two old Kenny's, one of which was from 1969, I discovered this whole weird world of vacuum collecting. Getting everything sorted on the older of the two Kenny's forced me to stretch my brain in areas I had never before studied. My twin careers were flying helicopters and later working in a weapons lab O_O and my degrees are in Economics, so figuring out how to wire up a five wire two speed motor and make a two speed switch out of a dual throw, dual pole switch and having it work right ( only popped the garage breaker once turning it on ) was one of the bigger thrills of my life. Ok, so I'm easily amused, but that set the hook.

 

[hygiene903]

Interesting poll but would need a few more choices to reflect me. For example, the education choices. Although I checked the high school box, I actually DID go to college, double majored, and have Associate Degrees, Magna Cum Laude, in both Accounting and Business Administration. Also, in the industry choices, I did sell Electro-Hygiene vacuum cleaners for about 7 months in 1974 and Galaxie Prestige vacuum cleaners (which were sold through Electro-Hygiene distributorships) for about 3 or 4 months in 1976 but never made a career out of it. Most of my career was in the Printing Industry, and 22 years of that were at United Church Directories (later Lifetouch). If you've ever seen a church directory with a leatherette cover printed with gold or silver ink, I most likely printed that cover! I've also worked in factories for about 12 years, but the only job I had related to my college studies was being an office manager at a small construction company for about 4 months. Their books were several months behind when I started there so I had to work on getting them caught up in addition to the day-to-day duties, but seems like once the books were caught up, they didn't need me anymore.
As for my collection, I was just about always interested in vacuum cleaners, and at 4 years old I knew what kind of vacuum cleaners my Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, neighbors, and family friends had, and where they kept them! But I didn't really get into collecting them until later in life, about 20 years ago. My parents would probably have been supportive of the hobby if they were still around (my Dad passed 60 years ago on 9/29/1965 and my Mom passed 23 years ago in Nov. 2002), as they bought me a toy Hoover when I was 2 1/2, and several of the ones that started my collection were Mom's. My collection was actually just an accumulation of about 12 before I learned that people actually collect them, and when I started meeting people who did, it was then that I realized that I AM A COLLECTOR!
Jeff