What did your parents/family think of your collecting vacuums?

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mixed feelings I think

I think it was one of those things they thought it was a childhood thing. nope. I started out studying and playing with my moms Kirby Classic Omega attachments when she had them out before I could walk (according to this pic I was less than a year old). Then around 2-2 and a half(again according to the pics) I started using it apparently under supervision(mom was a photographer and has lots of pics of me and my bro growing up). then, when I was in preschool or kindergarten(whichever comes first) I was more mobile and started searching peoples' closets when we went to visit places(with parents or school field trips, I didn't care) my grandparents on dads side had a Sanitronic Kirby and grandparents on moms side had a Classic, Classic 3(which he sold in a yard sale I guess, because we didnt visit but for Christmas and summer and next time I came it was gone) Electrolux 1205, and a Regina Electrik Broom(the Regina was blue and thats all I know about the model) one of my aunt and uncles on moms side had a Classic they still used long after Uncle Ken became a salesman)
I didnt know at the time they were all different models, so I just called Classic 3 the "Big Red Kirby" the Classic and Classic Omega "Big Brown Kirby" and the Sanitronic was "Little Tan Kirby". I knew there was difference in Aunt Mary and Uncle Kenneths "Big Brown Kirby" and ours- ours had the "lines" on the light(trim) and the "thing around the place where it turns on" and theirs didnt. theirs had a "yellow bag"(I didnt know gold yet because it wasnt part of my crayons-but somehow I did know what tan was) and ours didnt, it had little brown "triangles" theirs had metal "balls" to hold the bag ours didnt. theres had a light- ours didnt(or at least I didnt think, because ours was always burnt out and mom and dad could care less until I wouldnt let it go that I wanted a light like Aunt Mary and Uncle Kenneths and had him "fix it" and I was happy for awhile) the drugstore had a "little tan Kirby"(which they let me run every time we were there- during business hours and it was one of those old buildings with real loose thin carpet that was also office supply so it was a little bigger.) later on when I started kindergarten I had to run the vacuum every morning before school and I remember our Kirby had duct tape on the lower part of the front of the bag-probably from rubbing under furniture. When our class to a trip to the petting zoo outside someones house but still in a fence) I found they had a "little tan Kirby" (another reason for "Little Tan Kirby" is I didnt know "Sanitronic" and "Dual 50" except one had a "circle on top of the light and the other didnt) I was so excited to see another "Little Tan Kirby at the petting zoo I had to have the lady hold it up so the rest of the class could see(she held it up because we werent allowed in the house and she didnt want to get it dirty outside) later on dad bought me my own "Little Tan Kirby" so I'd quit asking other people for theirs! The one he bought me had cobwebs on it. The people had quit using it and decided to sell probably because of the screaming motor (from bad bearings) and a hole in the bag. Uncle Kenneth fixed me up though- he made it sound good like Grand dad and Grandmom Davis' and put a new replacement striped bag on-Omega "Big Brown Kirby" style. One day while staying at Aunt Mary and Uncle Kenneths house after school I wrote a letter to Santa with a big purple crayon way before Christmas asking for a new "Big Red Kirby"(I didnt know when Christmas was- I just knew Christmas meant it was cold outside and we'd be at Grandma and Grampa Hendrix's house) later on still, Uncle Kenneth brought Aunt Mary a "Little Blue Kirby"(apparently "Dual 50" because of the plastic window on top of the headlight cap, now with a blue lense instead of the light up logo and the belt lifter had a plain blue cover instead of "Kirby on it" it seemed like it was no longer a Kirby because all the Kirby logos were gone and replaced with dark blue plastic where the lenses would go. I didnt believe it was a Kirby til they told me) I was afraid of it but don't know why- I guess because the bag was allowed to raise above the handle instead up down and I thought it was going to come of while vacuuming(I have never seen one like this since, but the bag was blue and had the little "triangle" things like our "Big Brown Kirby"

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My mom was absolutely not a fan. I picked up a Kirby 515 (had to walk 70 minutes from school to get it and all the way back to catch the bus in order to get it home) as a gift for my sister. We loved The Brave Little Toaster and I wanted to give her a vintage Kirby to take with her to University.

That was vetoed by my mum, who bought her a Dirt Devil (my sister's long hair killed it in a year, and she's been going through cheap plastic vacs ever since) so I kept the Kirby, rebuilt the motor, and still use it regularly.

Since then things have expanded to multiple Kirby models, a couple Hoovers and a Singer. She was still firmly against these old machine, claiming they spread dust everywhere (I retrofitted the shake-out units with HEPA bags, and thoroughly dissemble/clean all of them before they get put into service, but I digress) and were too loud.

She finally became a convert a couple years ago thanks to 4 scenarios:

1. My nephew absolutely LOVES vacuums and running the colourful (white and yellow) Hoover Convertible would calm him down when he was having a tantrum.

2. She was trying to run some wires through the ceiling in the basement but couldn't really manage. My strategy was to tie some string to the end of the wire, and tie a plastic bag at other end of the string, and push the lot as deep into the ceiling as I could; from there I was able to cram the Kirby's hose up in there (I had my 515 set up with the shoulder strap so the hose had enough slack to get up in there nice and deep), wave it around until it found and sucked up the bag, pull that back enough where I could grab the string, and pull it the rest of the way by hand.

3. We have a rug in the house that gets covered in cat hair, and our primary vacuum is a central vac with no beater bar attachment. She was amazed at how much easier it is to get embedded hair out of the rug with a machine that's actually designed for that sort of work.

4. I've cleaned lots of furniture and rugs in the house with the rug renovator and suds-o-gun, which makes her life a lot easier.

So she's developed an appreciation for them. They're no longer seen as old things I bought for no reason, but as useful tools when used in their intended context.

My dad was always supportive. He knew the knowledge gained of AC motors could be applied to fix other stuff for him as time went on. Any hobby that imbues me with a skill he can exploit always gets a thumbs up.

The rest of the family just looks at me like I'm weird, but harmless. "At least it's not drugs" they probably say to each other when a new vacuum turns up.
 
It's true....

that if you don't have an electrician's 'fish tape', you can put something like a nut tied to the end of a strong string and apply vacuum to the receiving end of conduit. Magically, the nut/string will get sucked into the vac hose no matter how long the conduit is.

Of course the string isn't as strong as fish tape, but it will work if there aren't too many bends and the wire not too terribly tight.

Kevin
 

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