At a time when the vacuum industry has shifted most of its manufacturing overseas and technology has revolutionized the products available on the market, Byers Vacuum stands its ground on the corner of First Street and University Avenue in downtown Champaign.

Owned by John Byers, the vacuum store at 77 E. University Ave. is proof that while the industry may have changed, Byers’ time-tested way of doing business has not. When Byers got into the industry in 1973, he was a fresh University Business School graduate looking to stay in the area. He got a job with Hoover, sold his car and invested the money in vacuum cleaners.

At that time, almost all vacuum units were made in the United States. Now, Byers said, only 10 to 15 percent are manufactured here. And most were made out of heavy raw materials such as metals and even wood, as opposed to the newer, lighter plastics that have helped create some of today’s vacuums that weigh as little as nine pounds.

Thirty-eight years later, Byers is still in the business of selling and repairing vacuum cleaners, a business that sees a lot of Champaign’s dirty laundry, literally.

“I heard a story one time about a person who brought in a vacuum cleaner and they found women’s underwear in it,” said Tom Johnson, who works part-time at the shop. “As it turns out, it wasn’t … the underwear (of the woman) who had dropped it off.”

Chris Anderson, who also works at the store, said most customers come in seeking repairs for problems with their vacuums — from broken belts to hair-wrapped brushes to clogged hoses. Typically, Anderson said, they find toothbrushes, straws, pencils, and even socks in clogged hoses. But sometimes a clogged hose or valve leads to a surprising discovery.

“One time a paring knife came out of a hose. I said, ‘This Dirt Devil just pulled a knife on me!’” Anderson said.

Byers said a lot of the problems he sees with vacuums in recent years stem from the fact that modern vacuums are “less fun” than they used to be.

“The vacuum cleaners they made 30 years ago were more fun than the vacuum cleaners they make now. They were metal. They were made to last,” Byers said. “You get a lot more satisfaction fixing a piece of equipment and knowing it should give somebody years of service than patching together something that you figure, in six months, something else is going to go wrong with it.”

A self-professed equipment junkie, Byers said he has a warehouse “packed solid” with vacuums used mostly for parts because “when you’ve been in the business for 38 years, you get a lot of trade-ins.”

Among his collection of vacuums displayed in the store is an antique Golden Rod that is “probably 100 years old” and unlike its modern counterparts was not electric, but ran off of arm power to create suction by pumping.

“It was real tedious, but it was better than nothing,” Byers said.

Byers is not the only one with an enthusiasm for dust busters — 12-year-old Kyle Krichbaum of Michigan gained national recognition in 2008 for his uncanny ability to distinguish between 50 of his different vacuums just by their sounds. Krichbaum is the proud owner of a rarity among antique vacuum collectors — the Hoover Model “0” — which was the first electric portable vacuum cleaner in 1908. But like most antiques, restoring and caring for aging goods can be tricky. Many of Byers’ antique vacuums show their age, worn with time and use, especially the vacuums that have cloth bags.

“You can’t keep a bed sheet for 80 years, much less something that you fill with dirt!” Byers said.

But whether they are shopping for an everyday household appliance or an antique collector’s piece, all of Byers’ customers are greeted at the door with a sign that reads “Jesus is the reason for Easter.” But unlike some signs that are only displayed at Christmas and Easter, Byers’ Christian-themed signs hold their ground year-round.

“I got saved in 1978 and I’ve been putting up Christian signs for a long time,” Byers said. “This is a very busy corner, and I can make a statement and hopefully it will make an impression on someone who doesn’t know the Lord.”

Inside the store, alongside signs that read of company policy, other signs line the walls that deliver a different message — God’s policy.

Byers said he changes the sign in the main window every six months or so, and has only received one negative reaction to it in the eight years he has been at the Champaign location. A man popped his head in the store, yelled a profanity about Jesus, and ran out, Byers said.

“There are people who are getting imprisoned and beaten in certain countries for their faith,” Byers said. “If that’s the worst thing that ever happens to me, then I’d imagine from the strength of his reaction that the Lord was probably trying to convict him of something.”