We installed a Beam central vacuum during our build. We acted as the general contractor, so we installed it. They are very DIY-able, many times even after a home is built. We love having it and won't ever go back.

We did not go for the Hide-a-Hose. Our house has 2100 sq ft on each level and if we went with the H-a-H, we would need 6 of them to do both levels of the house, four on the main floor and two in the walkout basement. We are finishing the basement, but plan on a separate vacuum power head and hose for each level. We don't mind getting out the 35' long hose, we call it the gray snake. It's easy to pull/maneuver and a cinch to put away, we have a crescent-shaped plastic garden hose hanger in a closet for it.

Venting the unit outdoors is always a great option for allergies. I would not even consider anything else. I love knowing that a typical vacuum sweeper is not recirculating however small the particles might be of dust back into the house.

Granted, emptying the filter canister can be a dusty ordeal. What I have figured out is to release the canister and take it directly outside. With the breeze coming from my back, I turn the canister over in a trash can and walk away. When the dust clears, I come back and slowly and gently rattle and shake the canister until its empty. I don't have to breathe the dust.

There are builder/combo kits available from various vendors that have everything (except the straight piping sections ~$50-100) for $1500 or less. Just google 'central vac systems'. Systems can be installed in one day by one person, so $2500 would be a reasonable installed system cost, IMO. Any experienced trade person, electrician, plumber, HVAC tech, etc., could install a system. One would be cutting holes in studs, cutting and gluing PVC pipe, and running low voltage wires. It's not hard at all. The main thing is to find someone that cares about what they're doing.

@HU-867564120

Thank you for this information.

If you get a unit with a bag you don't get exposed to any dust. You just gently pull off the bag from the collar attachment and seal with the sticky paper seal on the bag collar and then dump in the trash. You have a bit more of an expense with bags, but you would have the least contact with the dust/dirt. We are going with CycloVac units and the hide-a-hose outlets.

This will be our fourth house with central vac and I wouldn't want a house without it, specially since we have mostly hardwood, some tile and 3 dogs.

@chispa

We are going with CycloVac units and the hide-a-hose outlets.

Is the CycloVac unit a bagless unit?

Mine will have the hybrid filtration system, so it can be used with or without a bag.

http://www.cyclovac.us/filter-and-bag-maintenance

Our house is a tract home, built in 1990. We bought it when it was in the framing stage. A central vac was not offered as an option, but we had one put in during the framing stage. The cannister is in the garage - so it's not "outside," but it's not in the house.

We've had a central vac system retro-fitted in 3 of our homes; one of them was already plumbed with the PVC pipes in the wall, but the other 2 weren't. We had them professionally done, but they were all a simple one day job, IIRC. We've always had Beam systems and have never had a problem--not even a needed service call in our current home, and we installed it 12 years ago. We always put the unit in the garage, so can empty it straight into the garbage can. Very little dust and none of it back in the house.

We're currently building a new home and will go with a hybrid system (hide-a-hose outlets on the main floor, regular hose outlets on the lesser used second floor). Keep in mind, the h-a-h requires a stronger unit (50% more power?) to be able to suck the hose back into the wall. I'm not going to bother with the vac pans this time. Instead of sweeping everything over to the vac pan, I'll just pull out the house to suck up the dirt pile.

@jkent9024

I live in Wyoming with cold winters and hot dry summers and some are trying to talk me into putting it in the storage area that will house the furnace, etc. My first thought was to put it in the garage. I like the idea of being able to take the bag out and place it in the trash that is in the garage. That was my thought about the vac pans, also I am afraid that something I drop on my sewing room floor will accidentally go into the vacpan. I will get in the habit of using my wand magnet to pick up pins.

Thanks

@chispa

I have checked most brands--no dealers close by.

We installed an Imperium central vac with Hide A Hose 15 years ago. We have had no problems whatsoever and any future homes we have will definitely have this system. Our house is 2 story and over 4000 sq ft, and is long, so we installed 3 outlets. They work perfectly, reaching every corner and also reach the garage and pool deck. I have a vac pan in the kitchen but never use it!

I understand you are afraid of losing items from your sewing room floor but the risk is no greater than with a regular vacuum, and pins etc will not harm the Hide A Hose.

The people at Central Vacuum Stores are extremely helpful and will answer all your questions. centralvacuumstoresstores.com

@sis33

I think this is the website you are talking about www.centralvacuumstores.com

I called them this morning and had to leave my name and information but I have not heard from them yet. Thanks for this information.

Sue

@wyosue58 Whoops, yes that’s the one! They have always been very helpful to us.

I grew up with a central vacuum system and have one in my current home for the last 9 years. I've had bagless and bagged and greatly prefer my bagged MD central vacuum over my previous Dirt Devil/Vacuflo bagless central vacuum. It's very easy to just pull the bag out and replace it with a new one. I found emptying the bagless unit to be a PITA and despite all my measures, I never got the job done without some degree of dust being blown on me. I can empathize with the Dyson cordless emptying. I actually use my central vac to empty my Dyson cordless to keep the dust down.

I have a hybrid system in my house. The builder installed regular inlets and vacpans. So our entire house could be covered by the eletric hose and powerhead but I also opted to add a Hide a Hose outlet on the main level of our home. The Hide a Hose feature has been wonderful. I think we have a 40ft hose in ours and can do almost the entire main level from that one centrally placed inlet. Using the standard electric hose I'd have to use three different inlets to get the job done.

Our unit is mounted in the garage and if I could do it differently, I'd definitely have it mounted to an exterior garage wall to have it vented outside. I tend to open a garage door when I'm using it because it does sometimes smell like a dog due to all the pet dander and hair it's sucking up. We keep a hose and tools out in the garage for our cars and to clean the garage floor. Our electric hose and powerhead are kept on the top floor of our house with the bedrooms since those are the only spaces with wall to wall carpeting.

@M H

Thanks for the information.

I'd definitely have it mounted to an exterior garage wall to have it vented outside.

If it were in the house maybe where the furnace is--wouldn't the smell be there too? I don't have any animals--allergic--but I am sure there might be other smells.

I don't have any carpet and probably should not have any kind of rugs. I will have mats to stand on in the kitchen and in my sewing room.

I can empathize with the Dyson cordless emptying. I actually use my central vac to empty my Dyson cordless to keep the dust down.

Please tell me how you do this? I was just going to get rid of mine but I know I should have something like that for easy clean-ups.

I read someplace that Hide a Hose has a power nozzle. Since I don't have carpet, is there any reason to have an electric hose and powerhead?

Our new home is going to be around 3200 sq ft on one level. I don't think one outlet will be enough to reach all of the rooms. I think the footprint is 86' x 90' including the garage. If you take out the width (or length) of the garage (25' x 33') it would probably be 86' x 56' livable space.

@wyosue58 the benefit of having a central vac is that all the noise and smells are outside the living area. My setup in the garage is fine because with the doors open, the "vacuum smell" dissipates quickly.

In regards to emptying my Dyson, I bring it over to my hide a hose outlet and pull some of the hose out and leave the hose on the floor. With the central vac on, I slowly open the Dyson bin and put the hose up against the bin door. It sucks all the crud out of the bin and then I can swipe the hose across the metal screen of the cordless and up in the cyclone. Sure, it takes a minute longer than just dumping it in the trash can but I like not having dust fly up in my face and I also thinking emptying a bagless machine indoors just defeats the purpose of cleaning. You're sending all those dust particles airborne.

The only reason we have an electric hose and powerhead is because that's how the house was originally built. We have the battery powerhead for our hide a hose which works great. If we were to build again, we would just use the hide a hose outlets. My house is about 5,000 sq. ft but spread across 3 levels which is why we can get by with one single HAH outlet on the main level.

We have had a NuTone central vac for 40 years and love it. I think the brand is called Broan-Nutone now. It is so lightweight and easy on our backs and shoulders. Like other posters, our cannister is in the garage and the cannister has a port on it so we can use the vac to clean our cars. Our house is 2 story and a couple of years ago I bought a second hose and accessories and have one on each floor, stored in a closet. Home Depot sells bags and acessories and actually carries them in our store, not just online, so it's easy to buy replacements.

@PRN

Thanks for the information.

@M H

Thanks again for the helpful information.

I just found out that the place that I purchased my sewing machine and 2 sergers sell Vacuflo Central Vacuum Systems. One of my customers (quilting supplies) works there off and on. I knew that they sell Miele vacuums but did not know that they sell CV. This is in Arizona and I am in Wyoming. I have not found any dealers that are close to me so I don't think it would matter if the store is 200 miles or 2000 miles from me.

Thanks again.

We have had two homes with central vacuums---both Vacuflo (our choice). Our current one is a Hide-!-Hose, which I love. This home has all hard no arresting. carpeting. No plans to build again, but if we did a Vacuflo would be at the top of my list of things to be included.

@sail_away

Is your tank located in the garage? Does yours have bags?

Installed HAH in 2 new construction homes here.

First was bagless in basement; second was bagged in garage. First was vented, second was not.

I am cheap and I empty the bags - this is every 6-12 months so you could perhaps wear an N-95 if you were really worried. Or of course replace the bags which are like $5 and still wear N-95.

I found no significant difference for me and the vents - but the garage is different than the basement. Certainly do vented for optimal allergen control. I did notice drywall dust when I did some basement work and I suppose an allergen might be similarly sized. But I think the bags catch most of that.

I don't understand the vacpan concern in the sewing room. You would just check before turning on.

There is one issue I had with vacpan that I like to make sure people realize. When you have a HAH, you want a powerful vacuum. That makes your vacpans very noisy. Like "scare the pets" noisy. Just keep that in mind.

I can DIY so the cost is very reasonable. Given the robot tech today, I would not pay someone to install HAH or CV. And I have had one or the other for 20 years in 4 houses. But I don't have allergies (to indoor things at least).

Brand doesn't matter that much - a motor is pretty simple tech. Imperium for me both times.

I agree with @David Cary - the vacpans are VERY noisy. I rarely used them when our previous dog was alive because she was the ultimate crumb catcher. Our new dog doesn't have that same trait so I'm using them more often now and finally getting used to the 'scream from hell' after 9 years.

@David Cary

Thanks for Great information.

@M H

Does that mean if I turn on a Vacpan that it will wake up my neighbors LOL

This will most likely be our last house and I want to get everything right.

I think I told you that I am allergic to animals so that will not be an issue with scaring pets.

@wyosue58 it won't wake your neighbors but it's noisier than using the hose. It's a very loud whooshing sound for lack of a better way to explain it LOL.

@M H

Does it sound like the things at the bank for outside banking? I have never had a CV so I don't know how loud they are.

We've only installed two in the last four years both were Electrolux which is a brand I like and have used for 20+ years. It has a strong motor and good quality fittings.

Sometimes the big selling point for clients is the ability to vacuum your garage with the unit right there.

Both my home and office have robot vacuums by Wyse. <$300.

@wyosue58 pretty accurate comparison. It doesn't keep me from using it but just surprising considering how quiet the system is when using the hose around the house. It's just loud because there's so much suction coming through such a narrow opening.

Wyosue58,

To answer your questions: we have the central vacuum in our garage and we don't use bags.

Great thread! Brian V - your post was a year ago. Did you get your Drainvac? We need to replace our old Nutone unit - it's over 30 years old and finally died. Here are all the brands I've seen mentioned in these chats. Does anyone have good data or strong opinions for or against any of them?

• Vacuflo
• Imperium
• Broan-Nutone
• Ovo
• MD
• Electrolux
• Drainvac
• Beam
• CycloVac

To those with central vac systems, do you find the hoses ding up/mess up your walls? We've read a bunch of threads saying such things and it's scared us off a bit.

Also, are the hoses heavy?

We have an MD central vac system in our home. Love it. Previous owners didn’t hook anything up to the piping that was installed when the house was built, so we bit the bullet and bought two hoses (we have a two story) and one power head. We also bought a fabric “sleeve” for each hose, and have had zero issues with any wall dings. Hose is not light but it is lighter than hauling a vacuum cleaner around. I’m in my mid 70’s and have zero issues moving the hose around or taking the power head up and down the stairs.

Get a vacsock if you don't want to hurt walls and furniture. https://amzn.to/3rFa5Ju

Hoses are easy