When I first moved out of my house and into my own apartment I had one small dilemma to solve: I had to furnish the thing on a limited budget. Most of the money that I had saved up went to buy an awesome stereo system that I could finally play because my parents wouldn’t be around to complain about it. (I forgot about the neighbors.) It was a small one-bedroom apartment in an old brick building. I decided that I would do most of my shopping at Pier One. I thought that they had a lot of neat things that didn’t cost very much. Wicker and rattan was in at the time, so I bought a wicker dining set, couch, and one of those nifty hanging king chairs. (Cushions optional.) With the addition of a couple of woven Indian wall hangings, a lava light, and a couple of incense burners, I was all ready to go.
The floors in the apartment were all hardwood and I bought a couple of area rugs for the living room. It was at Easter time and on Easter Sunday we were all sitting around talking after dinner. My uncle remarked that he had a nice piece of shag carpet that would fit in the bedroom nicely, but it needed to be cleaned. It was rolled up in the basement of his house. It was bout 8 p.m. Easter evening when I suggested that we go get it and take it back to my apartment. On the way there we passed a laundry mat and my uncle got the great idea of finding one with one of those big heavy-duty stainless steel commercial washers and cleaning the carpet in it. We drove and drove and finally found a laundry that was open. It took the two of us to carry the heavy carpet into the laundry. But it was two big to fit in the machine. It took us about 20 minutes to bend and fold it enough to stuff it into the machine. It wasn’t easy bending the heavy backing. Fortunately there were no other customers in the place and I cringed when I thought about what the owner would say if he saw what we were doing to his machine.
The carpet was clean when we finally got it to my apartment, but then about a week or two later I found out that I was going to need a vacuum cleaner. This month is the one hundred year anniversary of the handy machine. Surveys show that most people prefer an upright vacuum cleaner to the canister type and they have been shown to do the best job in most applications. When it comes to price, don’t always think that paying the highest price will get you the most vacuum cleaner. Avoid the really cheap ones, but according to Consumer Reports Magazine, the best vacuums for the money are really the mid-priced models. Do you really need an art object or all of those extra bells and whistles?
If you are looking for the best price then shop at a big box store, but if you also want service after the sale then you probably want to buy your vacuum cleaner at one of the independent shops. Here are a few in the St. Louis area:
Dr. Tom’s Vacuum Cleaner Sales and Service,
314-645-0126
3133 Watson Rd (at Arsenal)
St Louis MO 63139
Dr. Tom’s has been in business more than 70 years and that’s nearly as long as there have been vacuum cleaners so they must be doing something right. You can also trade in your old vacuum cleaner for a new one and that helps offset the higher prices that independent dealers usually charge. And the service here is par excellence.
OK Vacuum and Janitor Supply
314-822-8420
11718 Manchester Rd
Saint Louis, MO 63131
Ok carries a full line of cleaners and also janitorial supplies. Located in West County it offers easy access from all of the major highways on Manchester Road.
Midwest Vacuum and Sewing
533 S.E. Melody Lane Lee’s Summit, MO 64063 (816) 524-5449 Fax- (816)524-7313
Unique in that they offer sales, service, trade-ins, and classes for those who live in out state Missouri. Learn how to sew while you get your vacuum cleaner repaired.
