Many years ago when vacuum cleaners did not exist people kept their homes and carpets clean with brushes, brooms, and mops and they banged their carpets with sticks to get the dirt and dust out. Of course this was time consuming and dirty, but homes were kept clean and this was just part of the cleaning effort. By the mid 1800s a carpet sweeper showed up on the market and although it had no suction it did have a brush that rotated when it was pushed. A few years later a hand pushed suction vacuum cleaner was introduced although it did not run on electricity and it did not have a brush either.
Not too many years later in 1875 finally a suction vacuum with a brush roll was introduced however it was not powered by electricity and required hand cranking in order to get the power. Chapman and Skinner developed the first portable electric vacuum in 1905. As exciting as this sounded it did not sell very well simply because it weighed 92 pounds and utilized a gigantic 18 inch fan to create the necessary suction. The large size affected its popularity.
Hoover showed up in 1908 with a vacuum that not only used a filter bag but also offered cleaning attachments and other Hoover vacuum parts. This vacuum only weighed 40 pounds so it was significantly more popular. By 1926 Hoover has incorporated positive agitation in its vacuums which meant the dirt would be dislodged from the carpet and sucked up by the suction. Replacement vacuum parts were also available to replace any part that got old or worn out.
Soon, plastic vacuum cleaners were introduced and it wasn't too much longer that headlights were added onto vacuum cleaners to make them more upscale and more desirable. Upright vacuums hit the market in the 1950s and self propelled vacuums became popular by the late 1960s. The years since have resulted in big changes for vacuum cleaners from vacuum cleaners that have larger motors to vacuum cleaners that talk or run on their own.
There are even new vacuum cleaners on the market that use ultraviolet rays to kill mites, fleas, mold, viruses, and other germs. As time goes on more and more vacuum cleaners and technology will be created to help homeowners have a clean home that is free of germs and unwanted pests.
