I think any vacuum unit is fine - but you might as well vent to the outside. Then there really isn't an issue.

240V is more powerful - I don't think it is necessary but I suppose house size is an issue. I didn't bother and it a bit too powerful (if anything).

No comment on 3

4 - I hated the handvac thing. Too hard to use but they have improved it. I would never bother for a bathroom. We considered it for a kitchen with a toddler - but we ripped it out in a day....

thanks david.

My house is only 2300 Sq.ft so I am guessing the 220V is not required. One dealer sent me a quote for VACUFLO MODEL FC65O FILTERED POWER UNIT - Is this a good model?

If you have allergy issues I would reinforce what David said and would absolutely insist on having your CV vent to outdoors. This permanently removes all the super fine dust collected by your vacuum. You should notice a significant reduction of dust after using the CV. I know I did!

ANY central vac is going to help a lot. Ours is in the basement -- DH does the bag changing for me about five times a year. (2900 sq ft ranch) I don't 'get' venting outdoors -- but I don't 'get' polluting the air with wood stoves either! lol

I have all wood/tile with low-pile orientals. No electrical power-assist on my vacuum, and it has all the suction I could wish for. I'd skip any kick-plates; you'll stir up dust by sweeping TO the thing and have a dusty broom in the room.

We built prior to the hide-a-hose, so I don't know about any issues with having the hose nearby, in the wall. Be sure you have enough hose to reach the highest point in the farthest corner you want to clean.

A central vac is no better than a good HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner when it comes to allergies. The major problem arises from allergens stirred up and suspended in the air during the process of vacuuming. I.e., the person allergic should not be the one doing the vacuuming. If you have a bagless and empty it ouside, it's no different than a central vac. If you have a HEPA rated bag vacuum, it might actually be better than a central vac. Look into Miele and similar.

I don't agree with lonestar. A central vac will stir up less allergens because of the more powerful suction. Would you like your allergens filtered or sent outside? Do you believe a HEPA filter is perfect?

I certainly admit that I have no special knowledge on the subject but it just makes sense. I do know that HEPA filtration is not the definitive answer and no filter is perfect.

"If you have a bagless and empty it ouside, it's no different than a central vac."

Disagree. The process of emptying the bagless vacuum is what gets my allergies going. That is not necessary with the central vac that empties outside. With that said, our central vac has the container in the garage... I just make my husband dump it when it, VERY RARELY, needs it. :)

I stand by my assertions. I do have "special knowledge" of the physics and biodynamics of aerosolized respirable particles :)

Marketing hyperbole from central vac companies is just that. FYI, I have no financial disclosures or vested interests.

There may be a strong placebo effect with spending the extra money on a central vac. After all, a $100 bottle of wine has been PROVEN to taste better than a $50 bottle of wine provided that the drinker knows the price before tasting. It is worth something to feel good about your purchase, but it is no better for your asthma.

You're much, much, much better off ditching carpets altogether.

So lonestar - please explain how better suction and shooting the fine particles outside is not better than a filter.

I've heard far more hyperbole from hepa filter vacuum manufacturers than from central vac manufacturers. But then again, do central vac manufacturers actually advertise?

A quick check shows the Miele Hepa vacuums to cost more than my central vac power unit. Now I installed myself so that isn't fair. But there is no doubt that the CV is more convenient and doesn't take room (in conditioned space). I have no filters to change or to deteriorate because I forgot to change. The cost difference was CV was several hundred dollars cheaper. The internal piping of the house should last a long long time. So it is possible, even paying someone to install, that CV will be cheaper in the long run.

I completely agree with the last statement. No debate there. The OP is all solid surfaces.

HEPA is not a brand; it is a designation defining a standard of particulate removal efficiency. "By government standards, a HEPA air filter must remove 99.97% of all particles greater than 0.3 microns from the air that passes through." It is a proven standard that is reproducible and is not dependent upon the design of a central vac system that would be inherently variable depending on home design and quality of installation and implementation (actual suction of a central vac is dependent upon run length, tubing diameter and turbulence from non-straight runs)

HEPA vacuum filtration has been proven in controlled trials (funded by the NIH) to mitigate allergen exposure specifically in asthmatic subjects. In fact, regarding vacuuming with a HEPA filtered vacuum: "The intervention was effective in improving measures of lung function, reducing the frequency of coughing, reducing the proportion of children requiring unscheduled medical visits and reporting inadequate use of controller medication."

In order to claim that a central vacuum would be superior one would have to show that the act of vacuuming with a central vac would aerosolize fewer respirable particles than a portable vacuum and more effectively remove allergen from the environment. I can find no evidence of this and it is counterintuitive that it would, given that the suction of a vacuum is not the primary determinant of aersolization of particles; the act of vacuuming stirs up particles from the leading and trailing edges of the head while suction is directed perpendicular to the direction of movement and aerosolization.

So, if they both aerosolize particles equally which one is better? I'll take the one that uses a standardized method of particle removal over one that is installation-dependent. I'll take an evidence-based, proven intervention over a "seems like that should work" intervention any day. Interestingly, HEPA-rated portable vacuums are also the standard for asbestos abatement and nuclear remediation.

And I'll state most importantly that the person with the allergies should not be the one doing the vacuuming. Particles can remain suspended for 60-90 minutes after they are aerosolized so the allergic individual would ideally not be in the room for that length of time as well. Obviously the allergic person should not be emtying the bags or canisters whether in a central of portable vac. I always recommend that portable vacuums should be emptied outside as well.

Thanks for your response.

I never had any doubt about the HEPA standard. That in helps in allergic people is not in question.

But I don't agree necessarily agree with your conclusion. Removing particles from the house should be quite nearly 100% effective as opposed to 99.97%. Either way - pretty good.

You find it counter intuitive that better suction (even directed perpendicular) would help remove particles better? You might not agree - but counter intuitive?

I'd be curious what a HEPA filter costs and how often in needs to be replaced.

My only costs for our central vacuum after ten years of service have been replacement bags (about six per year). I never had a push vac with this much suction, nor one that didn't cost more to run and repair. I've also had to replace furnace filters less frequently -- which, to be fair, may be in part because they are in our new, tight build.

Hi,

I am the OP of this thread. The discussion is interesting and raises many points. Just a bit more background from my side. I have never had a central vacuum system. I started looking into this after my allergist suggested that we could consider a central vacuum with HEPA and that we could potentially get a tax credit or use the money put away in a FSA account.

I have a Dyson Animal currently and while it is true that it does not lose suction, the airflow can be reduced if the carpet lint is sucked up. The airwatts measurement is around 128 for Dyson. I looked into other vacuums like Miele as well. The Central vacuums seem to have much higher ratings --> around 600airwatts or so for many of them. The bagged models with filtration seem to contain the particulate dust better. For the regular floor vac, the limitaton seems to be the size of the motor that is optimized to be not too heavy and easu to roll along. The vacuum hoses for central vac seemed hard to manage but what I can see, the hide-a-hose seems to make this very workable.

lalitha

From a fellow dust allergy sufferer (among other allergies,) get the central vac with HAH...

What hasn't been mentioned is one important point:

It is EASIER (for me) to vacuum with my HAH. It is so incredibly convenient and light-weight, that I vacuum daily. I know that alone keeps the allergens down in my house... (I use to loathe getting out the old school vacuum.... for me, it was heavy and cumbersome.)

Assuming my central vac lasts even half as long as Chisue's, the overall cost is not more than what I spent on vacuums over the years. I'm not sure how much more it costs in an already built house though.... Mine was a new build.

lolauren makes a good point. I find it so easy and convenient to use the CV with HAH that I confess I vacuum more often now than ever before. Any dust is therefore quickly extracted resulting in an almost dust free house. Unfortunately our CV canister had to be located in the 2nd floor laundry room but it vents outside and its bag is removed at most twice per year. Result - an almost dust free home!

While HEPA vacs do indeed have a strict standard for their performance on filtering the air they pull in and discharge, they do NOT have a standard for stirring up the air in the room, and tend to have relatively powerful motors that require a lot of cooling air.

Most look more like a shop vac with a long hose.
This at least gets the motor cooling air flow out of the immediate contamination zone.

Let's see any non central vacuum including HEPA's that are used inside the house and not vented outside will stir up air flow in the room. There is some from the brush/hose attachments, but I think the majority of it is from the air it blows out after the filter.

A central vaccum isn't blowing any air out into the area that is vaccumed. It will blow air out where it is vented to though. If you went outside it will blow it out there, if you vent it inside somewhere that is where it will blow, filtered or not.

So a central vaccum that is vented outside seems to me like it would stir up less dust than a regular HEPA filtered vaccum.

For the act of stiring up the dust from the attachment I would think they'd be similar if they have similar attachements.

"I think the majority of it is from the air it blows out after the filter. "

There is plenty of cooling air for the motor, though less than the overall volume in the cleaning path.

Some uprights are now coming with inlet AND outlet filters for the motor cooling air.

Better than even HEPA is blowing through air out of the house.

99.97 may he a great HEPA number (but out of a million pieces of pollen 300 would be allowed through (and more if they are below the particle size the filter is rated for) but a central vac can be set up to be 100%, and not even need a single filter.