42-year-old vacuum goes to museum

Jennifer Harris and the Siemens Super (Pic: South Wales Argus)

A vacuum cleaner which is working as well as it was when it was first bought 42 years ago is to become a museum piece.

The Siemens Super VS 3145 was bought by Jennifer Harris from Newbridge, south Wales, in 1965 from a door-to-door salesman.

It has been serviced just three times and, she says, works as well as ever.

Bosch and Siemens offered to replace the old machine and plan to display it in their German HQ museum.

Mrs Harris said she contacted the manufacturer of the cleaner after her daughter joked it should be in a museum.

"I've had it serviced three times in all those years but it really is as good as new," she said.

"My only problem is that as I'm a bit older it gets a bit heavy carrying it upstairs.

"I didn't want to just throw it away because it's still working.

"When my daughter arrived from Australia for her first visit in years she couldn't believe I was still using it.

"She made a quip about it being a museum piece and that's exactly what it is now."

I will be sorry to see it go - it is a like a member of the family Jennifer Harris

Mrs Harris has been using the cleaner for the last four decades after her husband bought it for £43, seven shillings and sixpence and they still have the box and original reciept for the machine.

"I will be sorry to see it go - it is a like a member of the family.

"I've never thought of replacing it because it's never broken down and it still picks up as well as the first day I had it.

"But the manufactures were very excited when we told them about it. They want to put it on display in a glass case at the entrance to their museum."

A Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte spokeswoman said: "The cylinder model will now take pride of place in the company's museum in Germany, complete with the original tools, box and receipt, which Mrs Harris had kept in pristine condition for so long.