Royal Prince 501 - BEST WAY TO CLEAN CLOTH BAG?

[ubergreenguru]

I was recently able to acquire not just one, but two Royal Prince 501 Hand Vacuums in remarkably good condition - Both of which have cloth bags that are in amazingly good condition, too.

Even though the cloth bags are in surprisingly good physical shape... They are, however, quite dirty.

I've shaken-out and vacuumed-out as much dust & hair as I can, but neither bag is as clean as I would like them to be.

Because of the steel ring on these bags, I've been hesitant to give these bags the standard bathtub hand-washing I normally do on vacuum bags...

...So before I screw up my beautiful vintage cloth vacuum bags, I wanted to consult the VacuumLand.Org Restoration Experts on the matter:

"How Can I Best Clean The Cloth Bags On My Two Royal Prince 501 Hand Vacuums?"

"Is There A Way To Safely Remove The Metal Rings To Enable Hand-Washing Of The Bags?"

"Or Should I Just Hand-Wash The Bags In Warm Water w/ Mild Detergent, As Usual? - And Try To Dry The Bags As Quickly & Thoroughly As Possible?"

VacuumLand.Org Restoration Experts: My Biggest Concern Is How To Go About Washing The Royal Prince 501 Bags, Without Causing The Metal Rings To Corrode Or Rust.

I Am Quite Eager To Get These Royal Prince 501 Hand Vacuums Looking Good, Smelling Good, & In Good Working Order.

Any & All Feedback +/- Advice On This Matter Is *Truly And Sincerely Appreciated*

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Sincerely,
~Justin in Chicago

 

[human]

I have a couple of these and they're my favorite handhelds. Yours really don't look all that bad. One of mine came to me stuffed with so much pet fur I think I could have knitted another dog out of it. All I've ever done to clean out the bags is to vacuum them out with a canister machine. That said, I run mine with the optional paper inner bags. The funny thing is I have to put the outer bag on the machine upside down with the paper bag in place. The cardboard collar prevents the outer bag from twisting into place in its normal orientation.

 

[suckolux]

I have one with the blue patterned bag. I know I washed it by hand with mild laundry soap, but it's been over 20 years That's about all I can remember sorry.

 

[ubergreenguru]

Thank you very much for your replies!

Human, I consider myself extremely lucky to have found a couple of Royal Prince 501's in such good condition! I looked *extra hard* to find the best possible machine, in the best possible overall condition, paying extra attention to finding a machine with a bag in as good of condition as I could find!

The first 501 I bought... The previous owner had used, or at least tried to use paper bags with it, but by the time it had arrived, the paper bag had burst & the inside of the bag was inundated with hair & dirt. - The pictures I posted were taken after I had shaken the bag out as best I could.

The second 501 I bought, well, I wasn't immediately looking to buy a second machine... But I stumbled across the "Find Of A Lifetime" on eBay, a Royal Prince 501 in immaculate condition - listed for sale by *IT'S ORIGINAL OWNER* - who had *always* used paper bags with the machine... And included with the machine was a second cloth bag; (brand new & unused!) + a second brush roll w/ plastic end caps (also brand new & unused) + all original accessories and paperwork!

So, even though I wasn't exactly looking for a second Royal Prince 501... I snatched that one up in big hurry! - God knows I would never again find such a complete package during my lifetime!

So! I'm now the proud owner of TWO Royal Prince 501 Hand Vacs!

And since my original post in this thread, I've also acquired a Stark M570-Branded Royal M5000 Hand Vac!

As an individual who's long been in love with Royal & Dirt Devil Hand Vacuums since my childhood - I couldn't possibly be happier with the 3 Royal hand vacuums I've recently added to my collection!

Let me get these vacs cleaned up + back together and I'll make a formal post with pictures of each one of the three machines.

 

[tylerhawkins84]

Use Liquid Laundry Detergent

I have one that I got NOS several years ago and have actually never used it. I have found that even new in the box units that have sat for years tend to develop stains on the bag from dust and dirt getting into the box and I suspect the material may have reacted with the acidity of the cardboard (I've bought 2 or 3 NOS units on eBay over the years and they all had spots except for the last one which was a little older from around 1980). I used it on my newer unit from the late '80's. It doesn't have the little sticker that says TOP along the ring but otherwise it was the same as the newer bags that were stained. I used some liquid laundry detergent to wash them after making sure they are thoroughly clean using another vacuum to suck out all the dust. Just make sure you dry it completely as quickly as you can using a hair dryer or placing it over a heater vent and you shouldn't have any trouble with the metal ring rusting. Make sure you get all the moisture out of the foam gasket around the inside of the metal ring to.

 

[vacmadman]

Royal 501

I got a nice one that I have never used. I don't want to get it filled with dirt. I might buy another to use around the house. I never use any of the vacs in my collection.

 

[human]

That's a beautiful example. If you were to use it, paper bag liners would be a must. But yeah, you can certainly find another one to use. They usually aren't terribly inexpensive, although the prices on eBay right now are nothing short of ridiculous.

I've got a blue one like yours, although mine has a guard in front of the switch, as well as an older one with a gray handle and cord and a red and gray bag. I got them both about five years ago and paid $3 for the blue one and $8 for the red and gray one. I just wish somebody made replacement brush rolls for them.

 

[tylerhawkins84]

I use my Dirt Devil 103

I have a Dirt Devil 103 I use around the house and sometimes in the car but the hose is a bit of a pain to hook up so I usually just use my old Royal 4500 tank that I keep in the basement with a hose but no power nozzle. It's a good hand held to, just not quite as heavy duty as the 501. It is hard to use a vintage, valuable machine that is in pristine shape becasue vacuums were not meant to stay perfect when used. I have a 4700 Royal tank that my grandma gave me about 11 years ago in average condition. I decided to fix it up and replaced a lot of the parts with NOS or used parts in excellent condition. Now it is like new and I got to the point I really didn't want to use it on a regular basis so I now use an older 4600 that is not as nice so if it gets dinged up it won't bother me but the 4700 has sat unused for the better part of 2 years now.

 

[suckolux]

I haven't seen mine in a while and just taking out to look at it I was surprised it wasn't the bag that I remembered at all.