From the very first Electrolux Model V introduced in 1924, all Electrolux machines utilized a cylindrical cloth bag (made of moleskin) for collecting the vacuumed-up dirt.

Then, in 1952, the dramatic new Model LX — “ the Cleaner with the Automatic Brain” — was introduced and with it the dramatic new “disposable wrapper.”

The “wrapper” was a paper sack with a stiff cardboard top and a patented rubber membrane in its center that sealed shut when the wrapper was removed, sealing the dirt inside. Thus was born a new Electrolux slogan: “Touch No Dirt! Breathe No Dirt! See No Dirt!”

It was a naturally following situation that people would want this feature for their older Electroluxes. I am not sure when exactly a retrofitted, after-market disposable bag chamber was devised for the Model XXX but I assume it was sometime in the early to mid 1950s based on its hammertone blue finish and overall design.

The bag chamber is a clever device but very plain and humble in appearance. When I first saw one, I assumed it was a modification that some doting and very handy husband had devised for his sweet wife ... until I found another one, and another one, and another one... all identical. I eventually figured out that this was indeed, plain appearance notwithstanding, a genuine Electrolux product. Here’s how the bag chamber works.

You remove the original, round, latched front cover from the XXX, and also remove the cloth bag. You insert the bag chamber in place of the bag. The top of the bag chamber has a rubber-covered rim that corresponds to the top rim of the cloth bag. Two small worm-gear type latches secure the body of the bag chamber in place. You insert a paper bag, then affix the front cover by tightening two large knurled thumb screws.

Clever and convenient that the bag chamber was, it does not seem to have really caught on. You’d think that people far and wide would have brought their XXXs in for this upgrade but that is not the case. Indeed, these bag chambers are quite scarce and hard to find. Maybe it was because of the plain, odd appearance and the way it ruined the streamlined look of the front of the XXX. Who knows.......!

Here are some photos showing the bag chamber and how it is attached.

The Model XXX used in these photos was the last of many variations on that model that were sold from 1937 until 1954. This last version was finished in a color scheme matching the new Model LX, becoming a low-tier economy model.

I call this particular machine my “Souped Up Super Deluxe Electrolux” because it has a snazzy wheeled go-cart (not an Electrolux product, but fun nevertheless), all-blue late-model trim, the Companion attachment caddy, the Cord Winder, the disposable bag chamber, and, last but not least, definitely souped-up power: I retrofitted it with the motor from a Super J!

History of American Electrolux

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