Thought of the day .

[C.J.]

Saw one of these for sale ($12) on CL and it got me thinkin of the one I had years ago. Isn’t good for much as far as vacuums go but it’s the best damn thing for vacuuming stairs (carpet) after you’re done installing them. I don’t remember what I paid for mine but I know it wasn’t much. Before I got that vacuum I would have to sweep all the stairs to the bottom then vacuum up the fuzz.

I also had an old skool Kirby vacuum that I bought for $20. That thing sucked! It was also tough. Made of metal so it could survive being tossed around in the back of a van. Only downside to the Kirby was it took vacuum bags. The bags filled up so quickly that I would split the end of the bag open, empty it out and tape it back up so I could get more life out of it

What was/ is your favorite vacuum?

 

[Floorist]

Never vacuumed carpet jobs. Just was not done around here.

 

[C.J.]

Never vacuumed carpet jobs. Just was not done around here.

Even on residential jobs, as in Grandma has to vacuum her own carpet after you leave?

 

[MSLI]

Even on residential jobs, as in Grandma has to vacuum her own carpet after you leave?

It was socially acceptable by most back then, and even Grandma was happy to do it. Until it shifted to the least and that’s when the responsibility, rightfully so, fell on us installers.

 

[MSLI]

What was/ is your favorite vacuum?

Shop vac with a few attachments does everything from start to finish. No need for anything else.

 

[C.J.]

Vacuuming was maybe 50/50 when I started installing. I recall a few times I gave someone a kick ass install but was bagged on for not vacuuming. Then there were clowns that booted the entire job in, wouldn’t seal Berber seams, tacker stairs, blah blah blah but they would vacuum and people loved them and thought their work was .

Used to piss me off. Not the actual vacuuming part but the fact that perception is reality. A quality install that is left messy when finished will always be perceived as lesser than a ****** install that was left clean. Last time I had my van worked on I had to clean a big ol greasy handprint off my fender. Yes I did get a quality repair but guess what part of that experience sticks out in my mind when it was all said n done and somebody wants a review, the greasy handprint. I think vacuuming is the equivalent of you wiping off your handprint before you give me back my vehicle. So even if Grams says she’s gonna vacuum, I’m gonna vacuum first.

 

[Floorist]

Even on residential jobs, as in Grandma has to vacuum her own carpet after you leave?

Never has been done around here.

 

[highup]

Shop vac with a few attachments does everything from start to finish. No need for anything else.

That's all I've ever used. A Kirby upright can't suck staples behind the tackstrip.

 

[DarisMulkin]

I had that little Dirt Devil when doing custom rugs, worked great. But on installs it was a commercial Hoover all the way, had a emptiable cloth bag. Still have it for my own carpet every once in awhile.

 

[C.J.]

That's all I've ever used. A Kirby upright can't suck staples behind the tackstrip.

Don’t be ridiculous, those get pushed under the baseboard.

 

[MSLI]

Don’t be ridiculous, those get pushed under the baseboard.

Or picked up by your finger tips

 

[highup]

Don’t be ridiculous, those get pushed under the baseboard.

Well, you can't leave em out in the room under the pad with your spent blades.

 

[highup]

Or picked up by your finger tips

I put them in the soles of my shoes for safe keeping.

 

[highup]

Ah, these old clips are fun to watch. They wouldn't be the same without the orchestra music.
These short movies sure instilled a lot of pride in things that were produced here in the good ol' US of A.

 

[Floorist]

Well, you can't leave em out in the room under the pad with your spent blades.

I have taken up many yards of carpet where the previous "installer" put blades under the carpet. Pissed me off.

 

[C.J.]

Well, you can't leave em out in the room under the pad with your spent blades.

Carpet layers trademark! I’ll be honest, I left a few blades underneath the pad. Not all the time, but every once in a while I would purposely slip one underneath the pad. All the other times I had a Gatorade bottle that all the blades got picked up and disposed of in. Screw the cap on and in the dumpster she goes on your way out.

 

[highup]

Probably the only reason I'd travel to the East Coast.
(I'm not a social person where highways are 3 or 4 lanes wide in either direction )
This would be quite something to wake up to..... Go to bed to....
I actually don't think I'd be able to go to sleep.
Pretty darn neat if the weather was decent.
....1 to 3 ft seas and a full moon.
Oh yeah, that happens one day, every two centuries like clockwork.

 

[highup]

How big is yours?

 

[highup]

Incredible feat.....
...55 years ago. Makes you appreciate the astronauts skill levels back then.

 

[highup]

Today, he's a little helper. I don't think I'd want him helping full time.