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History Of Vacuum Cleaners
The History of Vacuum Cleaners
Once upon a time, there was ancient man. The domicile of this man was a cave. Although man at this time was a cave dweller, the living area needed to be kept clean. Evidence supports the theory that man used tools such as twig brooms to clean his home. Now we can fast forward to 1858, when the carpet sweeper hit the US market. This simple machine worked on friction principles. The wheels and brushes rotated as the unit was moved, resulting in the debris being pushed up into the unit.
Now we continue our lesson of the history of vacuum cleaners. The year is 1869 and the man is Ives W. McGaffey. Our good man Ives invented a nifty little device called the Whirlwind. The Whirlwind, sold by the American Carpet Cleaning Company, cleaned using fan power (hence the name). The downfall to this was that it was non-electric and the user had to manually turn the fan with a cranking mechanism. In the year 1875, an improved edition of this machine was born. A vacuum principle was used and the device actually had suction. The user, however, is still cranking away by hand.
Continuing our journey into the history of vacuum cleaners, we enter the 20th century. In the year 1901, an engineer named Herbert Cecil Bothe invented a monstrosity of a device that used an engine to pick up dirt into a filter. King Edward VII decided to purchase two of them in 1902 and this started a snowball effect. Herbert’s company was assured success and others started producing similar units.
1905 rolls around and two individuals, Skiner and Chapman come up with the first "portable" vacuum cleaner. We're not so sure how portable you would consider a 92-pound device with an 18-inch fan, but they called it portable anyway. Needless to say, it was not an overnight sensation.
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The History of Vacuum Cleaners: Part II
As we continue to stroll down memory lane, we come across a part-time inventor, James M. Spangler. He invented a much smaller version of the "portable: vacuum. His invention, weighing in at just half of what Skiner and Chapman’s behemoth weighed, was sure to be a hit. However, like many inventors, Spangler was cash poor. Lucky for him, his cousin was married to a man named Hoover, owner of a leather company. Hoover tested this machine and saw great potential. Being an astute business man, he started production in his factory in 1908 and the Hoover O was born weighing 42 pounds.
Sharp Vacuum CleanersThe Different Types of Sharp Vacuum Cleaners In the US, Sharp vacuum cleaners are very popular. This is due to their high quality and great ..... Hoover continued to change the history of vacuum cleaners when in 1926 the company introduced the model 700 to the marketplace. It featured the beater bar and brush we know so well today. Here we are in the post WWI era and man has discovered plastic. The 1930s saw the first plastic vacuums and some even had lights.
Our history of vacuum cleaners continues. Here we are in the Fabulous Fifties. Vacuum cleaners are now upright units. Then in 1969 the self propelled vacuums arrived! (Sure beats hand cranking!)
Coming into the modern age of vacuum cleaner history we have seen many developments and changes.
The History of Vacuum Cleaners: The Modern Era
Our final chapter in this history lesson includes all of the new editions to the vacuum cleaner world. We have something that seems it came straight out of a sci-fi novel. It is the iRobot. You guessed it, no human intervention required (in theory). It vacuums the room on its own, changing directions as it hits an object. It starts in the center of the room and let it go. What will they think of next?
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