Personal preference.

I built in 2021 and installed not one, but two central vac systems with hide-a-hose! The house is wide with garages at either end, so I installed a system for each side of the house. Two people can vacuum at the same time.

Every house we have owned since 1999 has had a central vac system and hardwood floors throughout the houses. This is the first time with hide-a-hose and I really like it much better than the standard set-up. I wouldn't want a house without CV, specially now that we have 3 dogs.

We are in our third house with a central vac, but none with try retractable hose. My husband didn’t want one in this house but I insisted!

Lived almost 3 years in a house with a central vac while we were trying to build our current home. Granted, it didn’t have the retractable hose. I really thought I was going to love the CV and it’s what I had originally planned on installing. I discovered I hated it. I’m sure a retractable hose would’ve made me like it better, but I hated the ergonomics of holding the thing. It hurt my hands! (I have arthritis) I didn’t find it to be great on carpet either. Anyways, I ditched the CV idea and decided to go with a Meile canister vac for hard floors. I have hard floors on every level, including stairs, and every carpet is a low pile Ruggable or similar. We have one large dog with a short, single coat of fur who is regularly groomed. We live in the PNW with a lot of pine needles, but have a good system for stopping the mud from getting too far onto the home. The Meile is super comfortable and easy to use. I didn’t go cordless because our home is a bit too large and I didn’t want a seperate vacuum on every level. I don’t regret my decision. We finished our build and were able to move in about 9 months ago. (I do still want a roomba on the top level if I’m honest. We have an upside down living situation where the family room and kitchen are on the top floor to take best advantage of the views. I’m sure I’ll get one eventually.)

Four houses with central vac so far.

For the latest, we were ready to move to Roomba and sticks. But since we'll be selling asap and cv is "standard" here, another cv is booked. But I've got a feeling the sticks will be used more often. No pets, no rugs. 8,775 finished s.f. BTW, our installer advised avoiding a retractable.

We did CV in our previous house. Did not do it in current house. I much prefer a stick vac that does both wood floors and carpet. Couldn't stand having to switch out the vacuum heads. Also prefer not having a hose to drag around.

I will say that I did grow up with a central vac in the late 80's/90's so I was used to having to wrap the hose up and at that time, it certainly seemed more powerful than our regular vacuums. I didn't put one in the first house I ever bought myself and within a month of living there I regretted it. That's why when we built in 2012 I insisted on having the central vac system.

I like that the current trend is to stick with retractable hoses. We have the battery powered Wessel Werk EBK360 powerhead and it works just as well as its electric counterpart. I think if we were to do it again, I'd look into more of those "spot" outlets that have the shorter hose to clean up around high traffic areas like the laundry room and around the kitchen island. We have vacpans but I think having a hose right there would be so much quicker.

Thanks to all for your insights. I'm thinking we'd do it again if we go through with a new build.

Agree personal preference. We built in 17/18 and have a central vac. I would do again for sure. No hide a hose