Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

How rare are these?  They're hard to find; not even eBay has them.  Did Hoover not make many of them or did these floor washers not sell well?  I'd like to have one of these if available.

hooverman wrote:

When this machine came out I was just a kid.  I think there were two, one yellow -- the first-- followed by a blue one.  This machine, basically a srcub brush with a suction motor, was more a novelty as the idea was the first of its kind.  Due to weight and its bearing only stationary brushes I'm pretty sure the stars fell out of the user's eyes after a couple of uses.  You could do as much faster with a bucket of water, some Spic & Span and a sponge mop.

This was another machine meant to make the lady of the house's day simpler but it did not. 

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hi Venson:

If I recall correctly late 50's and early 60's.  HOOVER scrubbed it in short order, no pun intended.  Actually, just put it on the back burner for 40 years.  Today's HOOVER Floormate is the successor to the HOOVER electric floor washer in the picture and is enjoying much more success now than it did originally.

Carmine D.

PS:  You're memory is probably better than mine and the second model may have been blue as you say.  But, I'm thinking the second and later model was the lime green color of the HOOVER 66, and cann/constellation 87 [the infamous one with the power switch on the hose].  

CarmineD wrote:

Mornin" Carmine,

It was blue -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ5rlIHZeQo

However, there may have been a model or two I missed considering the span of manufacture.  By the way, was the switch on the hose of teh Hoover an Aerican first for canister vacs?

Venson

Venson wrote:

Venson:  I knew your memory is better than mine.  In all fairness, while I carried these and sold a few, it was very few and many years ago.  What HOOVER did to get them intop authorized stores and dealers was a special promotion.  Buy 6 or 12 of the uprights and get a floor washer for half cost or free. 

Yes, to my knowledge HOOVER's 87 cann Constellation was the first USA born vacuum with electric hose and switch on the attachment end of the hose.  This cann was straight suction only so there was no revolving brush as yet on the HOOVER canns.  HOOVER discontinued the switch feature on the next cann/connie the 88.  Primarily due to feedback from industry who were against it for a variety of reasons. 

Carmine D.

Carmine,

Hoover tried again with the hose switch. It was on the first TOL Celebrity straight suction canister. The Celebrity II line was Hoovers first offering with a P/N was it not, or was there a predecessor?

CarmineD wrote:

The last Constellations had a PN; it was the same style as early Celeb canisters.  But a Connie w/PN is so hard to find; was it limited edition?

Trebor wrote:

Hello Trebor:

Yes, HOOVER's medium to TOL Celebrity cann models were the first for HOOVER with P/N's.  Not familiar with any OE HOOVER Constellations with P/N's.  Even at the end of their long production and sales run. The reintroduced Constellation of recent years, now discontinued, came with a turbo P/N but not a very good one by today's industry standards.

Carmine D.

I used my HOOVER Floormate today and doing so thought about the HOOVER electric floor washer from 40 plus years ago.  I realized there is a feature on the old that I wish was still on the new.  What is it?  Look at the handle on the dirty solution tank of the HOOVER electric washer.  Handy feature.  Not on the latest FM.  When you are walking with the full dirty tank and empty clean solution tank one in each hand or a full clean tank and empty dirty tank, a handle on the dirty solution tank would be very convenient.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

But Hoover did better than that on the Floor-A-Matics.  Same as the original floor washer, the container for cleaning solutions held a plastic collection bag within itself. The difference besides the look, the piece that latched the Floor-A-Matic's container onto the machine also served a grip for carrying it and the machine too.  A great idea.

The Floor Mate probably has no handles because that would alter the sleek look it bears.  If indented handles were used to get around that the capacity of both containers would be reduced.  I think the designers just had nowhere to go.

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hi Venson:

While there is no handle on the FM tank, HOOVER's FM has a handle grip built into the machine shroud over the clean solution bin.  In that sense, very similar to the HOOVER Floor-A-Matic feature you describe.  The FM also has the fold away handle for easy transport and storage.  Also a very good idea. 

While many may not find a HOOVER FM useful as a housecleaning tool, I do.  It's done well by me for almost 6 years of double house duty and it's still going strong.  It cost $160 [model with attachments and extra containers of solutions] in August 2004.  That equates to a cost of $13.30 per year per household and getting lower.

Carmine D.