History Of The Vacuum Cleaners

Vacuum cleaners, the funny-shaped, noisy contraptions can clean up a mess in just a few seconds flat, thanks to their powerful suction. Nowadays, the vacuum cleaners that we all see stocking the shelves of our favorite home stores are actually part of a billion-dollar industry. However, it has not always been this way. Believe it or not, the development of vacuum cleaners has taken hundreds of years to get right.

The broom was, of course, the very first step in the creation of the vacuum cleaner. There are several examples of this useful tool dating all the way back to 2000 BC. However, until 1797, the broom was not as useful as it is today, as its bristles were not quite right. They were too soft which made it difficult for them to pick anything up. Until a farmer changed the bristles that were used and made it a success.

Although the broom was useful, it did not make cleaning easier. This simply meant that soon enough people began to come up with ideas for cleaning methods that were a little less tedious. In England, automatic machines were actually invented for street cleaners. These were simple devices that relied on an internal pulley system. However, as these used brushes to mechanically sweep, they were little better than a broom. 

In 1858, Hiram Herrick, an American man, submitted a patent for a carpet sweeper. This was something that was very similar to England’s street sweeper machines which even had vintage vacuum cleaner collectors. It was effectively a mechanical dustpan and brush for use on carpet. It was a small step up from manual brooms but still was not the vacuum cleaner that we know and use today.

Daniel Hass then changed the cleaning game forever in 1860 with his addition of air to carpet sweepers. It might have still been a manually operated machine using bellows, but it was a lot closer to the vacuum cleaner that we use today.

This machine has made household chores a lot easier for all of us today!