The history of vacuum cleaners
in the UK dates back to the early 1900s. Hubert Cecil
Booth started the first vacuum cleaner company in the UK, known as the British Vacuum
Cleaner Company. It wasn't long however before William Henry Hoover, who had already
experienced success with his vacuum cleaners in America, made headway in the vacuum
cleaners market in the UK and overtook Booth.
Hoover's vacuum cleaners in the UK became such a success that ‘to hoover’ quickly
became synonymous with vacuuming. Some of the earliest domestic vacuum cleaners
in the UK incorporated simple reusable fabric bag designs whereby the
vacuum cleaner
simply collected dust in the bag. Once the bag was full, you could empty and reattach
it to the vacuum cleaner. Unlike modern day vacuum cleaners in the UK, these vacuum
cleaners didn't have advanced filtration, motorised brush bars or attachments to
make vacuuming more effective.
For decades after their introduction,
vacuum cleaners in the UK were a luxury item that only the upper class could
afford. After World War II however they became common among the middle class. This
was especially true for vacuum cleaners in the UK because the popularity of carpets
means sweeping is not an easy or effective means of carpet cleaning.
Although vacuum cleaners in the UK remained a luxury item for decades, throughout
the 1930s and 1940s they were advancing at an incredible rate and by 1952 Hoover
launched the Constellation, a pioneering canister vacuum cleaner that floats like
a hovercraft. Hoover designed it so you could place the
vacuum cleaner in the centre
of the room and then work around it. After nearly 20 years of selling these vacuum
cleaners in the UK, Hoover discontinued the Constellation in 1975.
Advances to upright and cylinder vacuum cleaners in the UK continued, enabling vacuum
cleaners to become more efficient and effective. By the 1980s, there was a vast
range of bagged vacuum cleaners available in the UK and many of these have become
collectors' items.
The 1990s saw the introduction of the first bagless domestic vacuum cleaners in
the UK. Despite many industry fears that consumers would not be prepared to pay
the hefty price tag, bagless vacuum cleaners became a phenomenal success in the UK.
These days
bagless upright vacuum cleaners are the most popular choice in the UK. Upright vacuum cleaners are more
popular in the UK than
cylinder vacuum cleaners because the powerful rotating brush bars help to
effectively lift hair from carpets. That said, demand for cylinder vacuum cleaners
in the UK is rising considerably as design innovations mean they can equal the performance
of upright vacuum cleaners.
As for the future, vacuum cleaners in the UK are expected to become more energy
efficient, as EU experts propose restricting the power of vacuum cleaners to the
levels of the 1960s. The move has sparked the launch of several pioneering vacuum
cleaners in the UK, all of which feature low energy consumption but advanced designs
and superior performance to ensure customers get the same, if not better, results.
Buy replacement parts and accessories for your vacuum cleaner online directly from the official Hoover Spares shop.