James Murray Spangler was a man with an asthma condition in the early 1900s. He worked as a sweeper for Zollinger Dept. Store in Canton, Ohio. All of the dust and dirt that he had to sweep up aggravated his condition and he thought there might be a better way to do his job. Taking cues from a rotary street sweeper, Spangler mounted a sewing machine motor onto a carpet sweeper. He attached fan blades to blow dirt out of the rear and into a pillow case. A leather belt was attached to the wood cylinder brush roll and the handle was a broom stick. The final design had a wooden soap box as the body. He called this a "suction sweeper."

He got a patent from his invention in 1908. When the need for additional financial assistance arose, Spangler turned to William "Boss" Hoover. Hoover and Spangler became partners and eventually had six employees assembling six units a day.

Hoover put an ad in the Saturday Evening Post which offered ten days free use of the Hoover suction sweeper. He worked with reputable stores in each city that customers could purchase Hoovers from and promised the store manager commission from each sale that was made. These stores would become Hoover vacuum dealers. This is how the Hoover National Dealer Network started. This network is one of the most crucial channels of distribution for Hoover products.

In 1926, Hoover introduced the beat bar saying, "It beats, as it sweeps, as it cleans." This metal bar tapped the carpet, which loosened the embedded dirt, which the bristled brush swept out of the carpet. Other innovations by the Hoover Company include disposable paper bags, vacuum cleaner headlights, a self-propelled feature and a side mounted hose feature.

These features can be found on their product line, which includes:

The WindTunnel: These vacuums, launched in 1997, feature the patented WindTunnel technology. They have dual air ducts that lift and capture dirt without scattering it. These vacuums are available bagged and bagless. The Hoover U5780900 WindTunnel + Cyclonic uses cyclonic technology, has lifetime belts and the cord automatically rewinds. The Hoover U8311900 WindTunnel 2 has self-cleaning HEPA filters, has lifetime belts and also features an extra reach hose.

Fusion: These vacuums are bagless and use cyclonic technology. They have powerful suction that removes dirt and kills allergies around the home.

Tempo: This is the standard Hoover vacuum cleaner. It comes in bagged and bagless models.

EmPower: The first Hoover vacuum cleaner with variable power control. Introduced in 2005, this vacuum has a "hush mode" which you can trigger for quieter vacuuming. The "Power Boost" is a feature for hard-to-clean dust and dirt.

SteamVac: For deep down dirt, the Hoover F5914900 SteamVac shampoos carpets using a combination of water and detergent. There are two different tanks to hold the clean and dirty water. "SpinScrub Brushes" massage your carpet fibers on all sides.

FloorMate: The Hoover H2850 FloorMate vacuums, washes and dries bare floors. These also use SpinScrub brushes.

These are just some of the vacuums included in Hoover's comprehensive line of products meant for general and special-purpose vacuuming. These are reliable, innovative cleaning solutions that demonstrate quality and high performance for homes and commercial settings.

In British English, the word "Hoover" is synonymous with vacuum. It all started out with a simple invention. Who would have guessed that Hoover would be the very definition of a vacuum cleaner?