What vacuums do/did your parents or grandparents use?

[fan-of-fans]

When I was younger my grandmother had a Hoover Concept One Powerdrive in beige and a yellow and green Singer Silverglide canister. When she was getting ready to move, the Self Propelled part of the Powerdrive burned out, so she had a vacuum shop disable it. After she bought her next house, she got a hunter green Hoover Elite Supreme and gave the Powerdrive to my mom. She told me at one time she had a Regina Electrikbroom but it almost caught on fire so she threw it out in the yard!

Around 2008 she sold the house and moved in with my aunt. My aunt had a black Sears Best Kenmore Whispertone canister from the early 90s and my grandma would vacuum with it sometimes but she didn't like having to pull it around. I think my aunt may still have that Kenmore, but I'm not sure.

My other grandparents had quite a few too. First my grandmother had a GE swivel top canister she bought with green stamps at the grocery store she worked at. I never saw it but she still had the attachments from it. Then she replaced that in the 80s with a Rainbow D4. They also had a Montgomery Ward wet dry vac that was white and red with a metal tank. There is a picture of me using that vacuum as a kid. The hose on that ended up falling apart, so they replaced it with a Sears Craftsman Clean and Carry 2 gallon shop vac, mostly to clean the cars with. But the last few years my grandpa wasn't able to do it anymore and he passed away early this year.

At one point my grandma got tired of setting up the Rainbow so she got a Bissell Pet bagless upright, and a Bissell carpet cleaner. When she had her carpets replaced with wood floors about 5 years ago, she gave us the carpet cleaner. But she still has the Bissell upright and the Rainbow. I think she mostly uses the Rainbow since like I said she doesn't have carpet anymore.

She also used to have a 80s Regina Electrikbroom 3 speed in an orange color, that her sister gave her. When I stayed at her house, I'd use it to clean the kitchen floor after dinner. That burned up and she replaced it with a 2000s Eureka stick vac of some kind but not sure what became of that.

She also had a metal Eureka F&G of some kind she had gotten from a neighbor because she wanted something quick to vacuum the carpets with, but I think that was replaced with the Bissell.

Now for my parents. My mom's first vacuum was a Kenmore canister Powermate from the 70s in yellow and green. I never saw it, since she had replaced it with an newer Kenmore canister in 1982. Later we also had a mid 1980s Kenmore Powermate canister that a relative was getting rid of and gave us. Then for a while she used the Hoover Concept One from my grandma but then she sold that, and got rid of the other Kenmores and bought a new hunter green Kenmore Whispertone canister around 2000.

She still has that, but around 2005 she got a Kenmore bagless Quick Clean upright with cord winder. That lasted about 10 years but somehow she cracked it so got rid of it. Then she got a Hoover Windtunnel 2 Whole House Rewind around 2016. I think at one time she also had a Hoover Quik Broom in blue, the bagged early 80s version like I have, but I don't recall ever seeing it.

 

[luxlife]

Now this is a post I can get behind...

Both of my grandmothers had Hoover Constellation #82’s. Just a strange coincidence, I suppose, because one grandmother had a Eureka Model M and the other grandmother had a Singer 2 speed. None of it makes any sense now.

 

[suckolux]

Grew up around my dad's parents only,they had the basic Singer/Eureka canister, later a Eureka upright. We had a compact C4 I think, still have and stepfather brought his Kirby dual sanitronic80? Green, stepmom, same machine which she still has!

 

[thevacomaticiec]

My mom hada Hoover Celebrity Iv powermatic canister vac,my grand ma (main rasion i havea compact) hada blue c80 comapct never had my hands on it so i bought my own , Compact C9.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

My grandmother had a

Hoover model 28.
My father bought a Hoover Convertible, model 67, 2 weeks before I was born.Still have both!

 

[KirbyCollector01]

About my family and vacuums.

My great grandma and great grandpa. They moved into their house in 1954 with an Electrolux XXX. In 1959 they got a Kirby 519. Those were their two machines for a while. In the early or mid 60s, they got a Eureka Model 2010. So those three machines were their vacuums. In the late 60s, the Electrolux was traded in for a Dual Sanitronic 80. In the early 70s, they got a Classic 1CR. The Eureka & 519 were stored in their separate triple garage (and wouldn't be uncovered until 2014 when I took them home). The D80 & 1CR was their two vacuums until the early 90s. They sold the Kirbys and got a Hoover Elite 6.0 and a Dirt Devil Plus Upright. {My great grandpa passed in 1999}. Around 2000 or 2001 my great grandma got two used Kirby Heritage II Legends. The Hoover was used until around 2005 then stored away. The dirt devil was stored around 2003. She used the two Kirby Legends until the very end. She got Alzheimer's, was later sent to a nursing home. Then passed away in 2018. The two Kirby's are still there and I hope I can get those. I really hope so because I can have something my great grandma had. Another thing to remember her by.

 

[countryguy]

When my mom got married in 1954, she got a Bell Tower vacuum similiar to the one in the pic (courtesy of Doug Smith's vac site). She then got a Filter Queen a couple years later and gave the Bell Tower to her mom. In the mid to late 60s my mom bought her mom a Hoover Constellation and a Hoover Electric broom. My mom bought a Regina V480 (pic against from Doug Smith's website) around 1970 and then another Filter Queen with power nozzle around 1972. She used that same vacuum until she died in 2001. My sister has that FQ now.

Gary

 

[electrolux137]

~
~


The earliest vacuum I remember in our household was an Electrolux E-Automatic that my parents got a few months before I was born. My mom told me they got a Royal tank machine as a wedding present when they were married (1947) but she didn't remember anything about it except that it was gray.


 


In 1962 they got an Electrolux B-7 polisher. Until then, Mama did the floors of the entire (fairly large two-story) house with the E-A's polisher attachment. I remember when the salesman came to the house. He had a big white station wagon that was stuffed full of various Electroluxes and paraphernalia. He demonstrated the Model G but my parents didn't buy it. Instead, the man took their E-A to fix up and convinced them on the B-7.


 


In 1968 they traded in the E-A for a bronze Model G which they had for 12-15 years.


 


I moved to California in 1980. When I came home for my first visit they had a dark green Hoover canister vacuum that, to me, was ugly. And as loud as a jet plane.


 


They had that Hoover for a while, then around 2000 I arranged to get them an Electrolux Model L and a later Hoover upright (like the Convertible but all plastic). They used the Electrolux downstairs and the Hoover upstairs.


 


The last machine they had was the Model L which had gotten a bad motor. I had the L repaired for them as a surprise one Christmas. They didn't know I was going to be home. My oldest brother went to pick me up at the airport under the pretext of going to the store for batteries. He had the Model L with him.


 


I rang the doorbell and when Daddy answered I said, "Hello, your Friendly Electrolux Man here with your fixed-up vacuum cleaner!" My astonished dad started tearing up and when Mama saw me she burst into happy tears.


 


They had the Model L until they sold their home and moved to a retirement community. The sister-in-law of my second oldest brother (R.I.P.) now has the Model L and the B-7 polisher that she keeps downstairs in the family room. Her main upstairs cleaner is a red Miele canister that she is crazy about.

 

[pr-21]

Premier Upright in the early 50's, then a door to door salesman sold my mom a tank style


Electro Hygiene which lasted a very long time. When my mom and dad built a new house she


bought a Westinghouse canister as they had hard wood floors and area rugs. When mom put in


shag carpet, I bought her a new Hoover Mode 70 upright from a hardware store. After that


whenever I bought myself a new vacuum, my mom got my old one (still like brand new).......


 


PR-21


Bud


 

 

[eurekaprince]

My mom’s mother - Grandma Molly - had a lovely brown/copper Lewyt tub vac that her brothers brought to Montreal for her directly from Brooklyn, NY. Montreal is only a day’s drive north from NYC, and we used to go a lot when I was a toddler in the 1960’s. Whenever I visited Grandma Molly, she would let me play with the tools. The Lewyt had a nice little tool box, and the two aluminum wands were always connected and standing in the closet. I remember the carpet nozzle had a teeny little button on its front and I was always mystified as to what it actually did!!!

My father’s mother - Grandma Rose - had a little compact Canadian made Regina Sanitron canister that looked like half an egg sitting on its side. These were made by Switson Industries in Welland, Ontario. Brown vinyl hose, brown and cream coloured canister body, cream coloured metal carpet nozzle. All other attachments were grey which really bothered me as they really did not match the ensemble. But all the attachments stored on a “Eureka-like” cardboard tool caddy - including the cool felt “shoe” that attached to the bottom of the carpet nozzle to dust delicate polished floors!

 

[oreck_xl]

My grandparents on my mother's side had a Hoover Convertible 1010. I used to push it all around the living room starting at the age of 3. Something happened to the snap vinyl bag and it got replaced with a vinyl zipper bag that was beige with a floral print. In the garage they had a G.E. swivel top canister (AVC-815) to vacuum out my grandfather's '75 Dodge DartSport. They must've brought it with them from New York (they lived in Florida). I was so sad when they put it at the curb, but my grandmother said the motor went kaput.

My grandmother on my father's side had a Kirby 560 (which I still have). She bought it new and according to my father traded in a G.E. Airflo tank to buy it. I have fond memories of using that Kirby as a child as well.

 

[edog192]

My grandmother had quite a few vacuums. First, she had a late 70s Kenmore canister. After the power nozzle broke on the canister, she bought a Kenmore Magicord upright. Other vacuums she had were a Regina Housekeeper, Electrikbroom, a Dirt Devil soft bag upright and a Bissell soft bag upright. The last vacuum she bought was a Kenmore upright in the late 90s. That vacuum I have today, I got it from her when she died.

 

[human]

When I was little, my parents had a Lewyt canister with a charcoal gray tank and a bubblegum pink motor housing. At some point, that was supplemented with a Bissell Sweepmaster electric broom and eventually replaced by a tan and lime green Hoover Convertible.

My dad's parents had an Electrolux, either an XXX or LX, that was in service until my grandfather wnt into assisted living,

My maternal grandmother had a yellow Hoover Constellation when I was little. Not sure after that, other than she had the Bissell Sweepmaster at her apartment later on.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

My grandfather had an

Electrolux 337 in white This is probably what it would have looked like if it was brand-new, although his definitely needs a bit of a clean

 

[kirby519]

My mother had a Kenmore straight suction canister until 1970. Then She had a Rexair vacuum until 1974. Straight suction again. Then a Kirby Classic Omega which she still has. Also has a Rainbow vacuum Dual speed and now a Kirby Sentria.

Her mother Started out with a Hoover upright before I was born. She then had a Kirby 519 model. Then in 1971 bought us a Kirby Classic which we still have.

My Step Grandmother on my dad's side had a Eureka upright.

 

[beagledad]

My great grandmother had an Electrolux Silverado and then an Electrolux 6500.

My dad's parent's had a Eureka canister with power nozzle. When my grandmother died my grandfather remarried and his new wife had some kind of Kirby. But he still used the Eureka canister when he vacuumed.

My mom's parents had a light blue top of the line Kenmore canister.

 

[justinajax]

My grandparents had a Kenmore Duo Power that I remember using to vacuum their house when I was a kid. From looking at a post here on Sears Kenmore it appears it was a model 3997 from 1979. They would give me five dollars to vacuum their house which to a kid was plenty. Of course I would have done it free. 

I found a Kirby rug renovator in their attic one day and asked about it. They had a Kirby (knowing what I do now I assume it was probably a 516) that had been lost when their house burned years earlier, so I took the rug renovator and tried to fit it on my mom's Classic III which of course wouldn't work . When my great grandmother died my grandmother inherited her Electrolux Golden J which I thought was a huge upgrade from the Kenmore. 


 


The first vacuum I remember in our own house was a green Hoover Convertible that I hated! The only reason for not liking it was our neighbors had a Kirby Classic Omega and for some reason young impressionable me fell in love with it. I kept after my mom to upgrade to a Kirby and finally I remember us visiting a used vacuum store and her allowing me to pick out what I wanted. I'm sure the people working there got a good laugh out of the parents letting their kid pick out what he wanted. That's how we ended up with the Classic III that I never liked as much as the neighbor's Omega. We only had it for a few years before they bought a new Heritage II and when I was in high school that was replaced with a G4. Today they have a Sentria. 

 

[bvac6]

My paternal grandmother had a Kirby Legend 2, a blue Hoover Concept, a green Hoover Powermax, a Dirt Devil Swivel Glide, Dirt Devil Deluxe Upright and lastly a Hoover Windtunnel bagless.

My maternal grandmother had a 1987 Kenmore Upright Self-Propelled, a Regina Housekeeper, and lastly two Panasonic uprights. I remember my aunt having a Kirby Tradition and my other aunt having a Hoover Concept Two in beige/orange with the handvac built in. That's about the extent of my vacuum memories with family.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

When I was born in 1981, the vacuum my parents had was the Kirby Classic III that started my fascination with all things Kirby and all things vacuum cleaners. My Dad bought the cleaner -- to the chagrin of my Mom -- on November 7, 1978. My Mom hated it because of the fact it had a shake-out bag, and that you had to take the nozzle off the machine if you wanted to change to using the hose, and back.

My maternal grandparents (Mom's parents), meanwhile, had a Montgomery Ward (Eureka) Multi-Beat (Vibra-Groomer) upright, that they purchased used, which also dates to about 1978.

My paternal grandparents (Dad's parents), also had a Kirby Classic III. Theirs was a year older (1977), and at the time they were in Utah. They bought it in 1987 (just before moving to the St. Johns neighborhood in North Portland, OR) from the original owner who had struggled to pay his debts. That Classic III is the one presently in my collection.

In 1994, my Mom finally gave up her Kirby and bought a Hoover Elite U4617-930. This lasted for over 20 years, before it gave up the ghost in the form of dry-sounding motor bearings. Since then, I have been doing all of the vacuuming in my house.

~Ben