Here's a young lady with an unusual vocation

oldbrownhat · Nov 9, 2024

Sometimes life sucks... and it's a good thing.

Leah Petersen: Owner of Rector’s Vacuum Shop, Bellingham WA

...I was 8 when I got into vacuums. I’ve always been mechanically minded. I come from a line of people who are mechanically minded as well, and they basically just taught me that if something is broken, you can fix it yourself … It started with a family member of mine handing me this ancient Dyson, saying, ‘This doesn’t work. You can play with it, just do whatever you want to it, it’s yours to keep.’ And so about a week later, I brought it back to them in completely working condition. And they were speechless.

… And turns out there are people who, not only repair vacuum cleaners, who also collect them. I also happen to be one of those people. We have a Discord server with over 500 members. So there’s more of us than you’d think...

I was about to graduate from high school and I told Steve the owner, like, ‘Hey, I’m looking for just a summer job because I’m about to go away to school’ … and [he said], ‘Hey, if you want to work part-time here, like, you can absolutely do so.’ And I think it was a week after that when he was like, ‘You know a surprising amount about vacuums, and we should probably get you more hours here because you’re actually helping us a lot.’..

glenwolde · Nov 9, 2024

I learned pretty quickly that "Vacuum Repair" means "Your's is unfixable, here, buy this new one."

But there are probably exceptions.

Rustyt1953 · Nov 9, 2024

Made me think of me mum.

jeffrefrig · Nov 9, 2024

First glance I thought it said Rectums Vacuum Shop. I should've learned to read better.
We have a vacuum sweeper repair shop not far from my house. My sister, when she was still living, made me take a picture of their sign. She was living in Victoria, Texas, and people joked with her about us Northerners from PA calling a vacuum a "sweeper." She had to show them the picture as proof. That hula hoop lady has a top of the line sweeper by the looks of it. As my great aunt, who came to USA from Scotland at 8 yrs. old would call it she's "brooming the floor."
I was able to repair my wife's Rainbow sweeper by cleaning the brushes in the motor.

Rudi · Nov 9, 2024

I didn't think they repaired anything these days.

oldbrownhat · Nov 9, 2024

jeffrefrig said:
...That hula hoop lady has a top of the line sweeper by the looks of it. As my great aunt, who came to USA from Scotland at 8 yrs. old would call it she's "brooming the floor."...

The hula hoop lady would have burnt out her Fitbit doing that

And yes, it looks like a commercial model, with a cast aluminum or maybe Zamac head. It's probably still running somewhere.

My mum, whose parents were from Scotland, never spoke of brooming the floor, but she did call a free-standing clothes closet a "press" as I recall.

oldbrownhat · Nov 9, 2024

Rudi said:
I didn't think they repaired anything these days.

Nope. "It's bad for business." Buy new **** - and keep the landfill operators, recycling companies and container ship owners busy.

Rustyt1953 · Nov 9, 2024

Till the end of her days mum called it "Hoovering".

Rustyt1953 · Nov 9, 2024

In '84 I bought Ruthie a Kirby. It was like pushing a manual mower.

oldbrownhat · Nov 9, 2024

Rustyt1953 said:
Till the end of her days mum called it "Hoovering".

Reminds me of a story from Spike Milligan's war memoirs, from his time in North Africa. A dispatch rider came roaring up in a cloud of dust, which enveloped everyone. "You must get a Hoover", said Milligan. To which his C.O. replied, "Milligan, that is genuine military bull****."

Sistema1927 · Nov 9, 2024

Sometimes a vacuum cleaner shop can be a front for something else. IYKYK

oldbrownhat · Nov 9, 2024

Sistema1927 said:
Sometimes a vacuum cleaner shop can be a front for something else. IYKYK

I guess the rifle loopholes on the facade give it away

Yes, That 'Vacuum Repair' Phone Number In Last Night's 'Breaking Bad' Is Real

On “Granite State,” Sunday night’s penultimate episode of “Breaking Bad,” viewers got a brief glimpse of a local Albuquerque, N.M., business/secret front for a criminal operation called Best Quality Vacuum, including the business’ phone number on the storefront. As it turns out, perhaps unsurprisingly for such a detailed show, that phone number is indeed real, and you can call up Best Quality Vacuum yourself and enjoy a small “Breaking Bad,” Easter egg.

As the A.V. Club points out, calling 505-842-4205 (as seen on the building’s storefront) will direct you to a short voicemail message recorded by Robert Forester, who appeared in Sunday night’s “Breaking Bad.” In the short message, Forester describes the shop’s hours of operation and asks you to leave a message with any specific concerns...

soFlaNative · Nov 9, 2024

jeffrefrig said:
I was able to repair my wife's Rainbow sweeper by cleaning the brushes in the motor.

I remember my Mamie in McKeesport using the sweeper to redd up the living room

oldbrownhat · Nov 9, 2024

soFlaNative said:
I remember my Mamie in McKeesport using the sweeper to redd up the living room

I can see I'll have to find my Dictionary of Regional American English

LVSteve · Nov 9, 2024

Rustyt1953 said:
Made me think of me mum.

Hula-hooping and hoovering in heels. That's my kind of woman.

K-22 · Nov 10, 2024

Clothes Press

oldbrownhat said:
The hula hoop lady would have burnt out her Fitbit doing that And yes, it looks like a commercial model, with a cast aluminum or maybe Zamac head. It's probably still running somewhere.

My mum, whose parents were from Scotland, never spoke of brooming the floor, but she did call a free-standing clothes closet a "press" as I recall.

My Grandad was from NY, and he used to say clothes press, also.

yaktamer · Nov 10, 2024

Wonder if she can set someone up with a job managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.

yaktamer · Nov 10, 2024

Sistema1927 said:
Sometimes a vacuum cleaner shop can be a front for something else. IYKYK

Didn't see your post before mine. You beat me to it.

llowry61 · Nov 10, 2024

I recently repaired our Dyson by replacing the clutch. Surprising how much you can do on them. It wasn't hard, but the local repair shop quoted 150-200 dollars, not on my watch. Fixed in about 20 minutes 50 bucks in parts.

It is funny how the vernacular in certain localities evolves and in many instances the items become the prevailing brands name. My grandmother called the couch a Davenport which was a brand of sofa. The Valhalla of marketing.......

llowry61 · Nov 10, 2024

BTW it wasn't a new dust filter for a Hoover MaxExtract PressurePro Model 60.......

Here's a young lady with an unusual vocation

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