Yes, it’s a real museum. And it’s not just for clean freaks. The Museum of Clean in Pocatello, Idaho is most definitely an interesting stop on your roadtrip.
On an RV trip to neighboring Montana, we decided that the Museum of Clean was just quirky enough to warrant an hour drive to visit it.
We were right. It’s totally worth a visit.
Museum of Clean
The museum is located in Pocatello, Idaho, and is a worthwhile stop for any roadtripping adventure.
It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm and includes four floors of clean freak fun.
The museum was opened by Don Aslett, a world-renowned professional cleaner and author.
He had collected a 300 piece collection of antique cleaning tools and decided to make it a destination museum.
Clean freaks rejoice.
The museum has extended way beyond its original offering of 300 antique cleaning apparatuses to include over 10,000 items for your viewing pleasure.
Expect to spend at least 2-3 hours perusing The Museum of Clean.
The very clean museum is housed in a LEED certified environmentally friendly building occupying a full city block in downtown Pocatello.
It is huge (75,000 square feet) and plans include the future buildout of a rooftop deck overlooking the city.
Museum of Clean Attractions
The museum is organized along various cleaning tools and themes, including a huge collection of antique vacuum cleaners, brooms, washing machines, floor buffers and more.
You are likely to be overwhelmed by the amount of cleaning information provided.
Given that the museum as founded by Don Aslett, the museum has a small theater in which it displays a continual roll of Mr. Aslett’s many TV appearances over the years on talk shows.
Vacuum Cleaners
The Museum of Clean has an extensive collection of vacuum cleaners, including the world’s first vacuum cleaner – the Daniel Hess Carpet Sweeper – which was patented on July 10, 1860.
The museum has the original patent model, but there is no official record that this vacuum cleaner was ever produced for the consumer market.
The museum also has an original horse and carriage vacuum cleaner that was pulled by a horse to your house for an extensive cleaning.
There are also countless displays of myriad types of vacuum cleaners throughout the vacuum cleaner industry’s history.
The museum also has this Electrolux hot rod vacuum cleaner that was profiled in Hot Rod magazine.
If you have an interest in any particular vacuum cleaner type, you will most likely find a model of that vacuum cleaner here at the museum.
For example, below is a vacuum cleaner that you stood on and rolled back and forth in a see-saw rolling motion to create a vacuum to suck dirt from the floor.
This same human-powered approach to vacuum cleaning is evident in the non-feminist approved patent application for a rocking chair in which the husband rocks comfortably in his rocking chair and creates a vacuum that the happy cleaning wife then uses to clean the floor.
Something tells me this wouldn’t fly too well today.
There are other vacuum patents on display, including this absurd Combination Dog Toy and Vacuum Cleaner.
The museum has hundreds of vacuum cleaners on display, including an entire floor of the museum filled with vacuum cleaners that were used throughout history.
And for true clean freaks, the museum even has vacuum cleaner models on display that invite you to “try me.”
Why not try your hand at using a vintage vacuum cleaner to vacuum a small swath of carpet in the museum?
Other Cleaning Displays at the Museum of Clean
The museum goes well beyond exploring the history of the modern vacuum cleaner.
There are also displays about all sorts of cleaning topics, including trash compactors, washing machines, knife cleaners, floor buffers, dusters, sweepers, and so much more.
True clean freaks will be overwhelmed with joy.
Clean Humor
The Museum of Clean staff have attempted to make the topic of cleaning fun for visitors.
There are fun little anecdotes about cleaning throughout the museum, trivia about cleaning, as well as an entire floor devoted to cleaning topics of interest to children.
Myriad sculptures of humans and animals made from cleaning product parts and clutter removed from houses are displayed throughout the museum.
Varsity Facilities Services Soap Box Derby Race Cars
Mr. Aslett’s Varsity Facilities Services cleaning company held an annual company meeting project that was a clean-related take off of a soap box derby.
Approximately 20 “clean” soap box derby cars were built across the country and raced on a slope in Jackson Hole, Wyoming each year.
The clean soap box derby entries were judged on creativity along with speed.
Several of the ingenuous soap box derby cars are on display.
Vacuum Drag Races at the Museum of Clean
Another fun cleaning competition hosted by Mr. Aslett’s companies was the vacuum drag races.
Several model of drag race cars made from vacuum cleaners are on display from his 1995 vacuum drag race competition.
Harvest Hosts Program
The Museum of Clean is a member of the Harvest Hosts program.
The Harvest Hosts program is a unique network of wineries, farms, and attractions such as museums that invite self-contained RV’ers to visit and stay overnight.
The idea is that RV’ers stay for free but support the vineyard, farm, or attraction by making a purchase to support their business.
For example, visitors to the Museum of Clean’s ticket price helps support the business.
Campers are expected to dry camp, meaning that you do not connect to the business’s water, electricity, or sewer connections.
(If you are interested in joining Harvest Hosts, follow this link to Harvest Hosts and you’ll receive 15% off an annual membership price of $99. A discount code will be displayed at the top of the page when you click the link.)
If you join Harvest Hosts, the Museum of Clean will let you stay overnight in your RV in their parking lot in downtown Pocatello, Idaho. Pocatello is a cute town with plenty of restaurants and other things to do nearby.
