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The Long Journey to the Vacuum Cleaner of Today

Without inventors where would we be today? Today you will find vacuum cleaners in homes all over the world and we have these great inventors to thank for their imagination and perseverance in providing us with the insight to reach the more modern alternatives we have on offer today. Now we have far more advanced versions of these basic items and the various options such as upright vacuum cleaners or canister vacuum cleaners.

Author: Michiel Van Kets
Date: Sep 28, 2009 - 4:19:50 AM

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As with many common items that are used in the world today there are almost never clear cut answers as to who is the person responsible for the invention of these items.  The vacuum cleaner falls into this same category as it seems there are those who started out with the intention of a unit that would do the job of a vacuum cleaner however the evolution of their dream is perhaps a creation by an entirely different person.

Back in the early 1800’s housewives or domestic staff would be responsible for the carpet cleaning, which was generally in the form of rugs.  These rugs were placed on wooden flooring to try to reduce the amount of dust that would be flying around on the bare wooden floors.  That dust of course being trapped within the rugs themselves requiring that the rugs would then have to have the dust removed from them.  The general way that this was carried out was to take the rug and hang it on or over something and it would then be “beaten” with a stick or similar to whack the dust out of it.

This form of carpet cleaning of course was very tiring and not necessarily very effective however with no other alternatives this is where the ideas would probably have started to come to the inventors.  It is not of course known whether it was to reduce the work required by their wives or domestic staff, or just as a natural curiosity that they needed to pursue the concept.

A man named David Hess is thought to have been the first person to come up with a special stick designed specifically for the purpose of cleaning the rugs in the “whacking”  way.  The item he designed was similar to the tennis racket and was apparently named a rug-beater.

No doubt when this item was produced house wives thought it was a great advantage however when you think about it all he really did was make a different shaped stick and give it a name.  The amount of work required to actually clean carpeting didn’t necessarily reduce to any great degree.

David Hess apparently thought the same thing, and carried on in his quest to find a more suitable solution than the rug beater.  Following his further attempts there was a unit that was used more as a carpet sweeper.  This unit had a rotating brush and bellows system to provide suction during the process of sweeping the carpet and also two water filter systems for collecting the particles and dust swept up with the carpet cleaner.  This unit no doubt being a preferred choice for those housewives and domestic staff however we are still a long way from anything close to what we have to day in our vacuum cleaner options.

After this design there was also a further design produced by a Melville Bissell.  His unit was also a carpet sweeper with a similar concept but it gathered up the dirt and placed it in a pan behind the head of the sweeper unit.  You can imagine that a lot of dust and particles in this basic unit missed the dust pan behind the unit and ended up back on the carpet or wooden flooring immediately after use.  Still better than the stick option though I am sure.

Then in 1899 Mr John Thurman invented a motorized vacuum cleaner.  Not long after a London designer, Mr Hubert Booth invented an electric vacuum cleaner.  There were some issues with the initial unit designed by Mr Booths relative to size.  It is said that this unit was required to be on a trailer outside the house itself and a long hose would be used to run into the house to do the vacuuming.

Over the years with advances in technology and materials available for use various designs have come forth and they continue to do so.  Eventually a design was created that allowed the unit to be a portable vacuum and it is said that the person responsible for this was a Mr James Spangler in 1908.  He sold the patent for this vacuum to Mr William Hoover, the person whose name has remained in the carpet cleaning or vacuuming world ever since.

Now we have far more advanced versions of these basic items and the various options such as upright vacuum cleaners or canister vacuum cleaners.  Without these first people to get us started where would we be today?  Today you will find vacuum cleaners in homes all over the world and we have these great inventors to thank for their imagination and perseverance in providing us with the insight to reach the more modern alternatives we have on offer today.

Michiel Van Kets provides articles services for Matt Witbeck a vacuum cleaner expert, specializes in German made Miele Vacuums and is the owner of Witbeck Vacuums, the website one of the oldest appliance dealers in the United States and an authorized retailer of Miele vacuums. For a specific upright vacuum cleaner, carpet cleaning or canister vacuum accessories, this website will provide for any needs.

View all articles by Michiel Van Kets

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