An elderly couple will be cleaning up their house after Christmas with the help of a 98-year-old multi-purpose German appliance - which has NEVER broken down.
Mary Waite and her husband Ivor have been using their trusty Piccolo, which performs at least eight different functions, since they got married in 1976.
The plastic and metal gadget is a vacuum cleaner but can transform into a food processor, meat mincer, coffee grinder, polisher, vegetable peeler, drill and even a compressed air paint sprayer.
The couple still use their all-in-one tool today to keep their home in Halesowen, West Mids., spick and span.
Piccolo's were produced in 1925 and were popular for families living in cramped houses in Germany and Eastern Europe due to its compact size and versatility.
Ivor, 73, was given the Piccolo by his aunt and says modern household appliances don't come close to it's reliability.
The retired engineering inspector said: “We were given it in 1976 from my auntie as a wedding present - it's the household equivalent of a Swiss Army knife.
"Her husband was a businessman who imported these things in the 50s from Germany. Because he had no service department, he couldn’t sell them.
“She was giving them away. I’ve lost a few spare parts but I'm quite handy so I've managed to keep the Piccolo going all these years.
"There was a juicer and a carrot slicer attachment but I don’t know where they have all gone.
“It’s pretty amazing that you can use it as a mincer, liquidiser, a food mixer, a juicer, a slicer and even polish the floors with it.
"It's a one-of-a-kind and we wouldn't be without it.
"You can also turn it into a vacuum cleaner. There’s a tool kit, there’s a circular saw and a drill with a grinder.
“We mainly used it as a mincer. We use it as a vacuum cleaner in the car because it’s small and once in a while we use it to polish and clean the floors.
“It had been in storage for god knows how long in my auntie's cottage before she gave it to us in 1976.”
German-made Piccolo’s are made from a strong metal casing and have the ability to be made into a variety of items.
They were manufactured between 1925 and 1930 and were imported to Britain by traders.
The couple won an award in 2013 for the oldest working appliance in the Black Country after they entered their trusty device into the contest.
Mary Waite and her husband Ivor have been using their trusty Piccolo, which performs at least eight different functions, since they got married in 1976.
The plastic and metal gadget is a vacuum cleaner but can transform into a food processor, meat mincer, coffee grinder, polisher, vegetable peeler, drill and even a compressed air paint sprayer.
The couple still use their all-in-one tool today to keep their home in Halesowen, West Mids., spick and span.
Piccolo's were produced in 1925 and were popular for families living in cramped houses in Germany and Eastern Europe due to its compact size and versatility.
Ivor, 73, was given the Piccolo by his aunt and says modern household appliances don't come close to it's reliability.
The retired engineering inspector said: “We were given it in 1976 from my auntie as a wedding present - it's the household equivalent of a Swiss Army knife.
"Her husband was a businessman who imported these things in the 50s from Germany. Because he had no service department, he couldn’t sell them.
“She was giving them away. I’ve lost a few spare parts but I'm quite handy so I've managed to keep the Piccolo going all these years.
"There was a juicer and a carrot slicer attachment but I don’t know where they have all gone.
“It’s pretty amazing that you can use it as a mincer, liquidiser, a food mixer, a juicer, a slicer and even polish the floors with it.
"It's a one-of-a-kind and we wouldn't be without it.
"You can also turn it into a vacuum cleaner. There’s a tool kit, there’s a circular saw and a drill with a grinder.
“We mainly used it as a mincer. We use it as a vacuum cleaner in the car because it’s small and once in a while we use it to polish and clean the floors.
“It had been in storage for god knows how long in my auntie's cottage before she gave it to us in 1976.”
German-made Piccolo’s are made from a strong metal casing and have the ability to be made into a variety of items.
They were manufactured between 1925 and 1930 and were imported to Britain by traders.
The couple won an award in 2013 for the oldest working appliance in the Black Country after they entered their trusty device into the contest.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 Hello there my name's Ivor Waight I'm 73 year old this year and me and my wife Mary we got
00:11 married in 1976 and my lovely auntie Cicely gave us this as a wedding present. Her husband
00:20 imported them I think back in the 1950s but we're talking probably talking the machines about 80
00:27 years old all together. So we've got a base motor and everything runs off the motor so you can just
00:36 clip it on so we've got a mincer, a food mixer, a mincer, a coffee grinder, vacuum cleaner. Ho ho ho
00:48 them reindeers done off a lot of mess this time of year. A spray gun that goes on to the vacuum
00:57 cleaner and a tool kit. We used to have a liquidiser but one of us dropped the glass dome
01:04 and we couldn't get another one. We found it really useful over the years and it come in really handy.
01:11 The gearbox just drops onto the top of the motor and then this one turns the gears round and this
01:20 is the mincer bit, the bit that does the business. You clip that on and then this is to stop you
01:28 putting your fingers down the hole and getting your fingers minced and then you can get it done.
01:32 And... (blender whirring)