What appliance can you imagine cleaning the house without? What is the main enemy for garbage and dust? That's right, it's a vacuum cleaner! There is hardly a person who does not know what it is. Demand for this household appliance is growing every day, and the variety of vacuum cleaners is amazing. Imagine, there is even a vacuum cleaner for children. Interesting? In this article, we will consider different types of vacuum cleaners, the history of creation, the principle of their work, and much more.
What is a vacuum cleaner?
A vacuum cleaner is a household appliance designed to remove small debris and dust on floors and furniture. Due to the bending hose and the suction air flow, dust and debris fall into a special container of the machine.
Depending on the application, the following types of vacuum cleaners are available:
By type of mobility, vacuum cleaners are divided into:
Stationary vacuum cleaners are usually large and very powerful, and portable models are used to clean a small area. The first vacuum cleaner appeared in the USA at the end of the 19th century. The history of the vacuum cleaner will be considered further.
The first vacuum cleaner
Let's start with a brief history of the vacuum cleaner as a sensational household appliance. The first copy was created by Daniel Hess from Iowa (USA) in 1860, calling his invention a “carpet sweeper”. The vacuum cleaner looked unusual: it consisted of a rotating brush and a complex mechanism that created an air suction stream. Passing through two chambers with water, the air was cleaned of dirt and dust.
The next contribution to the history of the vacuum cleaner was made by Ives McGuffney, who in 1868 created a certain “Wirlwind”. His brainchild was compact and light, but completely uncomfortable. To bring his vacuum cleaner into action, it was necessary to twist the handle and at the same time push the device.
In 1869, McGuffney filed a patent for his invention, and soon founded a company in Boston to manufacture and sell products. The cost of a vacuum cleaner at the beginning was $ 25 - a lot of money at that time.
Almost all of the Wirlwind vacuum cleaners were sold in Boston and Chicago, but several copies have survived to this day. One of them is exhibited in the historic center of Hoover. After McGuffney, the manufacture of mechanical vacuum cleaners was modernized by other inventors.
Key changes in the operation of the vacuum cleaner in the 20th century
In 1899, John Torman received a patent for a gasoline-powered vacuum cleaner. According to some sources, this was a new achievement in the history of the vacuum cleaner. In 1900, in Savannah (Georgia, USA), Corinne Dufour received a patent for a vacuum cleaner powered by electricity. Her invention, which included two brushes, a filter in the form of a wet rag and an electric motor, remained nevertheless uncomfortable, so this vacuum cleaner was not in demand.
The first dust suction vacuum cleaner
In Britain in 1901, Hubert S. Booth improved an electric vacuum cleaner. The inventor drew attention to the principle of operation of the device, which was used in trains to blow dust and debris from the seats, and thought that suction would be much more practical than blowing off.
To test the theory, Booth took an ordinary scarf (filter) and tried to suck dust from his seat through his mouth. Noticing that the dust did not pass through the scarf, but remained on its lower part, I made sure that the theory works. Thus appeared the first vacuum cleaner in the history that sucks in dust.
Booth put together a huge device called Puffing Billy. This design worked on the oil, and soon on the electric engine. The vacuum cleaner was transported with the help of horses and placed near the house, and a long hose for carpet cleaning was pulled through the window.
Booth's company had many customers, one of them was the British Admiralty. Thanks to the vacuum cleaner, it was possible to clean the British huts from dust, thereby putting an end to the plague epidemic. Queen Buta’s client was even Queen Victoria herself.
Once there was a funny story with a vacuum cleaner. The fact is that after cleaning the mint, a lot of gold gathered in the device, and the police charged Bout with theft. Because of this, a fashionable trend later appeared in society: ladies gathered for a cup of tea and watched Bout workers clean the carpets.
New names in the history of the invention of the vacuum cleaner
John S. Torman founded his company in 1903 in St. Louis, and the price of his services was $ 4. The development of mechanical vacuum cleaners did not stop. Griffiths in 1905 creates a mechanism that absorbs dust with the help of fur. This vacuum cleaner resembled a modern one because of its compactness and portability.
In 1910, P. Fisker patented an electric motor vacuum cleaner, calling it "Nilfisk." This unit was relatively light (17.5 kg) and maneuverable, it could be controlled by one person. Fisker's company continues to exist until now (Nilfisk-Advance).
The history of the appearance of a vacuum cleaner would be incomplete without the inventor David Kenny, who was distinguished by the fact that in 10 years he received 9 patents related to the production technology of vacuum cleaners. In 1919, the Association of Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers appeared. Only those who had a license for its patent could be members of the Association.
The popularity of the vacuum cleaner in the twentieth century
For many years, middle-class people only heard stories about a vacuum cleaner, but they could not afford to buy such an expensive invention for themselves. At the end of World War II, the prevalence of the vacuum cleaner went beyond the upper layers of society and reached people with average incomes.
In 1928, they began to produce vacuum cleaners with a cyclone principle of operation (separation of solid debris from dust using centrifugal force). In 1959, Amway was the first to patent a cyclone vacuum cleaner without a trash bag (CMS 1000). The real popularity of the cyclone vacuum cleaner came in the 1990s.
In the USSR, vacuum cleaner models were often produced with an exhaust pipe of the same design as the suction one. Thanks to this, the vacuum cleaner could be used as a compressor - its engine power was enough for painting walls and whitewashing ceilings. Therefore, sometimes with a vacuum cleaner you could see a special sprayer.
Bag vacuum cleaners
As mentioned earlier, there are vacuum cleaners with a filter bag that traps dust and other debris during cleaning. The bag can be located inside the vacuum cleaner body or on the handle (handle). Vacuum cleaner bags are divided into two categories:
- Cloth (cloth) are in the vacuum cleaner body and are cleaned as they are filled. The main disadvantage of such bags is that they are not able to retain a small fraction of dust (very harmful to health).
- Replaceable bags are made of paper or special non-woven material. After filling the bag, you need to throw it away, and insert a new one in the vacuum cleaner.
The highest quality non-woven bags can trap fine dust up to 0.3 microns. The main plus of them is that they are easy and reliable to use, and the minus is the need to regularly buy new ones. As the bag fills with debris, the suction power may decrease.
Vacuum cleaner cyclone
A cyclone vacuum cleaner collects dust and debris in a special container, not in a bag. Due to centrifugal forces, the dust is separated from the air and settles to the bottom of the container. Air passes through a series of cyclones and is cleaned, but the final cleaning takes place using a replaceable filter.
The advantage of a cyclone vacuum cleaner is that there is no need to regularly change the garbage bag (except for an additional filter). The suction power remains unchanged and does not depend on the degree of filling of the container.
The disadvantage is the loud noise from the operation of the vacuum cleaner (the hum from the air stream is not restrained by the bag). It is difficult to separate light and fine dust from other debris, therefore, passing through a series of cyclones, the dust will remain in the air stream and clog the exhaust filter.
Some experts advise using the cyclone vacuum cleaner only in public buildings. In a room where people walk shod, heavy and large debris (sand, dirt and small stones) often accumulates, so when sucked it will immediately settle to the bottom of the container.
Wet vacuum cleaner
Cleaning from dust and debris in such vacuum cleaners is carried out by distributing air in a container with water. There are three main types of water vacuum cleaners:
- separator;
- bubbling;
- with a partition "Aqua".
Some small fraction of dust is not able to mix with water (concrete and wood dust), because of this there can be difficulties using a water vacuum cleaner. Therefore, they often install an additional exhaust filter. All water vacuums must be emptied after use, washed and stored in an open and well-ventilated area so that mold does not form.
Vacuum cleaner robot
The robot vacuum cleaner is an autonomous robotic mechanism with intelligent programming, which has a limited time for vacuum cleaning. The initial form of the robot vacuum cleaner included remote control. The cleaning functions of these machines are diverse: some vacuum cleaners use rotating brushes, others use UV sterilization.
Electrolux Trilobite, the first robot vacuum cleaner in history, was launched by Electrolux, a Swedish household appliance company. This company bought the model from the inventor James Dyson. Other technology companies also made robots, but did not always put them on the market because of the high price.
In 2002, a floor cleaning robot called Roomba was launched. The sensation was the ever-increasing consumer demand for this vacuum cleaner, as well as the growth of production and sales every month. The following popular robots were called Bobsweep and Neato Robotics XV-11 (working with laser vision).
In 2014, the Dyson 360 Eye robotic vacuum cleaner appeared on the market, it is equipped with a camera that rotates 360 °. Dyson said that this model of vacuum cleaner sucks garbage 2 times better than any other.
The story of the creation of a vacuum cleaner for children
The popularity of the vacuum cleaner has grown so much that manufacturers have thought about creating such a toy for children. The famous Chinese company of children's toys Keenway is the first in the world, taking into account consumer demand, launched a children's vacuum cleaner on the market.
The creators of this toy to help parents wrote a story about a vacuum cleaner for children. After listening to it, children can fall in love with a toy, also nurture a desire to take care of the cleanliness of their home, and learn how to carefully use household appliances. After all, the appearance of a toy vacuum cleaner is indistinguishable from a real model of a household appliance, and a child, playing, can feel older and more responsible.
There is a power button on the vacuum cleaner, and after pressing it a characteristic humming sound is heard. Like an adult vacuum cleaner, the children's one is equipped with wheels with which it moves easily, it is pleasant for them to work. A toy vacuum cleaner can clean various surfaces from dust and debris, almost like a real one.
To prevent the toy from clogging up, it is necessary to clean the vacuum cleaner after use. The case of toy vacuum cleaners is made of environmentally friendly plastic, without toxic smell. Cleaning the vacuum cleaner can be entrusted to the child in order to develop responsibility in him.
In this article, we discussed several models of modern vacuum cleaners, and also learned the history of their creation. All? what is left is to choose a suitable vacuum cleaner that will become your indispensable assistant in cleaning the house.