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First off it is very rare that a central vacuum gets plugged, the hose is 30' at 1 1/4" and the pipe is 2". If it travels 30' at that diameter it will go through a 2" diameter. Second if it clogs there are many different ways to go about it, none involve ripping open walls.
That makes perfect sense. A plumber usually doesn't have to rip out walls for a blocked pipe. I'd assume you can unplug a central vacuum with plumber's snake or similar device.
I will tell you, If I was building I probably would have missed it as well..lol as we have built homes before and never had central Vac but now having it, I couldnt imagine buying a vaccum cleaner again
C/V is one of the most chosen upgrades for new construction. And yes, it can be retro'd in existing houses. Installers have a few tricks up their sleeves in order to install. The major drawback to retro's- less hookup sites. Which means a longer hose to battle.
Most of my H/O would go for the 20/25' hose, and have one on each floor. The toe-kick for the kitchen is a must have. And if the unit is in the basement- make sure there is a hookup in the garage.
One point I'd like to make- there are a few manufacturers on the market- the best system I have seen is the one with an intergal power source for the power head. Most systems use a powerhead that you plug into a regular receipticle with its own power cord. The system I'm referring to has the "power cord" integrated into the hose for the powerhead. Makes for less tangle and ease of use. Yes it costs more than the others but, in the long run...
I just posted on another thread about this a few days ago. Yes the central vac is awesome! We just built a house with it, and I am so glad we got it. We also have a vac pan in the kitchen which you can sweep crumbs into and it sucks it up into the central vac (no more bending to sweep into a dustpan). Our unit is in our garage & it has an outlet on the unit itself, which we didn't know would be there. This is great because we can now buy extra attachments for a car vac, and use it there! The best part of the central vac is using it on wood floors. You don't need the motor of the vacuum for this, and it so quick and easy.
Wow! If I was going to post about our central vac this would be my post! Saved me some typing.
We have an outlet in the central hall on both floors and a loooong hose. Plug in once and do the entire floor. Very nice. Very light.
We had something clogging our system and the repairman fixed it with out any problem
Melissa
Quote:
Originally Posted by amploud
That makes perfect sense. A plumber usually doesn't have to rip out walls for a blocked pipe. I'd assume you can unplug a central vacuum with plumber's snake or similar device.
My parents had their house built in 87' with CV and accidently sucked up a sock along with kitty litter, it did a job on it.
It never worked after that...not sure if they're built better now 20 yrs later, it seems like it, eh?
My parents had their house built in 87' with CV and accidently sucked up a sock along with kitty litter, it did a job on it.
It never worked after that...not sure if they're built better now 20 yrs later, it seems like it, eh?
If I sucked up a sock and some kitty litter I wouldn't work very well, either
We had one in our last house and didn't like it. Instead of carrying a vacuum around the house, you're hauling this big hose around. Somebody above mentioned they didn't want a central vac because they had nowhere to store the hose. I can relate to that! Plus, you still have all your accessories to tote around. Beater brush for carpet, different heads, etc. We lived in a two-story house, and lugging all that junk up and down the stairs was a supreme hassle. We found it far easier to simply carry around our Miele White Star cannister vac that stores all of its accessories inside.
I also disagree with the supposed advantages of the CV being better for hardwood because of no beater bar, and keeping the house cleaner than a portable vac. You don't use a beater bar on hardwood with a portable vac or central vac, so there's no difference there. The "cleaner" aspect doesn't jive either, because there are some exceptional vac with HEPA filters that have great suction and emit no measurable dust. Our little Miele is one.
Not trying to negate anybody elses positive experiences, but wanted to offer a little balance to the discussion.
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