Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Thursday, October 17, 2013

When Vaccums Go Bad

Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Okay, it was . . . weird.
Really weird.
But sometimes, weird has a logical explanation . . .
Darn.
We were visiting with our good friends, Shane and Linda.
They had just finished building their dream home.
The last touches were slowly going in.
Shane had recently installed a new central vacuum system.
It really sucked. (But that was a good thing and has nothing to do with this story . . .)
Shortly after the vacuum was installed, and very late at night, Shane was in the front room doing . . . Shane stuff. Deciding it was time for bed, he stood up and started toward the doorway.
When the vacuum suddenly turned on.
I am not making this up.
The middle of the night. Everyone else in the house was asleep. And the vacuum switched itself on.
Let’s just say it was . . . startling . . . and go from there.
Shane immediately quickened his pace, intent on switching the mechanical demon off before it woke the whole house.
But as he crossed the room, it quit.
The vacuum, I mean.
Huh.
See what I mean? Weird.
After that, it happened several times. Always when someone was in the front room. Usually when they were alone.
This went on for some time.
Then we showed up for a visit.
The four of us were sitting in the front room, catching up.
Shane told us the vacuum story.
Complete with hand gestures.
And the dance.
I frowned thoughtfully. (I do that . . .) “Shane,” I asked, “Where were you standing when the vacuum came on?”
He pointed out an area of the floor.
I crossed over and stepped on it.
The vacuum was suddenly roaring beneath us.
I moved off the spot.
The vacuum quit.
I did it again.
Vacuum on.
Vacuum off.
All three of them were staring at me.
Then Grant smiled. “I think I know what happened.”
The two men went into the basement and poked around, finally discovering a screw, just piercing the wiring. When pressure was applied from above, the connection was completed. The vacuum came on.
When pressure was released, the connection was broken. And the machine switched off.
The ‘haunted’ vacuum was explained.
But you know what?
It was heaps more fun before we figured it out.

27 comments:

  1. I remember that! You called each of us kids into the room and told us to stand right in front of the armchair. When the vacuum came on, you guys laughed, while we usually ran screaming from the room...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Finally, a vacuum story that would scare adults, not just cats!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well dang....ruined a perfectly good haunting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Truthfully, appliances scare me - logical explanation or not. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah-ha! So you're still scared then? My work here is done!

      Delete
  5. Too funny, and the label is hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Another really cute one! I started to get worried that the vacuum could be haunted. You did build the suspense on this one.
    I am smiling.................
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Crazy! I for one am glad you figured it out. I would of been too creeped out. Who would have ever thought.....a tiny little screw. Too funny.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I wanted it to be a ghost and not a screw. Still, really weird!

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  9. I was hearing Twilight Zone music till I got to the end.

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  10. I'd love to have ducted vacuum system! Not sure I'd want a haunted one though. My daughter's vacuum turns itself after 5 minutes and refuses to turn back on. Also the cord retracts itself; when you pull it out to connect to a socket, if you let go to move the coffee table away from the socket for easy access perhaps, you look for the plug only to find the cord has retracted itself. We now have to attach an extension cord because of this problem, but then the dang thing won't suck for more than 5 minutes anyway...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Hmm . . . Either it's time for a new vacuum. Or an exorcism . . .

      Delete
  11. This is too funny!!! A haunted vacuum---hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aw shucks! The screw did it!
    Love,
    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  13. I appreciate your guidelines. Safety is very important for all sides. Full information can be helpful for all.

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  14. We provide the best cleaning services because we have a professional team visit our page Best Vacuums For Pet Hair Reviews 2019 thanks

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