Vacuum Storage...What to do?

[electrogirl]

Hello All,

First off, I hope everyone had a pleasant and joyous Thanksgiving. I know I did. I spent it with very close friends and had a wonderful dinner and relaxing after dinner conversations.

As many of you know, I am planning a move for mid-January (hopefully). I would like to get most of the vacuums out of my living space for the time being, and I am thinking about storing them upstairs in the garage attic. The garage attic is finished space with hardwood flooring and finished walls.

The biggest issue is that there is no heat in the garage, and I am concerned about storing my uprights and canisters in a cold (possibly freezing) environment. I will be keeping my Connie, 1973 Hoover convertible, Electrolux Intensity and one Super J in my apartment. But all the others need to find a new home to reduce clutter in my living space. Currently the brown Hoover that I bought off craigslist is up in the attic loft.

Will they be ok out there for the next month and a half? I don't want the bags on the uprights to become brittle or any problems with the motors.

Any advice would be great, I want to do the right thing and preserve my small collection. But I expect to have some guests during the Holiday season, and it is unsightly with vacuums and hoses everywhere. The paper bags and attachments will be kept indoors as I have space for them.

 

[rocketwarrior]

Ahh the answer.

What I do is throw away the hoses, bags and motors, cut them up, accessorize them with found objects and repaint them and then they are good for any environment. But, maybe that is not what you had in mind (smile).

http://www.goodfirm.com/marksart

 

[electrogirl]

Thanks for the advice...

Well Mark, that is wonderful advice, but unfortunately that would leave me with a huge pile of vacuum rubble as I am not one bit as creative as you in creating vacuum Robots...

Actually my friend Steve is still nagging me about creating some kind of vacu-bot. But I do not weld, so he is out of luck for the time being.

I am still hoping that they will mate..I have seen your vacuum birth video and am ready to provide my services as an amateur mid-wife to any robo vacs that choose to procreate.

 

[electrogirl]

Mark's Website.

Oh, I really like your website, I think you are a mad genius.

 

[swiveltop]

Hi Electrogirl, For that short of time I don't think you would have a problem storing the machines in a finished space,If you are concerned about the bags on the uprights I would take them off and store them inside,I have limited space inside also,I wish I had a room just for the vacuums,I know what you mean about guests,some people would find the vacuum collection a little crazy,luckily the guests that I have are friends from way back and they know me well,last time they were here one said jokingly "I got out of bed and almost trippped over a vacuum" I have a garage,but it is not insulated or heated or cooled,so the better vacuums have to stay in the house,I try to stash them in every place I can,My bathroom closet has my Connie and two Filter Queens and hoses and bags,my Housekeeper Plus,one Concept One and the Oreck fit snugly in my antigue wardrobe,thats just one side,I'm going to make room for more on the left side.

 

[swiveltop]

Here is my Kenmore on top of the wardrobe

 

[petek]

Storage,hmmmm. Tom and Jeff have the best solution hanging them on the walls. Most of mine are in the basement but I have numerous as well in one of the bedroom double closets and also in one of the hall closets. One or two usually reside in the living room/hallway for a week or so to get used, then I switch them. Oh and then I have 4 or 5 in the familyroom/laundry area.

 

[petek]

My other solution as I did today...when a vac enthusiast guest drops in, vacuums go out into their car.. LOL I'm happy to report I'm 3 connies, a Sunbeam mixmaster and a GE triple whip lighter this evening and I'm still tripping over stuff.. LOL

 

[aeoliandave]

Yes Pete, seeing the dilema you face as you disgorge the contents of all those moving cartons really spurs me to get going on the kitchen reno again. All these recently adopted mixers, jeez, there's no room to even make a sandwich left on the counter, just enough to add half & half to a single cup of Bunn brewed coffee. arghhhhh. I refuse to put the mixers back in boxes so I guess they'll have to go live in another room for a while. My kitchen is all original down to the wainscotting save for a skinny shallow stack of chipboard cupboard units 11" deep over the matching sink counter. In my mind's eye I see glass front 18" deep cabinets hung from ceiling to chest level on two walls to house the regular everyday dishes & cups and showcase the mixers, blenders, irons, toasters, etc.

Just after I bought the house I came across being turfed at the local dump, in its box, a never uninstalled 6 foot double sink double drainboard porcelaine on steel kitchen counter from the 50s. The rear edge rises up 4" with 3 standard holes for taps & spout and a 4th hole for a sprayer below & between the sinks.

As for vacuum display, I really like those open wire units from Lowes...and now I'm going to have to get another one just for the 6 (so far) Constellations. Hey, I can populate the lower shelves with the homely Comet Tanker and his stylish kin, the Compacts.

 

[aeoliandave]

Pete's got a great storage solution - stuffing visitor's nooks & crannies full of parts & machines.

Too busy to take many pix but here's Pete dancing with his latest DAM I brought over with some wands for his Electrolux 88. We found this online in London. Came complete with hose & tools. Because I was headed that way anyway to pick up some Kirby Heritage II tools, I called the guy, who was so grateful somebody would actually show up after so many no-shows, he gave it to me gratis. It's been his daily driver from new from his Mom and he's replaced it with a Dyson Animal. Each to his own.

As a side note, London Bachelor also lives in an old house on a corner lot, which has more than a dozen Carnival & Amusement Park coinslot automata games scattered thoughout the small rooms, like fortune tellers and claw prize scoopers and the like. So he understood my vacuum obsession. My kinda collector, eh?

Morning news flash! The Lady Leigh in London I got the Heritage tools from also had a nice G3 & tools for $90 but had a buyer coming by to get it. This was last Thursday. Got an email this morning the buyer dropped out and Leigh has offered it, kit & kaboodle, to me for $30. Gosh, a Kirby G3 powerdrive with hose & stuff...duh. Guess she liked me, will pick it up on my way back from Pennsylvania & Ohio next weekend.

 

[electroluxxxx]

the answer to your question

the machines will be fine in the garage it does not matter what the temp is but a hint is to take the bags out of the machines. I have several vacs in my back room and it is not heated. the machines still run as if they were new. I have not had any problems.

 

[myvacsrock]

OMG!
swiveltop can i get a pic or two of that housekeeper?

 

[chestermikeuk]

Storage...

I`m beyound storage and ready for the asylum, be warned, 5 vacs +, ebay, craiglist,estate sales & donations ....its a slippery slope!!!

I tried this but it didnt help!!!

 

[swiveltop]

Housekeeper Plus Pics

Hi Kyle,Here is the Housekeeper plus pics, I think they almost had it perfected when they went out of business,it reminds me of the Electrolux upright,I found bags for it at two old hardware stores here,I should buy the rest of the bags,really old stock items that probably can't be reordered,I like the L shaped nozzle,it fits under my kitchen cabinets easily. Mark

 

[swiveltop]

Housekeeper Plus

one more pic

 

[vacuumkid3]

For my vacuum storage, I use a shelving unit and my floor space, the shelves for canisters and the floor space for uprights. I soon will need another shelf, though! Mine is all full!! Anyways, I will try and take some pictures of my storage solutions soon.

~~K~~