Is it worth the work?

[sheetstyler]

Are Neighbors sister had these two Electrolux canisters in the garage. I am assuming they have been there for a while. They are DIRTY! One of them had a brand new bag in it and a mouse chewed through it and had left feces in it. The one with the messed up cord runs pretty good. I haven't ran the one with a chewed up bag. I haven't cleaned it out yet. The power nozzle runs good to. However the hoses need to replaced because they have almost no suction. My neighbor got these from her sister for me. So is it worth it to clean it up and by a new hose. I don't know how well these machines clean up if they even look clean tearing it apart and scrubing it.

 

[blknblu]

Those should clean up.
Use a working vacuum to suck the crap out of that bag chamber.
The tops come off with four screws and you can then clean them separate from the vacuum body. Make sure you use some sanitizing wipes.

After some light cleaning, you should test to see if they work and have suction.

 

[paul]

Agreed. They are definitely worth your time to restore--some elbow grease will bring them back.

Both are the Model 1401-B--classic Electrolux USA at its best. The model was named "Olympia One", because it was the official vacuum cleaner of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. You will find the specs stamped on the inside cover of the bag chamber. The power nozzle model is PN-4 (which is stamped on the bottom after "Rug Saver Power Nozzle"). Production years were from 1979-82.

As for the hoses here is a Vacuumland thread for restoring instead of replacing them:

http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?22656

I used a liquid coating called Rubber Dip and found it successful.

Contact Aerus LLC (which used to be called Electrolux Corp., because it was affiliated with the Electrolux company in Sweden) @ (214) 378-4000 or aerushome.com if you want an electronic copy of the owner's manual. You can also order items such as bags, belts, or brush rolls; or you can use the store locator to see if there's a store near you.

Fyi, the alphanumeric serial IDs are stamped on the stabilizers.

 

[rainbowd4]

Definitely worth a shot

Olympias typically clean up beautifully. One of them doesn't even have much yellowing on the top trim, which is unusual. They were one of the best luxs ever made, and are the same machine as the Silverado deluxe that followed. As for the hoses, yes there is a process to restore the suction by sealing the leaks in the rubber interior, but I don't think in this case I would bother. They are too torn up, and in fact shredded in certain areas, all which is due to storing them with the hose connected through the years. That's a big no no with Electrolux canisters that had braided hoses. It was a generally know fact that you had to disconnect them and hang them on the closet wall. Some people didn't care.