Back in the mid-1990s, I moved to an apartment in Snellville to be closer to my work. The new place being fully carpeted, I went to a small appliance repair shop in town and bought a larger vacuum cleaner.
That vac, a used “Sanitaire Heavy Duty Commercial” model, cost me $40 and worked beautifully — gave me zero problems — for the next 13 years. I always loved that vacuum.
But a few days ago, the motor began to make odd noises. The housing began to get hot. With a sigh, I unplugged it and mentally kissed my Sanitaire goodbye. Time for a replacement.
Because of my good luck with the repair shop in Snellville, I located a similar place in Gainesville. I figured they would pronounce the Sanitaire dead, and I would buy another used machine from them.
Wrong. The repair dude opened the housing and found, in a remote spot you don’t normally access, enough compacted dog hair to stuff a standard-size pillow.
Technically, that dog hair represented two border collies and 13 years of vacuuming. It was packed in there so tight, the motor was impeded.
After the dog hair was removed, the machine ran perfectly again, and I went triumphantly home.
Now that I know how to access and clean out the innards of the thing, I anticipate many more years of fine service from my trusty Sanitaire.
Mr. Write's Page 
Bet it was American made.