ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A vacuum cleaner made in 1904 was still working when it was rescued from a scrap yard at a family-owned paper mill in the UK recently.

Harry Cox rescued the 108-year-old American Sturtevant model, which still had its original accessories including wall brushes, floor tools, blowing nozzles, and upholstery tool intact.

Weighing a hefty 30 kilos, taking this industrial vacuum around the house for a quick spring clean would be a bit of a struggle.

The heavy-duty cleaner - designed for large residences, clubs, hotels, and churches according to the manufacturer's' archives - had been in use at paper merchants WL Coller, in Worsley, from the year it was bought until about 1980. It remained in the back of a cupboard until the firm cleared out its premises to relocate.

Cox said: "I like to collect things that would otherwise get thrown away, restore them and given them a new lease of life."