Honestly our home has it but a power surge blew it out years ago and we never fixed it because we don't use it and the buyers didn't care either (we close on Monday). I thought it was a pain in the ass to drag the long tubing around the entire house. You can wait to see what others say but personally I wouldn't do it again. Do you have a lot of rugs in your home? That is what most would use it for. Now there are great Shark vacs out there for flooring. Save your money, I do not believe it would add one dollar of value to your home!

Yes! My mom has one and it's those long hoses that drive me bonkers (and she even has the fancy, built-in, retractable ones). We have a cordless Hoover that's awesome for every day use. Heck, we could buy a high-end Dyson for less than the plumbing (not even the system) for a central vacuum costs. But again, maybe I'm wrong - I've heard rumors there are others who just love them.

It's your house. And. You. Should. Do. What. You. Want. To.

It's an old joke here on the forum folks. Live and let live.

And if you have house cleaners, who cares?

Another First World Problem solved.

We did not put one in our build and it would never influence me in purchasing a home one way or the other.

I absolutely adore it, but most people don’t have enough hoses or hose ports. I wouldn’t do it just for resale - most younger buyers in my age range (25-35) don’t even necessarily know central vacuums exist (unless they grew up in a house with one). Those and cabinet/toe kick vacuum ports for kitchen sweeping are so nice in a busy, messy household.

Buuuuut it’s not something I’d put in if you won’t ever use it.

We just had this discussion here recently ... to save everyone the time of retyping their replies, here is the link. The consensus was that a central vac (hide-a-hose) was very important.
http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/5003547/central-vacuum-worth-it-or-waste-of-money?n=34

Thanks, Chispa - I saw that actually, and that’s how I knew they had some ardent fans. We’re specifically trying to find out whether the lack of one would be enough that those ardent fans wouldn’t buy a house...

I'm in a neighborhood with expensive homes. Not one of my neighbors is putting in a central vac system. I know I'm not. Thank you but my Miele canister vac does a fabulous job.

No one I know has ever not bought a house because there was or wasn't a central vac. I think your builder is just trying to scam extra money out of you.

Thanks, cpartist. Our builder is really great and definitely not trying to scam more money (we’ve worked with him before actually and know him well - he built our addition, my parents’ house and some friends houses as well). But most of his clients are of the sort who want every gadget and option, where as we want to be a bit more choosy about where to spend and where to save.

It’s also why he sets allowances very, very high (I.e $55 per square foot for tile!) - that way he never has to tell clients something isn’t in the budget (because many of his clients are the sort who don’t take it well - we know a woman who was quite indignant when he told her $3,000 each toilets weren’t in the budget :-).

With pretty much everyone going with hardwood (or a hardwood knock-off) instead of wall-to-wall carpet, I'd assume central vac is a lot less important than it might've been in the past.

I have pretty much only hardwood but still need central vac. It’s the kids, I swear!

Thanks, cpartist. Our builder is really great and definitely not trying to scam more money (we’ve worked with him before actually and know him well - he built our addition, my parents’ house and some friends houses as well).

Then I apologize to him. :)

But most of his clients are of the sort who want every gadget and option, where as we want to be a bit more choosy about where to spend and where to save.

I'm with you. For example I was told I needed one of those steam ovens and I should consider a top of the line oven. Well I cook dinner 1-3x a week and almost the only time I use the oven is when I bake some fish or I bake desserts. Mostly I use my cooktop or once we're in the new house, we intend on barbecuing a lot. So I put in the lower priced Bosch convection oven and there's no steam oven. But there is the higher end Bosch induction cooktop and it is the 36" size since I do use it whenever I do cook.

I don't usually clean but even if I did, I think it's a heck of a lot easy to pull out a small vacuum than dealing with a long hose, even a retractable one.

Figure out those things that are important to you and put them in.

It’s also why he sets allowances very, very high (I.e $55 per square foot for tile!) - that way he never has to tell clients something isn’t in the budget

As long as you get the money back in the end.

we know a woman who was quite indignant when he told her $3,000 each toilets weren’t in the budget :-).

LOL. Are the $3000 toilets gold plated and do they do a better job?

Big advantage for a central vacuum is the indoor air quality impacts. 100% of the dust and dirt that you suck up is going out of the house, assuming you have it exhausted to the outside. Now look at how dust accumulates on the outside of the canister vacuum. And in a house without carpets, there is nothing to trap and hold the dust, so what dust gets out is stirred up floating around. Plus you really don't need a beater bar with hardwood.

Since the motor is stationary and weight is not an issue(you don't have to lug around), it can be bigger and more powerful. Also since the motor is not next to you all the time while vacuuming, it is easier on the ears.

if you won't use it, don't buy it.
I very had central vac in two homes. I don't rather have a good storage spot for a great upright on each floor.
if you do buy it, you will want many outlets, even with retractable hoses. the wire housing of the hose bruises base and furniture legs. that little sock around it is not enough cushion.
my husband, who doesn't vacuum, loves central vac. I would rather have multiple units in small closets
and, yes, you will want to vacuum hardwood with something compatible. in my case, every day with a little dog who sheds and sprinkles fairy dust everywhere....

I think Virgil hit the nail on the head when he said if you have house cleaners, who cares. We are very fortunate to have excellent house cleaners, so we just need to to light vacuuming in between their visits (you know, for when our daughter accidentally dumps glitter on the floor, or eats just about anything for dinner). Our cleaners handle the deep clean with their industrial strength canister vacuum.

cpartist - I dream of a Miele steam oven, as I use my oven all the time (sometimes several times a day) and have heard they're awesome. That said, I'm sure I'll be very happy with my Bosch double wall ovens (though I'm going with the ones with convection both top and bottom) and induction cooktop. The Bosch steam oven would fit in the budget but just looks too small to be very useful.

We're working on dialing back some of the allowances at the moment to get a more realistic sense of cost, but our builder is cost-plus, so we only pay for what we actually choose. He's also very cool, and if we want to, say, purchase the light fixtures ourselves rather than through him, that's fine with him (and saves us his markup). And we know our construction supervisor from past projects and he's especially great and a little better at being budget-aware, too.

As for the $3,000 toilets, no one has ever figured out what made them so expensive. And the friend's wife who chose them was so indignant about being told they were too expensive that no on has ever been brave enough to ask :-).

oh, and I don't love spell check

Before HEPA vacuums were so common, a central vac was great because it vented fine particles outside. And central vacs can be a lot stronger than a portable vac.

As a central vac user, it would not be a deal breaker. And besides, it can be added later. But I also have to put my plug in.

1 - plumbing lasts forever - compared to typical vacuum cleaners. Left our house with 8 years on the motor

2- sucking things to the outside beats HEPA filters anyday of the week

3- Hardwoods are CVs strongpoint. SO much faster and easier.

4- Stairs

5- Noise

6- Car vacuuming

7- Garage vacuuming

8- Deck vacuuming

9- Couch vacuuming

10 - Large house -- large hose. No one makes cords that long.

11 - Less close in storage space needed

Ok - enough numbers. House cleaners help and I am jealous that everyone has reliable ones that do a good job for a reasonable price. They never have to fire them and spend 2 months looking for a replacement. And their floors survive a week between cleaning. Our last house had dark floors and it was rare not to touch up between cleaners.

I do think until you live with a good HAH, you don't know what you are missing. But animals and kids are what drive the boat here.

I have pretty much only hardwood but still need central vac. It’s the kids, I swear!

I despise vacuuming, and I'd rather use a big broom -- the right kind of broom, a push broom that attracts dust and dirt -- for hardwoods.

I'm with you. For example I was told I needed one of those steam ovens
and I should consider a top of the line oven. Well I cook dinner 1-3x a
week and almost the only time I use the oven is when I bake some fish or
I bake desserts.

It's easy to go overboard with things like this. Similarly, I strongly suspect the majority of those double ovens and six-burner ranges are underutilized.

"Before HEPA vacuums were so common, a central vac was great because it vented fine particles outside."

I currently have a Bissel bagless upright with a HEPA filter, and it still puts out dust where the dust collection bin detaches from the upright. Not sure what use the HEPA filter is...

HEPA catches whatever passes through the cyclone which is a lot. I use the best cyclones at work and they still let a lot of fine particles through. HEPA still let's fine particles, less than about a micron through.

I'm a big proponent for central vacuums, but not having one wouldn't keep me from buying a house. I'd just retrofit one in like I've done in my last two houses. The hide-a-hose is my favorite. I do have a house cleaner who has come weekly for the last two years and she uses it. It keeps all the dust and allergens from getting blown around and has so much better suction power that it goes so much faster than the Dyson we also own. It is her choice to use the central vacuum too. We use a microfiber cloth attachment which is like pushing a "swiffer style" around, but instead of leaving any little crumbs etc. to still need sweeping up it is vacuumed up as well and easy to vacuum off the dust on the cloth as you're going. The edges of the room and corners don't trap any little specks either since the vacuum is so strong it is dusted by the microfiber cloth and sucked up out of there. Using the central vacuum cut the "sweeping time" in half when we retrofitted it in. Our house is all hardwoods and tile. On tile it gets everything out of the grout lines without any extra sweeping or work.

I also like that I can still be on a work call when the vacuum is running without anybody hearing it, unless my office is getting vacuumed.

But again, it would not be a deal breaker in buying a house or not. There are many more expensive things that matter more to me and I know I can always retrofit one.

This is what we use if anyone is interested.

http://www.centralvacuumstores.com/centec-55871-dustup-microfiber-fringe-dry-dust-mop?gclid=CjwKCAiApJnRBRBlEiwAPTgmxP-vJAYktJMF6uQlmC4AFfSTLHwKKcyTFPg6Fnco9XFAA09b24rY9hoCTcEQAvD_BwE

Just remembered a HUGE advantage to CV in modern construction.

AFCI

Code requires every outlet to have arc fault coverage. The nuisance trips from vacuum cleaners was a huge problem on our last house when the cleaners couldn't understand how to use our CV (or didn't want to). Vacuum cleaners (and carpet shampoo machine) were responsible for 99% of our nuisance trips. I had to change out the AFCIs with regular circuit breakers. Then I had to change them back for the house sale - now that was a nuisance.

Now - I will mention that it was an issue in our 2009 house but does not seem to be an issue in a 2013 rental so perhaps the newer AFCIs.... The interesting thing about that is that I tried to replace with newer AFCIs and it didn't help.

I already bought my CV units for installation into the new house.

I am questioning the install, though, even though I have one today.

I am really considering 3 things - a huge microfiber mop, or "duster" like the janitors used to use at school (big floppy, swivel headed thing), a decent steam mop, and a fleet of Roombas to be deployed while we're busy doing other stuff.

I feel like when our floors are done (epoxy) that they will be smooth enough that the dust mops will be able to grab dust and hair (mine and the animals') and shake it outside. And with a 3'+ sweep - it's a heck of a lot faster than a 12" wide vac. (and that's also super quiet - unless I sing while I am using it, and no one wants that)

I was asked if I wanted to install one, I opted no. I'd guess in my town there'd be maybe one or two other people with them. If that. No bennies here towards resale.

As far as vacuum cleaner failure, I still have and use the canister vac mom was using in the early 80s. They no longer make the bags for the Dirt Devil model, but I scored surplus on e-bay to last a few more years.

I plan to get a robot or two.

Steam oven? I love to cook. My cooking does not suffer for the lack of one.

$3000 toilet? How much extra does your builder charge if you just want a taller unit????

Our CV with Hide A Hose has made my life so much easier and our home so much cleaner that I would not be without them. Best bang for the buck ever. Our new home will certainly have them and if we were ever move to an existing home without a CV and HAH we would retrofit! No question!

After having one, I would hate to be without one. I consider it almost a must have. I do all of the cleaning.

How important is a central vacuum? How important is it to vacuum hard and soft surfaces easily (and well) in a large 1-story or 2-story house?

Small house and only sorta clean? Occasionally? Get a robot.

Done professionally? Get a house cleaner or cleaning service.

Quoth my builder: Yeah, we had to tape off the ports for a number of years because they're exactly the right size for matchbox cars....

So it depends on your precise situation. I intend to forgo it, because my ASD youngest would consider it her duty to explore it's capacity.

Funny, Holly!

Central vacuum is used for sucking dust and small objects from hard floors, carpet floors or couches. It is so convenient and cost cheaply to keep inside air clean. I only buy a house that has a central vacuum piping installation already done. The machine itself is not expensive like it was from the beginning and it is easy to install.

I am not a fan of a robot. They get broken so easy and can't access to many places. Since I bought a house with central vacuum and have used it, my cleaning job is much more easier. Thank to the technology.

Interesting on the robot commentary. They have come a long way IMO. I have one that I just checked the history on. It has had 1011 jobs for about 1100 hours. Over 2 years. Original battery and no repairs needed. I did break a little door on the chamber but it isn't that necessary. It costs $200. So if it died today, it has been working for 20 cents an hour.

It can't access many places but neither can I most of the time. It does really well under a king bed that all vacuums struggle with - even a central vac although central is best. But YMMV would certainly apply based on furniture type.

I have central and robot. Heck - I also have a cordless. Cleaning floors is fairly important/time consuming. All help is appreciated. The robot handles 90%, central 9%, cordless 1%. Central works great for stairs, furniture and occassional cooking mishaps. When you look at value, the robot is the clear winner.

Off to go clean out the dust filter on the robot. Something I never have to do with central but I have never had a house so dust free (and partly by chance and partly be design - 4th house in a row with central).

Like Dave, I also have a central vac, cordless Dyson and two Roombas. We have always had dogs that shed and really like to keep our surfaces as free of dog hair and dirt as possible. I grew up with a central vac and didn't even consider putting in in my first home. I thought it would be a stupid upgrade. I missed it within a month of living there. When we built our current home we made sure to install one.

Nine years later, robot and cordless vac technology has improved tremendously. We run our Roombas at least every other day and it's crazy what they pick up. We use the cordless Dyson fairly frequently as well on the floors and sofas. Due to our busy schedules, we typically just use our central vac once or twice a week. We have hide a hose which is a dream to use but it's still easier to clean around the kitchen and family room without being tethered to a hose.

Regardless of whether or not you go with a central vac, you still need some form of a full size corded machine (central, upright, canister w/ powerhead, etc.) if you have any kind of rugs or carpeting in your home. I can hear the fine grit traveling through the hose of the central vac (and my Miele) when running it over rugs. Buy a machine you will actually be inclined to use. My parents never use their central vac anymore and stick with their lightweight Riccar upright or cordless Dyson.