Abstract: An upright vacuum cleaner has a hose assembly (10, 10?) attached at one end to the base (1, 1?) of the cleaner. The hose assembly is stowed alongside the handle (6, 6?) and is retained by the free end (19) of the assembly engaging a fixture (21) on the handle. The hose assembly (10, 10?) comprises a rigid wand (12, 12?) and a flexible hose (11, 11?) with a natural extended length. The hose can be retracted to a shorter length using the power of the vacuum cleaner by closing a valve (20, 20?) on the wand (12, 12?) to prevent air flow along the hose assembly and produce a reduced pressure. The wand (12, 12?) is stowed by sliding inside or outside the hose (11, 11?) and has a flange (18, 18?) at one end that engages and seals with a flange (15, 15?) at the free end of the hose when the wand is extended.

Abstract: A vacuum cleaner hose has a helical reinforcement and a compressible channel extending along the hose between the reinforcement. The channel is formed between two overlapping layers of flexible material bonded together where they extend over the reinforcement and unbonded where they extend between the reinforcement. Passages containing valves connect one end of the channel to the outlet of a vacuum cleaner pump and to its inlet so that air can be either supplied to the channel to extend the hose or withdrawn from the channel to retract the hose.