Grandma Jeannette's Electrolux Olympia One

[mercuryman73]

During a recent visit to my father's house, he had a special surprise for me. It was the very vacuum cleaner that had once belonged to my Grandma Jeannette, who had passed away in 1981. It had sat in my father's attic for about 10 years, and had sat in my grandfather's basement for twenty years before that.

Behold my grandmother's Electrolux Olympia One. It's an early model (note the Super J style carrying handle), and it bears the 1980 Winter Olympic Games sticker on the back end.

I did not take a before photo of this machine. It certainly was dirty from its years of sitting in basements and attics. But it cleaned up to look as near-new as I've ever seen a machine of this age. Enjoy!

 

[vacman1961]

Nice looking Olympia One, do you have all the attachments for it???

 

[djub85]

Beautiful!

 

[s31463221]

Brian

That is a beautiful example of an Olympia One! I still have my mother's Olympia One! I grew up with that old vac and it holds a TON of sentimental value to me! I'm curious, you said your grandmother passed in 81 and the vac spent quite a bit of time between a basement and attic....does that mean that it sat unused all that time? If so, you certainly have an amazing time capsule there!!

 

[mercuryman73]

Attachments...

I do have the original wands and the matching flipover rug and floor nozzle, as well as the dusting brush. My father told me that he used this vacuum for a brief period of time before putting it into the attic, and had stopped using it because the suction was poor and he was getting electrical shocks from the original hose (which he subsequently threw in the trash). As was the case with nearly all woven saran Electrolux hoses, they lost their suction over time. With the replacement vinyl electric hose I purchased for it, the suction is excellent and the motor runs as new! Here's another pic of the vac next to my Super J.

 

[electromatik]

Wow that is amazing that it cleaned up to look so good. Your grandmother must have been like me and took great pain to not bang and scratch her things. Not a trace of rust on the chrome either. Finest example of one I've ever seen. Now I know what they looked like brand new.

Regarding the hoses, it would be nice if Aerus would make woven hoses to match the older machines just for historical accuracy. They could make the interior of the hose vinyl or something that wouldn't leak so easily and still add the woven exterior cloth to it.

 

[luxman107]

Wow, really nice machine. It looks brand new.

 

[moderneezer]

Mercuryman73, your brown tank is so beautiful. Considering the longevity of Electrolux canisters and the fact that it hasn't been used in more than 20 years, I could imagine you would be able to continue using the tank up to the year 2030.

 

[compactc9guy]

great job

woow your Electrolux Olympia One looks near new !
I know my Compact C9 has sentimental value cuz my grand mother has one i now have my own. I would like to see a picture of your electrolux whit the hose attache ect all assemble.