James Murray Spangler brought about the next significant leap towards the vacuum cleaner as we know it today
His vacuum cleaner was created out of a necessity…the necessity of treating his own asthma.
Spangler worked as a janitor in a department store in Canton, Ohio.
Spangler developed a chronic cough. He assumed that this cough was the result of the airborne dust being stirred up by the carpet sweeper he was using to clean the store.
Being a tinkerer and amateur inventor, he decided to solve this dilemma.
His design consisted of an old electric ceiling fan motor, a broom handle and one of his wife’s pillowcases.
This device is said to be the first “portable, electric vacuum cleaner.”
This was also the first vacuum cleaner that was lightweight enough and practical enough for household use.
This vacuum cleaner was also the first vacuum cleaner powered by electricity instead of a gasoline-powered motor.
After improving this first design, Spangler obtained a patent for this design on June 2, 1908.
He soon formed the Electric Suction Sweeper Company.
This was a family business. His son helped him assemble the machines. His daughterassembled the dust bags.
However, they were only able to produce two or three vacuum cleaners each week.
On August 30, 1901, Hubert Cecil Booth, a British engineer, patented a motorized vacuum cleaner that he had named “Puffing Billy.”
Booth had been inspired by Thurman’s “pneumatic carpet renovator” after watching a demonstration in London.
Booth realized that reversing the air direction could improve its ability to clean. Vacuum cleaners should suck trash and debris towards themselves, not push it away.
This vacuum-cleaning monster was enormous…weighing four thousand pounds.
On cleaning days, “Puffing Billy” would arrive at the customer’s home or business in a horse-drawn carriage that had been painted red to resemble a 19th-century firetruck
Crowds would then watch as long hoses were run from the street and through the windows, reaching into all parts of the building.
As the loud engines roared, they stood amazed as they saw astonishing quantities of dust and debris being piled up inside the glass-walled receptacle.
As part of the preparation for this coronation, Booth used the Puffing Billy to clean the blue “Coronation carpet” underneath the throne at Westminster Abbey.
This high-profile gig influenced other wealthy British households to hire Puffing Billy. As did the heads of state in France, Russia and Turkey. Noblemen who purchased Booth’s machine include Tzar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.
Not only that…
Twenty-six tons of dust were removed from the girders of Crystal Palace during an outbreak of spotted fever during World War One.
Success of Booth’s horse-drawn vacuum led to wealthy families in London and New York installing their own gas-powered vacuum pumps inside their homes to be operated by the “help.”
By 1903, society hostesses everywhere were throwing “vacuum cleaner” parties so their friends could watch the machines in amazement.
Yet Booth found himself surrounded not only with a list of negative reviews and a string of court cases. Many people complained about the disruption that the machine caused on the streets, especially frightening horses.
However, Booth was able to finally convince both judge and jury that his powerful machine was the only vacuum cleaner at the time that actually worked.
Despite the drama and theatre of Booth’s machine, the basic technology and the suction principle was the same as in most vacuum cleaners today.
The Puffing Billy system is considered the first true suction-based vacuum cleaner – a significant leap in cleaning technology.
The vacuum cleaner is another invention that most of us take for granted these days…(except on the days that you’re having company or expecting a visit from CPS, perhaps)…
A tool that thankfully transformed domestic work forever.
And a tool that illustrates the Industrial Revolution – its new manufacturing processes, the desires for a more convenient life and the overall change from a primarily rural to an urban society.
An Industrial Revolution reflected in the vacuum cleaner itself – from the most basic of brooms and brushes, to innovative robotic machines that now do the vacuuming for you…
So exactly who can we thank for this powerful household tool?
A cat curiously interacts with a vintage Bissell floor sweeper on a patterned rug
*****Daniel Hess’s Carpet Sweeper*****
Daniel Hess received the first patent for an official vacuum cleaner in 1860.
His simple “carpet sweeper” design consisted of two basic parts – a rotating brush and an elaborate bellows mechanism.
Even though this new invention was quite an innovation for its time, the person holding the device still had to do all the work…
Although this “carpet sweeper” was honestly not that much better than the brushes and brooms that already existed, his simple carpet sweeper inspired others to think about how “new” and developing technology could be used to clean homes.
A surprised orange and white cat interacts with a vacuum cleaner in a messy room
*****June 8, 1869: The “Whirlwind”*****
Nine years later, Chicago inventor Ives McGaffey received a patent for his “Whirlwind” rug cleaner.
This vacuum cleaner looked similar to modern upright vacuum cleaners, but the device required the use of a hand crank.
Its release brought mixed success.
Even though consumers recognized the value that an actual working vacuum cleaner could offer, this was a disappointment.
The device was bulky and hard to maneuver. Those who were able to operate it claimed that it was not effective.
