Carpet Beater
Highland Museum of Childhood

Carpet beaters were commonly used before the advent of vacuum cleaners. They were an effective way to keep floor coverings clean, although required much more physical hard work.  

It was only from the 1940s that carpets began to be fitted or fixed in place in a room. Before that, rugs were positioned over stone, wooden or dirt floors. To be cleaned, they were hung over lines and the carpet beater was repeatedly thrashed against the rug to disperse dust and dirt.