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

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fan-of-fans

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My parents were fairly supportive. They actually bought me a 5 gallon shop vac and a Bissell stick vac for Christmas one year. Still have the Shop Vac, the Bissell got sold.

My mom also got me a Eureka Mighty Mite at an estate sale one time. I think that might have been my first vac, still have it too.

They would also let me pick up vacuums from the trash to take apart. But I wasn't allowed to take them in the house. I had a Kenmore canister and a Hoover Celebrity I got at one house that were missing everything. A Eureka F&G and a Hoover Convertible.

One time I found a hard bag case Hoover Legacy which was like new other than the bag case tabs had broken off. They did let me keep that one and even let me get a new bulb for the headlight that was burned out and bags for it. Back when you could buy genuine green Hoover bags at the grocery store! Miss those days.

One of our neighbors used to pick up things from the trash and he left a Kenmore upright and a canister on the porch. My parents hated that but let me keep them for a while. Then I had to throw them out.

One year my aunt bought me a Black and Decker Car Vac (12V Dustbuster with attachments).

So overall my parents were supportive of my collecting. It was when I got older they didn't like it. She was ok with me getting brand new vacuums or ones that were always kept clean. But since when I started driving I discovered old vacuums at Habitat and started buying them, she didn't like it, and said they were about the dirtiest thing to collect.

But eventually I showed her that I clean them all out and get new bags, etc. And she realized I wouldn't likely stop the interest so she was passive about it. But honestly they do take up a lot of space, and I have gotten a lot more selective about what I get.

Also both my grandparents let me play with their vacuums. My grandparents on one side had a Montgomery Ward metal wet/dry vac that I have a picture of me playing with, which my grandma gave me recently. My other grandmother let me get out her Singer Silver Glide canister and put it together though I never actually used it.
 
Some think im nuts probably am ahahhaah

But my mother is suportive and interested in seeing how i bring them back to new condition .

Doesnt like the idea per say but once she use myElectrolux ZB89 eluxomatic green she was sold on it .

Igot to vacuum whit there vac (of my fam member but thats it )
could not get my hands on it so in 2012 i got my own compact c9 no more you cant take it home i own the thing hahah .
 
For me it’s been interesting

Growing up I always had an interest in vacuums. My parents thought it was funny but cute and that nothing would come come out of it.
Then when I started getting vacuums and building a collection, they got concerned. They thought it was a mental illness and that there was something wrong with me. They wouldn’t stop me or anything, but they would get upset and strict whenever I got another vacuum. This went on from age 10-around 14 or 15. After several years, they finally started to accept it. Now at age 19, they’re mostly supportive of my vacuum collecting. Every once in a while they’ll tell me to slow down a bit and save my money. But that’s really it.
 
Parents and family

were supportive. I wasn't living at home when I started collecting so it was a bit of a surprise. They get a kick out of my collection. I do any small repairs I can for families vacuums and help with advise on new purchases, they always ask for an opinion. Same with friends. One asked,"why vacuums,why not cars?"

When asked why I just say "because I can."
 
"why vacuums, not cars"

At least vacuums don't take as much space or require insurance, oil changes, brakes and tires. Belts and bags, yes but way cheaper! :)
 
My parents especially my dad was veeeeeery very much against it. Boy I got in a whole heck of a lot of trouble growing up. It was one of the reasons I moved out when I could
 
My mom hates it and she goes full thermonuclear meltdown if a vacuum comes in the house. So I have to kind of hide them. I keep telling her I'm trying to find a hobby or career I want to do, but she doesn't believe it.
 
@fan-of-fans,

So true what you said.Plus, I can fit my entire modest collection of 51 vacuum cleaners in a single bedroom and enjoy them all at once. He has to drive to one of two highly insured storage facilities to see 4 of his 6 "Show cars" that he only sees when he shows them maybe 2 or 3 times a year.Mine? Anytime.

The other day he made a similar comment to me shaking his head and smiling,"You and your vacuum cleaners Billy, I just don't get it." I smiled back and said "You definitely don't get it, and that's OK!
 
My Dad started me on it actually!

My Dad would pick up vacuums off the trash to see if he could figure out what was wrong with them and bring them back to life if possible. As a very small child I enjoyed vacuuming so when he would get one he would have me watch alongside him. Once fixed up we would use them in the basement which was split up into a workshop and general play space and eventually an office was added. My Dad did. Lot of woodworking so there was always a lot of sawdust to clean up and the basement stairs that had carpet treads on them had sawdust always tracked on them so I was able to vacuum a lot. Also Mom let me do the vacuuming as I got older as a household chore!

Then Mom, Dad, and I would get more when we would come across some free vacuums at the dump’s free exchange “gift shop” in the town of my parents vacation home. We would mostly at that point pickup Electrolux canisters and various Electric broom because that was the vacuums we all seemed to like and we knew how expensive an Electrolux was to buy new so it seemed to be a value to get a used one free and if it was good to pass it on in the family to one of my siblings or add to another floor in the house.

For me I didn’t really start collecting except to ask for my Aunt’s Electrolux XXX which was purchased by her and my Dad’s Mother after my Aunt unexpectedly died. Then that was the only vacuum I was hanging onto and had put away. A few years after college I moved to TX from NJ in 1994 for a job. A year after being in TX the neighbors Hoover convertible I had kept for myself when I was in college died and so I bought a used Electrolux Silverado and really didn’t have anything else except a mini shop vac I bought in 2003 until 2007 or 2008 when I got fed up with cleaning out the mini shop vac I had and decided to buy a used Electrolux model E to replace the shop vac...a year later a friend like the E so much I decided to give it to him and I bought an Electrolux F to replace the E, and then I started finding some good values on eBay when people would see my Electrolux and say “hey can you get me one” so I would find something good for them on eBay and sometimes end up getting a deal of more than one machine and next thing I knew I was buying lots of parts and attachments and even found one with a bad motor but the outside was perfect condition and it was local but on eBay so I was able to avoid the shipping charge. So maintaining these for a few friends I ended up with a few machines of my own and once in a while would buy something I couldn’t resist. More recently I obtained some deals I couldn’t pass up at Thrift stores on Some great condition Adria’s and also a great condition trash find Kenmore canister and so collection has grown more but I sent one Aerus off to my Brother as he needed one. And the Kenmore needs to go off to a good home as I’m not interested in it for me. Now I try to only pickup from the trash only what is quite expensive new to see if it needs a low cost repair and give it away. Most cheap modern day plastivacs out on the trash piles are usually worn out and not worth the time to bother fixing and parts often aren’t available so those I’ve learned can stay on the trash. Though I often may take the attachments if they are in good condition and the universal 1 1/4 inch used by most brands so I have some to pair up with a more valuable find that may be missing an attachment or two.

So for me, collecting isn’t in as true of a “collectible” hobby but rather a practical hobby for intended use in the future or to give to someone who really wants or needs one of what I have. I often don’t keep machines I get for long. I’ll fix them up, use them for a while, and then pass them on after I get bored with them or decide they aren’t my favorite. For me Aerus/Electrolux canisters have always been a favorite and until I was able to have access to getting them inexpensively, I didn’t have many but now it’s the only brand I will justify keeping for myself for a collection with intent to use. And I’ve even given several away.

My siblings know I like vacuums and know I come across them and fix them up sometimes. My Brother has even done the same so he could have himself a decent free Electrolux. My Sister knows I’m into vacuums and she’s had various brands and models over time and was always kind of annoyed with the high pricing of Electrolux so would buy other brands when she wanted a new vacuum but has realized they are not as good and don’t last as well. She more likes ease of use machines but doesn’t like an upright so her current favorite has become the shark rocket and has added optional tools to make it very versatile and after many years of using many other brands now sees why I’ve always like the Electrolux, it tends to be easy to use, so quite a good job, and versatile and doesn’t break down a lot and has replaceable parts.

People don’t think I’m terribly odd for being into vacuums as often lots of people are into collecting other things such as power tools, small kitchen appliances, sewing equipment, various Knick knacks, dishes, teapots, lawn equipment and so on so it really isn’t all that odd and we should all realize that it’s just our collectible item we are interested in over some other item.

I’m a coffee connoisseur so I have a lot of different types of coffee makers. Does that make me weird? I don’t think so. I like to vacuum so I have different types and like to try and experience different brands and types. Does that make me weird? In either case I think the answer is certainly no. It’s just that the vacuum isn’t something as commonplace to collect as things like cars, and other items mentioned above.

I also think interest in vacuums is much greater than we think, it’s just that people who do have the interest perhaps don’t keep the previous ones, rather they just buy a new one when they Have found a new one looks interesting to have and throw away or give away the old one simply because they are tired of it and in a lot of houses, you’ll be guaranteed to find multiple vacuums in as people buy something new or different but still like the previous one.

Jon
 
Well I was never much into vacuums at a young age. Antiques, mostly. And some other random crap. Neither of my parents much cared for the hoarding aspect of collecting, though my interest in antiques rubbed off on my mom. She's not a collector, but she definitely appreciates them now. The rule for my collecting was 'nothing bigger than a bread box.'

So I had quite a few old radios, as those were about as big as I could go under those conditions.

Now I'm an adult, so I can do whatever I want. That includes eating ice cream before dinner!
 
Hmm

I didn't start liking vacuum's until a little over 3 years. I showed my mother in law who me and my life live with to help take care of. She thought it was really cool. My wife hated it. It was maybe nine months in and I got a letter. My wife wrote a letter saying shiny big bumper older model took her place. She could never suck like a vacuum. I hope you merry your vacuum. It was a joke but I didn't realize I was so upset. It's funny now.
My parents think it's pretty cool. My dad had a crappy $30 dirt devil. He said he heard sharks were great. I got a nice shark with a 12 foot hose. I also gave him a royal prince. I told him to use it on the bed.
He loves them and thinks they are the perfect vacuum's for him.
I've sold a few things a rainbow I made $600 and a bag $300. My wife and mother in law realized I was very good with vacuum's.
I don't like to hoard. I want to down size my collection to 5-7 vacuum's. I want people to enjoy a good vacuum. I can't enjoy them all.
 
I'm pretty sure

that I'd be just as happy with owning maybe 10% of what I have now. I think I'd rather spend the time and money on 6 to 8 of my favs and let the rest go. I still enjoy learning about and admiring all the different machines out there, but I can do all of that without owning them.

I can't see moving to a bigger house just so I can continue collecting, and that's pretty much what I'd have to do, so no, not gonna happen. Only two left on my bucket list since the revision!
 
My dad hated it too! I got the vacuum is a tool not a toy speech from my dad on several occasions. Although, he did let me have a Regina electric broom that one of his friends left in my dad’s AG barn for me one time. My dad is very conservative he didn’t like me doing “woman’s work”. He has lightened up a little bit since he’s gotten older.
 
My father never said anything at all about the vacuums during my childhood. I didn't have too many, maybe three that I can think of. Given by relatives who got a new one. My mother was always encouraging, in the respect that when we went to the mall, she would stand me in the Sears vacuum department and leave me there while she shopped. No one ever stole me and I was always there when she came back. When I was 17 and decided to sell new Rainbows so I could buy a car to drive my senior year in High School, she took me to the Rainbow office and consigned a machine for me to demonstrate since I wasn't 18 yet. I bought a brand new car three months later with the money I earned selling Rainbows. It was on the drive home, with my dad driving my new car (I didn't have a license yet) that he turned to me and said "I guess there's something to all this vacuum crap after all".
 
My Dad kind of started my interest too. When I was little, I was
afraid of the vacuum and dad didn't want me to be afraid. So he
helped me run the vacuum cleaner so that I would not be afraid.....

After that I asked Santa Claus for a childs vacuum cleaner each Xmas. Back
then they made some really neat ones, not these cheap plastic
toy vacuums the make now.


Sincerely,

PR-21
Bud
 
This is actually a fairly recent obsession for me. I found this site about seven or eight years ago, a few hours after I'd rescued a Kirby Gsix from beside a dumpster. I knew I'd found something cool and wanted to know more about it. I didn't really start collecting until a couple of years later when I acquired a Kirby G5, Electrolux Super J and Royal Prince 501 handheld in short succession. At that point I was in what one might call 'active addiction'.

I live in a different city a couple of hours away from the rest of my family and they never come to visit, so they're not really aware of the extent of my collection, which is just fine with me. People who come to my house and see all the vacuums stashed in various nooks and crannies think I'm sort of weird but that's their problem. 'What the hell do you need so many vacuums for?' is a pretty common question and understandable since my house is so cluttered, vacuuming is nearly impossible. A friend of mine was over at my house one evening, saw that I was on this site and she said it could be worse, I could be looking at porn or trying to find a date on Tinder.
 
Growing up in the 70s my parents initially looked at it as just a strange obsession that would eventually pass. (They did even buy me a toy vacuum for Christmas). What really changed their attitude toward it though was when Stan Kann started his show on the Television here. Suddenly the attitude went from it being weird and it will pass to "Well....Hes famous and collects these things so it cant be all bad" They never worried about it after that.

That show made a big difference and, happily, I was able to meet Stan about a year before he passed away and tell him that.
 
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
 
Well, when I was a youngster I tended to accumulate all sorts of mechanical stuff. Talking Machines, radios, home appliances, lawn mowers. Mom and Dad urged me to choose limits, so I limited the appliances and other detritus that I kept to items made before 1925. In the late 1960s this wasn't all that limiting.
 
I sort of stumbled into collecting vacuums when I was in my early 50's. My parents had passed and I was going through their stuff selling some, giving other stuff to relatives who wanted it, keeping some for myself including their two old Kenmore canister vacuums. After sorting all that out it was around 2008-ish I want to say that I was trying to revive the two old Kennys for purely practical reasons. All I had was a Hoover Caddy ( Crappy ) Vac which I basically hated and even the older of the two Kennys from 1969 felt like luxury goods compared to that noisy, crude Hoover. At the time money was a real consideration so reviving what I had was the order of the day.

The 1982 Sears Best needed the power nozzle gone through, new motor belt and brush roll. That was the first home appliance repair I had ever accomplished and it felt kind of good. Both needed new hoses which were still available then. It was also missing the red bag holder which proved to be tough to find. The older 1969 vintage canister needed bearings and brushes in the motor and all the several gaskets replaced so it would seal ( not just the motor seal but the metal hump for the cord winder screws into the main body and needs its own gasket, which I made from bulk automobile gasket material ). During the repair the woman who would become my wife cleaned out the garage, including the two speed switch and on-off switch. Yikes ! In the process of trying to locate the necessary parts to revive these two old girls I discovered this whole world of vacuum collecting.

After a couple of years I realized the old 1969 was going to be hard to keep running forever as there are just no parts anywhere, it weighs a ton and the handle is prone to cracking ( mine isn't but it is only a matter of time ) so I retired it for something a bit newer but still sort of vintage and now the snowball was picking up speed. O_O

Can't say many in my family know I collect vacuums aside from my wife and our little boy. He seems to think it's cool. My wife alternately rolls her eyes or arches her eyebrows at me when another box thuds on the front porch. "Another vacuum?" she will ask in that voice reserved for wives to use on their husbands while giving me that look of disapproval. For anyone else I'm just an old guy with a silly hobby.
 
My Grandmother, and both sisters had Hoover model 28s. They scared me, a little. My aunt gave me a Toy Hoover (handisac model). I guess it worked. Later, in life, I'd get, "So, you collect SWEEPERS?"
Then, it turned into, "Ask him. He'll know". Or, "I'm getting someone a cleaner for a gift. Come with me". A while back, I was hired as an 'expert witness', by a law firm... more than once. It became quite lucrative....wasn't so funny anymore. Now, it's just 'one of my things'. lololo
 

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