The History of Vacuum Cleaners – Close Encounters of the Extraordinary Kind
By Boozam

Long ago, in the ancient times of our primordial ancestors, our dwelling places were caves. There is proof that at that time, our humble dwellings were cleaned by brooms made of twigs. We’ve evolved since then. Back in 1858, the carpet sweeper was introduced to America. The carpet sweeper had a rotating brush, triggered by the motion of its wheels; it had no suction capability.

In the history of vacuum cleaners, 1869 was a revolutionary year, when the American Carpet Cleaning Company, along with the inventor of the “Whirlwind”, Ives W. McGaffey, introduced a non-electric vacuum which used fan for suction. The user would have to manually crank a lever on its handle to power the fan.  The next leap in the history of vacuum cleaners came in 1875, when a new model, with suction capability, entered the market. However, the crank mechanism still had to be used to power the brush and fan.

The history of vacuum cleaners reached another milestone when, in 1901, Herbert Cecil Bothe, a civil engineer, invented a machine that used an engine to draw dirt up into a filter, but his machine was enormous. In 1902, after hearing about Bothe’s machine, King Edward VII purchased two of them for use in Westminster abbey. Recognition from King Edward VII guaranteed that his company would be successful and other firms began producing similar machines. 

The device evolved in 1905 when Skiner and Chapman invented the very first electric “portable” vacuum, weighing 92 lbs., with an 18 inch fan for suction. It was not very well received in the marketplace due to its size.

The Most Important Leap Forward in the History of Vacuum Cleaners

James Murray Spangler, a janitor, invented a smaller electric vacuum in 1907 and searched for ...... (to be continued on next paragraph)

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A Guide to Cordless Vacuum Cleaners
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Even something as seemingly simple as choosing a vacuum can be rather overwhelming in today’s world, namely because there are so many options out there staring back at us. Cordless vacuum cleaners Read more...

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(continued)...... a financier for his product. The evolution of the vacuum advanced in 1908, when he found a financial sponsor, W. H. Hover, whose wife, a cousin of Spangler, was testing his machine. It was a ground-breaking year in the history of vacuum cleaners. Hoover owned a leather manufacturing business at the time, where he and Spangler and six other employees began assembling the vacuums. It was in that year that Hoover’s Model O, a mere 40 pounds, was introduced to the marketplace.

Once again, the history of vacuum cleaners reached a turning point when Hoover released its Model 700 in 1926. This model’s “positive agitation” utilized a stiff bar which could beat a carpet along with the roller brush to remove dirt from its surface.

In the history of vacuum cleaners, the 1930s saw another advancement when the first synthetic (plastic) models were introduced to the marketplace. Some of the new models even had headlights.

Nearly twenty years later, in the 1950s, the upright models were introduced and propelled the history of vacuum cleaners to an entirely new era, until more innovations were developed in 1969, when the “self propelled vacuums” hit the marketplace.

Since that time, there have been a number of different types of vacuum cleaners that have been developed for convenience and ease of use such as the backpack and bagless models.

Today’s Latest Gadget in the Evolution of the History of Vacuum Cleaners

The history of vacuum cleaners reached another pivotal point when the iRobot was introduced to the marketplace. The iRobot was a small circular model designed to be place in the middle of the room. It circled the floor, till it hit a wall, ran along the wall, and repeated the process till the room was vacuumed.