History of the Vacuum Cleaner

J Beringer — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:25:00 GMT

Vacuum cleaner history

Thought some readers would find vacuum cleaner history helpful. We'll cover long standing companies like Miele and new revolutionary units like the Dyson vacuum cleaner.

For many readers, we forget that vacuums like we know today, have not been widely used in homes up until the last 70 years. Even Miele vacuum cleaners were not developed until later in the company's history, which dates back to 1899.

It hasn't been long since the first vacuum cleaner was provided to homeowners to clean floors and carpets. On July 10, 1860, Daniel Hess filed the first patent (#29,077) under " vacuum sweeper ". This unit was powered by bellows and designed with two water filled chambers to capture the dust. Unfortunately, no records remain to indicate that the vacuum was ever produced.

Many agree that the first true vacuum cleaner was invented in 1868 by Ives McGaffey.The first vacuum by McGaffey sold for $25.00. Pushing the vacuum while manually turning the hand crank made the unit hard to use. Most of the original vacuums sold in Boston and Chicago by the American Carpet Cleaning Company. Unfortunately, only two original examples of the vacuum survive.

It wasn't until 1901 that the first electric vacuum was made available. Hubert Cecil Booth came up with the idea by placing a hanker chief over his mouth and sucking dust and dirt off of a chair into the hankercheif. The first vacuum created by Booth was named the Puffing Billy, and was powered by an oil engine. Booth went on to create the first electric vacuum soon after.

In 1905 an improved vacuum was developed by Walter Griffiths. This was a light, easy to store sweeper that could be operated by one person. The vac was operated by compressing bellows to provide suction through a flexible pipe and nozzles. Most would say this was the first true domestic vacuum.

From 1903 to 1913, David Kenney was granted nine patents and established the Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers Association in 1919. However, Kenney was limited with his success under his patents.

During the same period, Murray Spangler invented a vacuum with a beater bar to loosen dirt and debris. This vacuum was electric powered with a fan, box and pillow case. This could be purchased in 1904 under the model name "O" for $60.00. Spangler eventually sold his rotating brush head design patent to the Hoover Company. In these days, Hoover was known as the Hoover Harness & Leather Goods Factory.

Shortly after World War II, the vacuum cleaner went from a "luxury" or "industrial use item" to a standard household item. Vacuums remain more popular in the Western world as homes in these countries tend to use more carpet, while other countries have hard floor surfaces.

Vacuums have changed and adapted with user needs and technical advancements. A good example is the use of cyclonic technology in vacuums. The us of cyclonic technology began in 1928 with the Filter Queen. Today, a truly advanced cyclonic vacuum cleaner is manufactured by Dyson. The designer, a British engineer named James Dyson, adapted multiple cyclone separators in a single vacuum. This advance system allows the vacuum to clean dirt and debris from the air inside the vacuum very efficiently. Dyson's first vacuum was available in Japan during the 80's. When first available, the street price for the original unit in Japan was $1,800.00. In 1995, James Dyson released the DC01 in the UK for 200.00 British Pounds Sterling. Dyson quickly became the most popular cleaner in the UK, even given the high price.

Dyson DC15 Animal Vacuum shown above, a true technical advancement.

Dyson vacuums have been available in the United States for several years. They have quickly built a reputation for superior performance and cleaning ability. It seems success follows the Dyson vacuum design in each release, from country to country. If you wish further details on the Dyson vacuum cleaner line (the range extends from the DC07, DC14, DC15, DC16, DC17, DC18, DC21 vacuum models, available in all floor models and animal vacuum models), visit our Dyson vacuum blogs to review each Dyson model.

Vacuum cleaner styles

As the vacuum have evolved, so have the available vacuum cleaner configurations. Each configuration provides the user with cleaning advantages:

Upright vacuum cleaners allow the user to operate the vacuum across the floor in a standing position. Many have the bag or debris cylinder beneath the handle. Often, the head of the vacuum (where the suction occurs) is equipped with a beater bar to loosen dirt from carpet. Some models are equipped with a separate motor to drive the beater bar, and primary motor providing suction. The newest designs using this feature can be found in the Dyson vacuum and others. In the case of Dyson, the belts are cogged, so slippage and belt buring is no longer possible. This is the Dyson vacuum's direct drive system.

Canister vacuums house the motor and bag (or debris cylinder) in a single canister unit, commonly mounted on wheels. The canister is connected to a house that may or may not have an electrically driven power head attached for cleaning. The hose can be equipped with many tools or differing cleaning options. The lighter cleaning heads on canister vacuums offer more maneuverable cleaning, making canister vacuums very popular. Miele vacuums offer several style canister models with a long history of durability and success. Multiple cleaning head options on Miele vacuum cleaner canisters create greater flexibility for the user. To view further Miele vacuum cleaner details, visit our Miele vacuum blogs.

Shop vacs and also known as wet & dry vacs offer canister style cleaning in a typically larger format. These vacuums offer large capacity, generally good suction, and often very loud. They can be used to pick-up moist, wet or dry debris. Most are equipped to become and blower with exhaust air.

Central vacuum cleaners offer home wide cleaning suction from a central location. A central motor is connected to piping fed throughout the house in locations where suction can be provided. Suction outlets are located on walls where hoses can be attached in the same fashion as a hose attach's to a canister vacuum. Power or non-powered cleaning heads can be attached to the hose to provide desired cleaning needs.

Back pack vacuums or generally considered for commercial use. Back mounted, the user can move freely and quickly from area to area and clean as needed.

Hand held vacuum cleaners offer users the ability to clean with a single hand for small clean-up jobs or hard to reach places. Most are battery operated. An yes, even Dyson offers a cyclonic model known as the DC17 hand held vacuum.

Stick Vac is a small, slim, lightweight vacuum often used for small floor cleaning needs and commonly used on hard floor surfaces. Few offer true deep carpet cleaning, intended primarily for surface cleaning.

Robotic vacuums offer cleaning without user interaction. Battery operation offers the units to move freely and return to their docking / recharging stations.

Vacuum cleaner performance guides

The end result of of any vacuum cleaner performance should be a fully satisfied user. What satisfies each user will differ from home to home. However, some techical guidelines can determine performance.

Air watts I feel is the more important specification to consider. However, some manufacturers may alter how and where measurements are taken so figures apprear stronger than real world results. Lab results can differ upto 50% from real world results. Take into account clogged filters, etc., and the true measure of a vacuums performance is lost.

Vacuum suction is affected by the available airwatts. These both can be affected by the size of the opening where suction takes place.

Amps and watts are not always the best measure of vacuum performance. A vacuum cleaner may be rated as 12 watts, but this is no gurantee of vacuum performance, suction, or durability. Newer vacuums are able to operate more efficiently at lower amperage. Cyclonic efficienty also assists in vacuum performance. Clogged filters and bags also quickly reduce suction and cleaning ability. Try to avoid vacuums which use a filter inside of the debris bin. Dyson has revolutionized the " No Clog " vacuum by removing dirt from the air before it reaches the filter. Therefore, the vacuum never loses suction.

Filteration and a truly sealed system has become more of a concern as we learn more about allergens, dust mites, and break down of man made materials, we also understand the importance of a vacuum to provide dust free operation. Many older vacuums would literally create a dust cloud upon start-up, and a musty smell to boot. make sure the next vacuum you purchase has a sealed system and rated for allergy sufferer use. Miele and Dyson vacuums are just a few options.

Warranty is a consideration when making a purchase. Honestly, you cannot buy a truly good, powerful, long lasting, sealed system, properly filtered, durable vacuum for under $200.00. I have spent time repairing vacuum cleaners for years, and I know good from bad. A good manufacturer will offer warranties for 2 years or more. For instance (and I know mentioned them often), Miele and Dyson both have long term warranties. Miele offers a standard warranty up to 7 years on the motor. Dyson offers a 5 year warranty on their uprights. Neither manufacturer will cover common wear parts, such as hoses, brush bar, filter, etc. However, this is true for all manufacturers.

Hope the points on vacuum cleaner history and a basic overview is helpful to our readers.

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