Vacuums you find or found to be scary?

[fan-of-fans]

Is there any particular vacuum that you found scary as a kid or more recently?

When I was a kid I was afraid of Kirbys. My neighbor across the street had a G3, which was newer at the time, and that didn't scare me. But my mom cleaned this place, and there was a Kirby (probably Heritage Series) as well as a plastic based gold Hoover Convertible.

My mom didn't use either of them, instead bringing her own vacuum. I would get out that Convertible and use it sometimes when I was there with her. But that Kirby - I wouldn't go near it.

I guess it was the big dark colored bag and the chrome, it just looked scary to me and I figured it would be horrendously loud if I tried to use it.

No other vacuums scare me now in that way. But I do find it a bit scary to plug in and turn on a vacuum that I don't know the operating condition of. Typically, I will plug it into a power strip a few feet away from the machine, with the power strip turned off first. Then switch the vacuum's switch on and then turn on the power strip to actually start it from a few feet away.

I figure if a fan blows, the motor squeals or it puts out sparks, I'm safely social distanced!!

So far, I haven't had much drama with turning on a used vacuum. Other than a Dirt Devil Room Mate that made an awful burning smell and sounded very slow.

 

[superocd]

I really wasn't afraid of vacuums when I was a kid (my fear was with metal axial-bladed exhaust fans, like bathroom fans, attic fans, industrial fans, etc., which oddly enough I was interested in, just from a good distance. Squirrel cage fans didn't scare me for some very odd reason), but I think the early Kirbys with the black bag and red script logo may have looked sinister, especially in the corner of a dark basement or attic. The motor shell of a Royal metal upright resembles a creepy alien skull.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I was afraid of exhaust fans as a kid too! Most especially the NuTone kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans with the open chrome grill, where you could see the blades up in the dark opening. I would literally not go in any bathroom that had one of those fans, or any old metal exhaust fan in it.

Once as a kid we went on a field trip to a place and there was one of those NuTones in the bathroom. It was on a separate switch, so was turned off. And right before I left the room, I switched it on a second to see how loud it was and it was actually pretty quiet.

Those huge fans like seen on warehouses and such didn't scare me as much if they were up high off the ground, but I saw a few close to the ground at greenhouses and such and they were rather scary to me.

I think part of it is because as a kid, there was a movie on TV that had an elevator shaft and there was a huge fan at the bottom where this guy was falling. So he shorted out the motor by putting a metal pole in the fan. I don't know what movie it was, but it made me afraid of big fans AND elevators.

Another thing was shows that had those windtunnels where they test aircraft or cars, which presumably have big fans somewhere. I remember a TV show had somebody getting sucked through one of those tunnels. So I was afraid of getting caught in a windtunnel as well.

I actually collect fans, up to about 20" big and some of them have metal blades. These do not scare me at all, but I have a healthy respect to stay away from moving blades. I've gotten smacked a time or two when my finger got too close to the blades. It sure hurt, but it wasn't particularly injurious. I wouldn't want to deliberately stick my finger in one though.

 

[superocd]

Ironically, I'm a residential/commercial HVAC tech, so I'm frequently around a lot of big fans, especially on the commercial side. Was up in this huge attic of a middle school to run line sets for a walk-in and on one of the gables (this attic had several gables, the building was "staggered" and yes, I actually got lost up there -- the catwalks were a maze) there was a huge red-bladed belt-drive fan almost as tall as I was. As a kid, it would have intrigued me but I definitely wouldn't have wanted to get close to it. As an adult, it's second nature.

 

[briannc]

Definitely the older Kirby and Royal uprights for me...they were creepy especially if they were tucked away in a dark closet...hahaha

Oil Burner/Furnaces creeped me out more though, especially in a basement, not so much if they were in the garage. I would run if it kicked on when I was down there. My grandparents had their furnace off the garage in a utility room, wasn't as creepy.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Hoover 28

My grandmother had one... big, brown, huge cloth bag.
My aunt gave me a toy Hoover. she claims full responsibility for the "collecting".
Now....................... suffice it say, I got over my fear.

 

[electro]

Hoover 28

John,
I think we can safely say you DID get over being afraid of Hoovers!
When I was small, I always thought the light and the Hoover script on the hood of the 28 along with the stripping on the hood made it look like it was smiling and happy to be doing it's job.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Funny,

I always thought of that hood as a horse's head. Also called the hood of the 150 as the beetle top!
Yes, the fear is long gone. 460+ Hoover products here.

 

[kirby519]

Don't know that I was ever afraid of any vacuum.

It could be that my brother and I got used to the sound of the vacuum and other appliances well before they made us feel reluctant to be around them.

My Mother used to vacuum under and around the crib or bassinet while my brother or I slept peacefully thru it all.

Advise given to my Mother when I was born was to just go about your normal routine. The kids will get used to it. If you try to Keep things to quite all the time the kids will have trouble sleeping thru every day activities no matter what back ground noise is going on around them.

Seemed to work well for Mom and Grandma.

 

[human]

Fans and 'Coffee Cans'...

There was an old 'coffee can' Hoover in my grandparents' basement when I was a kid. It had the twisted cloth-wrapped insulation on the cord and while it seemed safe enough just sitting in the storage room, I had no desire whatsoever to plug it in and turn it on; in fact, I was convinced it would electrocute me if I did. At the same time though, I was quite intrigued by its design in that I could see clearly how it had evolved into the tan and green Convertible we had at home.

More recently, in about 2015, I visited the N.C. Transportation Museum, which is housed at the former Southern Railroad maintenance shops in Spencer, N.C. While I was walking through the engine house, which is very well suited as a display area for locomotives and rolling stock, this giant, (easily eight feet across) wall-mounted fan came on, doubtless thermostatically controlled, shattering the near total silence of the place. It was a warm day but even so, the large, dimly lit space felt kind of stuffy. I was one of only a small handful of people walking around the place and for some inexplicable reason, was feeling a bit ill at ease. I am a very level-headed person, not at all given to panic attacks, but when that fan came on, it almost sent me over an edge. I felt an overwhelming urge to get the hell out of there. I had paid my admission fee and certainly wasn't trespassing, but I felt (irrationally, I'll admit) like I was intruding on a space where I didn't belong. I managed to calm myself and let the moment pass so I could finish my tour, but I surely didn't linger.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

I have to agree with BrianNC on the Kirbys and Royals, but that only applied to me as a youth... especially, my Mom's Kirby Classic III. At the time, I liked them but couldn't stand listening to them in person.

~Ben

 

[fan-of-fans]

Another thing that used to scare me was old heaters. Still don't like them. As a kid we went to a yard sale and there was an old Vornado heater fan for $1. My mom asked if I wanted it but I refused.

The old glowing heating elements scared me. And I still find them a bit dangerous, and I have zero old heater fans in my collection. I've saved one or two and passed them on to other collectors, but I don't want them myself.

I also didn't like the wall mounted or ceiling mounted ones in bathrooms. We used to stay at old motels on the beach, some of them had these in the bathrooms and I would freak having to shower in there, that they would suddenly turn on while I was in the shower.

Add to that those old hot plates that had the ceramic burners having little grooves with coiled wire for the elements. They seemed, and still seem, so dangerous to me. I can't see how they can possible be safe if they came in contact with the pots and pans.

 

[human]

Open ceramic burners...

The funny thing about those open ceramic burners is they were used in the first electric stoves a hundred years ago and then they came back in the '90s. That's what's underneath the smooth surface of a modern glass top stove. Back almost twenty years ago, my (now-ex) wife and I were remodeling her kitchen and the new stove was delivered with the glass cooking surface broken. I was really surprised to see the old fashioned burners under what was left of the glass.

 

[louvac]

Can you guess what it is?

When I was a kid, our neighbor across the side street would entertain us kids particularly during the summer months. After all, she was recently retired after 43 years as a kindergarten teacher and had packed her front porch with everything she had taken home from her classroom. She gradually got rid of things as we got older and there was no use for them. She would bake with us, cook with us, take us up into her attic and look through all sorts of vintage items. Then, there was the basement and I remember tucked against the brick chimney from the boiler was a dark green torpedo on an oxidized frame with wheels. Out of the top came a dirty looking grayish vacuum cleaner hose. Now, her aged mother also had lived with her until the time of her death and so I thought this was an oxygen tank and would NOT go anywhere near it as I was petrified of anything hospital or medically related. I would never ask her what it was but I would peer at it from a safe distance. I must have been a teen when I had the nerve to ask her if she still had that "machine" in her cellar, hoping she would tell me what it was. Remember, when I was growing up we were taught to mind our business and not ask adults certain things. It's not like that today. Kids do not have any boundaries and there are no limits! Well, 'needless to say, she had said, "Oh, you mean that old vacuum? It went out with the bulk trash ages ago!" And so I forgot about it and never gave it much thought afterward.

Then, I met the guys in the VCCC and at my very first convention there it was! I nearly had a coronary and I have to admit I would not approach it at first because it brought back that scary thought of it being an oxygen tank in my neighbors cellar where the old lady lived! At first, I did think, who here is on oxygen? It definitely DID NOT interest me then and still to this very day! It was a Kenmore Kencart (not sure if I spelled this correctly). I have seen this machine off of the cart as a tank cleaner with another name I think but not on that cart. No thanks! I am still not interested in it!

 

[kloveland]

My aunts Kenmore twin fan because it was so loud. The woodgrain model with a brown floral bag. Asking about an adults vacuum or their computer was off limits to me. Especially by my maternal grandfather and his wife. I think I embarrassed them by asking their friends what vacuums they had. My mom didn’t seem to care. My dad hated it. You’re right Louis kids can ask pretty much anything nowadays.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Kenmore "Oxygen Tank"

That is such a funny story! But I can picture how the Kenmore Kencart would resemble an oxygen tank indeed.


As for the ceramic coil burners, that's true. When the burners on my grandma's Whirlpool smooth top with gray mottled top were on you could see the pattern of the coils below, and I have seen a few with broken glass exposing the elements as well. My aunt had an old GM-Frigidaire Corning top cooktop from the 70s (white with gold sunbursts where the pots would go) but I can't remember it glowing. It's been replaced long since.

 

[fan-of-fans]

My parents didn't stop me from asking people about vacuums. I think I knew all of my aunt and grandparents current and past vacuums.

Some of my teachers knew I collected vacuums, one even told me she had a Panasonic upright that stopped working and wanted me to look at it, but it never happened. I even used to (in my elementary school days) talk to classmates about them!

These days only my closest friends know about my collections. I try not to give the slightest hint I collect or know about fans or vacuums. Our new cleaner at work brought in a Rainbow SE that she uses to clean. The Shark Navigator has disappeared for some reason, which is what the old cleaning lady used and we use to clean our computers with. I thought about bringing in a canister to keep in my office to clean, but I won't do it because I think it would be strange.

Awhile back, I was visiting a friends church and we went out to lunch along with some other friends. One friend who I didn't realize knew I collected vacuums asked me, in front of a lot of people I'd never met "Do you still collect vacuums??"

My face must have went red and I just said "not much anymore". Another guy looked intrigued and said "oh, you mean like antique vacuums?" and I just said yes and let the conversation turn to other things.

It's just such an odd thing to me to discuss with strangers. Sometimes I can't even imagine being able to marry anyone due to my strange collections likely being so odd. I'd probably have to get rid of everything. Of course she'd probably not mind NOT being the one to do the vacuuming. LOL

 

[superocd]

@briannc and @fan-of-fans Furnaces scared me too -- probably because my grandma said a monster lived in hers (a Coleman-Evcon mobile home downflow unit). I would run like mad past it to get to the bathroom or her bedroom. Now, I work on them for a living, lol

Commercial ovens scared me too, but only certain types (rotating tray ovens, old deck ovens, etc). Like metal exhaust fans, I was interested in them from a distance but didn't want to be near one. I think I became more afraid of them when I was introduced to the concept of cremation (someone at our church had died and was cremated) so it was explained to me that they were placed in a big oven. Seven year old me thought that the "ovens" they used were the same ones I'd see in my school cafeteria, the grocery store deli, etc.

 

[eurekaprince]

It was a weird transition from terror to fascination for me. The blue Eureka Super Automatic 260 upright we had when I was a toddler had a very “evil-looking face” to it! That headlight lens was something out of a science fiction movie, and the whole thing looked like a monster that was going to eat me! The configuration of the motor hood looked like a face: the headlight was like a single eye with a metal eyebrow above it and the tool port name plate looked like a flattened nose! The wide mouth had a thick rubber bumper that looked like a “lip”. This thing scared the $&@?$ out of me as a toddler of 3 or 4 years old. My dad had to put some white tape over the headlight lens so it would not look so scary.

Somehow, by the time I was about 5 or 6 years old, the fear turned into fascination as I saw how my mother and our cleaning lady used it with no apprehension at all. I began “pretend cleaning” with the tools and even started to take the beast out from the front closet to push it around the house without plugging it in.

And so began a lifelong romance....