During a visit to the Empire Concert Hall in Leicester Square, London, British civil engineer Booth witnessed a demonstration of an American car dust collector in 1901. However, Booth was not entirely convinced by the vacuum cleaner's efficiency, as it relied on compressed air to blow dust into the container, which he believed left many dust particles behind.
Booth's vacuum cleaner invention was a result of his experiment, where he used a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose and breathed in air such that a layer of dust was accumulated over the handkerchief. To combat dust and dirt, he developed a vacuum cleaner that was designed to suck air through a hose, using a powerful electric pump, and filtering the dirt via a cloth bag. Prior to this, Booth had used a different method, but he switched gears and opted for vacuum cleaning instead. This was a simple yet effective solution to keeping homes and workplaces clean.
Around August 1901, Booth founded his own company which specialized in vacuum cleaning. However, his company didn't offer the traditional vacuum cleaners that we know today. Instead, he developed a vacuum pump that was powered by a gasoline engine which he then installed onto a horse-drawn carriage. His company's employees would take this carriage door-to-door, stretching out three or four hoses into the rooms in order to vacuum up the dirt. They wore work clothes in order to do this job effectively. This was a stepping stone towards the later invention of the modern vacuum cleaner.
Back in 1902, Booth's service company was summoned to Westminster Abbey for one of their first big jobs ever - cleaning the carpet that was used for King Edward VII's coronation. From that moment on, their business has been growing at a dizzying pace. Just four years later in 1906, they came up with a brand new idea - the world's first domestic vacuum cleaner. Although it was considered small back then, weighing around 88 pounds, it turned out to be too massive and inconvenient for the average household.
Back in 1907, an Ohio-based store manager named Sbangla invented a lightweight vacuum cleaner. His aim was to reduce the difficulty of cleaning carpets, and he accomplished it by using a fan to create a vacuum that would suck the dust into the machine and then blow it into a pocket. However, Sbangla was unable to market and sell his product and therefore, he transferred the patent to Hoover. Hoover was primarily a fur manufacturer at the time, but this acquisition in 1908 led them to make a name for themselves in the world of vacuums.
During his time, Hoover commenced the production of a vacuum cleaner with wheels, referred to as the "O" type vacuum cleaner. He embarked on mass-producing this product, which led to the establishment of the Hoover Company, exclusively for the distribution of the vacuum cleaner, and it immediately became a hit with consumers. The original design of the household vacuum cleaner was logical, and its fundamentals have not undergone much alteration or evolution up to now.
The Nilfisk C1 vacuum cleaner was introduced into the market by the Danish company "Fisker & Nielsen" back in 1910. It weighed approximately 17.5 kg, but its ability to be operated by just one individual made it a popular choice among consumers during that time. Today, Nilfisk Advanced still produces high-quality vacuum cleaners for the modern market.
Initially, vacuum cleaners were fashioned to stand upright. It wasn't until 1912 when Wenler Goering from Sweden pioneered the horizontal canister vacuum cleaner and became the originator of the vacuum cleaning industry. Over the years, vacuum cleaners have been in existence for over 150 years.