Chapter Six

The cyclonic system in DC01, showing the shroud to trap hairs, the entry into the cyclone and the spiral of centrifugal force in the interior with the exit at the top.

Photographed with DC01s in 1993.

A powerful early advertisement campaign for DC01 – saying 'goodbye' to the bag in multiple languages. A few years ago, when I presented at Speech day for my old school, Gresham's, I challenged the pupils to guess what the 'AMF' in the ad referred to win a DC01. Later that afternoon a boy came up to me saying he had the answer – 'Adios mother f*cker'! He was right of course and I gave him a vacuum as promised. I was moved to hear that the boy's mother had died just days before and that he used his new vacuum cleaner to keep his mother's grave clean in the chapel where she was buried.

One of the many ways we applied cyclone technology was with the Diesel Trap. I was never convinced diesel was in any way 'clean', despite government saying otherwise. By trapping diesel in the exhaust of a vehicle, you could prevent harmful particles from polluting streets and pavements. I demonstrated this in 1993 on the UK's Blue Peter show. I drove around Shepherd's Bush and showed presenter Anthea Turner the dirt that had been collected.

Early promotional photo of a DC01 against a competitor with a cloth bag.

Our first production line for DC01, at Bumpers Farm in Chippenham, 1993.

Our first TV ad. Miele objected to it, claiming we wouldn't be able to pick up the bits of paper in reality. Total nonsense of course.

A breakdown of the workings of DC01.