Just Arrived Today!

[hygiene903]

I've had this Good Housekeeper model 2-232 Tank on my ebay watch list for a while now, but when the price dropped to $6.70 I started thinking more seriously, and finally ordered it Saturday. I figured at that price I can afford to take a chance on it, especially knowing that Good Housekeeper vacs are somewhat rare. Seems to be a "diamond in the rough," doesn't look too bad but I won't be able to see how well it runs until I replace the cord, as it's in really bad shape. Hose doesn't look too bad, except that at some point someone cut off most of the cuff and glued a curved hose handle on it. Popped the front cover off and the bag looks pretty good and surprisingly clean, except for what appears to be some rust stain on the outside of the bag. The pic you see here is the ebay pic, I haven't taken any yet.
I don't know much about the Good Housekeeper brand, other than it was made by P.A. Geier for United Electric Appliances in Cleveland, OH possibly in the late 40's or early 50's. If anyone has any info, I'd be glad to hear from you! Also, can the black rubber cuff that was originally on the hose be replaced? If so, where would I get one? Any info that anyone can share will be much appreciated!
Thank you,
Jeff

 

[lesinutah]

Nice

Nice find. I actually seen that last night and was going to buy but I had sold filter on so it was sold. The hose is in immaculate shape.
Les

 

[electro]

Good Housekeeper

Jeff,
I remember someone having the same tank in the 1950's. It was all finished in a grey paint-both the ends and runners. It had a black cord with Belden plug. I remember the top handle to be a simple rubber strap.
The hose had a rubber end cuff.
I can't remember what color the cloth hose was (maybe black). The wands were "s" metal and they were finished in grey paint to match the cleaner. It had a purple color cloth bag.
It had a painted metal rug tool with floating brush (shaped like a Filter Queen), wood base floor brush, plastic sofa brush and dusting brush. No crevice tool.
The paint on the end caps was shiny but the body of the machine had a wrinkled grey finish. The hose was cloth. As I remember it had good suction and was quiet.
I think this along with a similar finished upright (that looked like a cheaper Royal) were sold as a price leaders by several vac shops.
Good luck with your purchase.

 

[madman]

Not sure about the rubber hose cuff. Could perhaps be replaced with a black plastic tube, or custom made piece.

 

[hygiene903]

Good Housekeeper

Les, the hose is nice, but not quite immaculate. The fact that someone cut off most of the rubber cuff and glued in a curved hose handle kind of ruined it, but thanks for the compliment.
Electro, I actually have a model 186 Royalaire tank that is quite similar. It has the rubber handle you mentioned and is dark gray with chrome ends and runners. Also has a push button switch instead of the toggle switch. Unfortunately the attachments are not complete, having only one wand and missing the crevice tool and upholstery nozzle. I also have the model 189 Good Housekeeper upright, which is almost identical to the Royal 189 except for the bag and the front cover plate. Here are pics of both, and the rubber cuff that should have been on the hose for the Good Housekeeper can be clearly seen on the hose for the Royalaire.
Jeff

 

[lesinutah]

Is

Royalaire sane as vacuum you received?
Les

 

[hygiene903]

The Royalaire is similar, but not quite the same. It has chrome ends and runners, a push button switch, rubber handle, and is dark gray, where the Good Housekeeper is blue with blue runners and rear cover, has a toggle switch, and metal handle. The hose with the Royalaire is the way the one with the Good Housekeeper SHOULD be--with a black cuff on the end instead of a curved hose handle.
Finally was able to check out the Good Housekeeper this weekend. First I replaced the cord and the grommet where it goes into the machine and am happy to report that it runs great! But when I took the back cover off to replace the cord, I found out that not only was the cord shot, but one side wasn't even connected! I also realized that my Good Housekeeper had been the victim of a bojack repaint job, and was originally hammertone gray or silver, and in repainting it they did a good job of masking the nameplate on the top, but painted right over the data plate on the bottom, which could have been removed with 2 screws and put back on after painting! Fortunately I was able to remove the paint from the data plate without damaging it too much. I'm thinking this may also have been the time when the hose cuff was cut and the curved hose handle was added.
At this point I'm not planning to strip it down and repaint it, as the blue does look kind of nice, even though it's not original. But I do think I'm going to try to shine it up a little, and hopefully find a hose cuff to replace the one that was cut, or maybe a metal Royal hose end if I can't get an original cuff, and hopefully find some attachments for it too. Stay tuned for further developments.
Jeff.

 

[huskyvacs]

Congratulations on your purchase! I was actually watching this vacuum for the last month or so believe it or not and never grabbed it. I had no idea it was repainted too, I thought it actually came in blue.

You know so much about Royal vacuums and have a good lineup of them I have seen from past posts, I am glad it went to a good home! It will fit in nicely in your collection.