The Evolution of Vacuum Cleaners | The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation

On this segment of The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation, Mo Rocca speaks with Curator of Domestic Life Jeanie Miller about the history of the vacuum cleaner.
Before the vacuum cleaner, people relied on the basic cleaning tool that's been around for centuries: the broom. And by the 19th century, people used wooden rackets to beat the dust out of rugs. In the late 1870s, Bissell created its first carpet sweeper, which was a mechanical device that used brushes and rollers to sweep dirt off of the floor.
It wasn't until 1908 when the first commercially successful portable electric vacuum cleaner was introduced by Hoover. The Hoover Model O was less than half the weight of other "portable" cleaners. With its motor and fan, rotary brush, and bag that captured dust, the electrically-powered -- and expensive -- Hoover vacuum removed dirt and dust much better than the carpet beaters or mechanical carpet sweepers used by many people at the time.
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