Vintage Vacuuming Week

Recently, I had an urge to bust out a couple of older models to use, and settled on two of my all-time favourites: the 88 and 89. I also thought it'd be cool to break out the original attachments and hoses as well.

Incidentally, when I get out an older machine, I put it through its paces for real, honest-to-God cleaning. I've heard that some other collectors won't do this...i.e. they'll only run older machines to keep the bearings from drying out. To each their own, however. I like to use vintage machines as if they were the only vacuum I have, and the 80 series is definitely up to the challenge, decades after its introduction.

Everything seen here is all-original, down to the plugs. In fact, the only thing new is the bag (at present in the 88; I'm sharing the bag between the two, and that's why the 89's front cover is open). The hoses are actually in good shape, cosmetically and 'suctionally'. The 88 was made in 1963, the first year for the 2nd version of this model, and as such doesn't have a power nozzle connection. 

Close up. Note the difference in the plugs: there always seems to be a variety in the length of cord between the plug and the bulb stopper. The 89 plug is flush with the stopper, and the 88 has a short length of cord between the two. This seems to vary on models I've seen and used, so it seems that Electrolux Canada didn't have a standard for plugs. 

I've said it before in this blog, but the 80 series is amazingly quiet. My little niece grew afraid of the sound of vacuums after hearing a modern one switched on. I've often thought that my own lack of fear of vacuums is precisely because my first experience was with the whisper quiet 80 series, and indeed older vacuums in general. If the 88 and 89 were both running together, they wouldn't even come close to equaling the loudness of more modern machines.