Are there any differences between them?

[dilodi83]

What's the difference in English between a hoover and a carpet sweeper? Are they the same stuff?

[emka]

Not a teacher.

To me these are two different things.

A carpet sweeper is not an electrical appliance (no cord and plug). It is a box with rotating brushes at the bottom and a stick handle. You push it around, and the brushes move the fluff, hairs etc. inside the box mechanically.

A hoover has an electrical motor and sucks up the fluff etc. It is a vacuum cleaner. Hoover is a brand name, and obviously the company has been highly successful at penetrating their brand name so that it has become a generic term for vacuum cleaner (like Scotch tape).

[Barb_D]

Just a side note: In the US, no one uses the term "carpet sweeper" (probably because no one has them), and "Hoover" does not have the same market penetration, so we just say "vacuum cleaner."

[BobK]

Carpet sweepers are more or less a thing of the past. (The market leaders were Bex Bissel, who (without the 'Bex') still seem to be operating:; Bissell® Rubber Bladed Sweeper in vacuum cleaners & sweepers at the home of creative kitchenware, Lakeland. I imagine people with a tiny 'bed-sit' and only a few square yards of floor still find them useful; and they are, of course, cheaper than anything electrical - and greener.)

b

[SoothingDave]

Just a side note: In the US, no one uses the term "carpet sweeper" (probably because no one has them), and "Hoover" does not have the same market penetration, so we just say "vacuum cleaner."

I've seen non-electrical sweepers used in restaurants.

And in my dialect, "sweeper" is used as a synonym for "vacuum cleaner." Like "Fold the clothes and run the sweeper before you go out with your friends."