Woman still using her vacuum cleaner half a century after buying it as a wedding present
A SOUTH Yorkshire woman who bought a vacuum cleaner as a wedding gift to herself and new husband is still using it 53 years later – which has lasted longer than her marriage.
Val Marks purchased a refurbished Hoover Junior 1334A when she was setting up home as a newlywed back in 1965.
But, while she split with her husband in 1975, her trusty vacuum cleaner is still going strong over five decades on.
The 70-year-old, from Rotherham, said: “Sadly it wasn’t happily ever after for me and my husband, but the Hoover has stood by me, no matter what.”
Ms Marks does not agree with today’s throwaway society and will not buy anything new if she has one that already works.
“Things were built to last back then,” the retired administration worker said, “so I find that a lot of my appliances have lasted a long while.
“I don’t buy anything new unless I have to. I’d much rather save my money to spend on holidays.”
The vacuum cleaner was already second-hand when Ms Marks, who has no children, bought a reconditioned Hoover Junior back in 1965 from Wigfalls electrical store on the high street of Rotherham.
The 56-year-old machine was made in 1962 and cost £20 back then – the equivalent of £420 today.
It was still expensive at the time and had to be bought ‘on the tick’.
“You couldn’t afford to pay things like that in full back then,” she said.
“You had to pay for these things in instalments”.
Ms Marks who has visited Gambia in West Africa 24 times over the last ten years to make charity runs of clothing, shoes and spectacles, has moved three times, taking her Hoover with her each time.
“There came a point when I needed to buy another vacuum to have one upstairs and one downstairs because this is fairly heavy and I couldn’t lug this up the stairs anymore,” she added.
She is hoping that when she is no longer around a museum will take it.