Central vacuum system?

[Elsie]

Does anyone out there have a central vacuum system in your house? We are seriously considering getting a system called "hide-a-hose" which is basically a hose that is stored in a closet (or behind a wall), that you pull out when you need it, and then it recoils when you are done. The vacuum unit is in the basement. I would love to know whether any lab owners have experience with this vacuum (or something similar) and would recommend it. Thanks!

[Paws n Jaws]

I think it would be cool. Just make sure to check with the manufacturer and installer about how you'd go about cleaning out any hair clogs in the line. Because that's a LOT of vaccuum line.

[Moho]

We have a central vac at work and its amazing. The amount and size of stuff that thing can suck up is unbeliveable. If I had the money to put one in my house I would for sure.

[Snowshoe]

Maybe the hoses are different now but my friend got hers some years ago and she hates it. She hates the hoses. They are sort of corrugated and they rub the paint and finish off every corner she drags them around. I don't know her make but check out the hoses.

[LabDog]

I have a central vac system and absolutely love it. My house is pretty big and I have a 30 ft vacuum hose and I've never had any issues with clogging with 2 labs in the house. It's great not having to lug a heavy motor around and since the motor is sitting in the garage, it's not too noisy and I can hear the door bell/phones ringing when I'm vacuuming.

I don't have the system you're looking at, but sure am happy with the one I have.

[kimbersmom]

We have an older model (probably at least 15 years old) but it's holding up like a champ. It's never clogged and it's been great for DH's allergies. I actually like it quite a bit more than our Dyson, esp on hard surfaces.

What I don't like is that the hose can get a bit static-y and collect dog hair while i'm vacuuming, then deposit it back on the floor. Pretty minor stuff.

[Phoebesmom]

We retro fitted one in this house and we had one in our last. We love it. We have the corregated hose but we also have a hose sock on it. So, no rubbing off corners. I plug it in and can do almost a whole floor. The best thing----I put in a dust pan. This is a rectangular shaped attachement set inside the kickplate of one of my kitchen cabinets. I can broom sweep the kitchen right in front and hit the button. It will turn on and suck it all in.

We have never (knocking on wood) had a clog even sucking up socks. We use the carpet attachment that in not electric and uses the power of the suction to run the power head.

I don't have the one that uncoils. Does that mean one hose in each room?

Love it love it love it.

Deb

[newmommeg]

Ours came with the house when we bought it. Unfortunately, I don't like it. I guess I'm a bit picky, but I don't like having to take the hose out, uncoil it, plug it in, move it to another room where it didn't reach, unplug, and then recoil it. It's just too time-consuming for me. I've actually been thinking of getting another upright.

You may not have that issue though if it recoils back in by itself. That'd be pretty neat and I don't think I'd mind it. Good luck!!

[spruce]

Originally Posted by Phoebesmom

The best thing----I put in a dust pan. This is a rectangular shaped attachement set inside the kickplate of one of my kitchen cabinets. I can broom sweep the kitchen right in front and hit the button. It will turn on and suck it all in.

I love my dustpan! feel deprived cuz I don't have one in mud room area.

Just gotta remember to empty that huge vac can -- I let mine get too full (hey, it's easy to forget). Now I do it lx/wk on garbage day.

[Random Gemini]

Love my central vac system.

[Elphaba]

i dont have this but my mother has this in her house and it is GREAT! picks up really well and hides away the hose in the garage. The connection points are like sockets in the wall which are hidden

she really really likes it

ive used it too and its by far superior to any upright or lightweight vacuum ive ever used

[Elsie]

Thanks for all the input. This model has one hose per floor and it can be pretty long. I think on balance, I will give it a try, and get the sock and the dustpan!

[AnnLee&Me]

We are actually installing a central vac system right now! We're doing the work ourselves. We are not doing the retractable in the wall kind, however. Just regular hard pipe in the wall and sockets. I would think a retractable one would be awesome. I, too, would be concerned about getting clogged with labby hair. But I bet with a strong enough vacuum, it would work.

Our house and system are both small. We have 4 wall outlets spread around the house and one floor pan (coolest thing EVER) in the kitchen. Our hose is a separate piece...it is 35' long.

We just installed the last outlet and the floor pan on Saturday. We should finish the rest of the hard pipe this weekend! We installed the unit outside in the garage...it's called Aggressor something or other. We turned it on after we installed it and it SUCKS in a big way. As in, it practically sucked the skin off my hand. It is strong, that's for sure!

I would be interested to see how the coiled one works...you'll have to let us know if you get one!

ETA: In our system, the pipes just inside the outlets aren't supposed to be glued so you can take them apart in the event of a clog. In addition, we didn't glue the muffler on the main unit and the exhaust and inlet piping at the main unit. I think those areas (including just past the outlets) are what is most prone to clogging. And, of course, all of the bends. We tried to make sure that most of our bends will be accessible with access panels that we're putting in the basement ceiling (we're finishing our basement at the same time). We managed to get most of the bends behind the panels, but not all of them. Hope we get lucky...

[AnnLee&Me]

Thought I'd add a couple of pictures of what we've put in:

Our beloved vac pan:


You can just barely see it when standing up.


One of the outlets:


The back of the above outlet (and part of our wiring closet):


The back of an upstairs outlet...this is an access panel inside a bathroom closet..when we put this together, this was the part that WAS NOT glued:


We're pretty excited to use it when it's finished.

[Scoutpout]

I've got one, my dad installed it after I moved in here (basement wasn't finished yet, bungalow, so really easy) I LOVE it! I have the power head (electric) for carpet, and 2 different choices for the hard floors, and of course the incredible vac-pan (mines in my kitchen as well).

The last 2 houses, we installed a system as well, a little more difficult because they both had upstairs as well as main and basements, but it just took a little planning on hose length and how far it would reach, and running the hard pipe up the corner of a closet. I love that the actual vac is in the garage (or basement workshop in the 2 previous houses). And I don't have a hose sock upstairs (the hose the tenants use downstairs does, its an old one and quite hard) the hose is kinda soft, still corrugated, silver, and has lots of give to it.

I take the hose and go to the far end of the house (bedroom area), and start working back to the garage from there. Depending on how picky I'm being, its one plug for the bedroom area, and one more for the family/kitchen/back hall. If I really need to get ALL the way into the dining room corner, I use the middle outlet. I dont find it a pain or awkward, it just flows, and less weight than moving an entire vaccuum around.

I would definitely do it again if I moved.

editted to add: I have yet to have a blocked line, with 2 thick-coated labs and 2 cats, even with the girls downstairs (tenants) sucking up bobby pins, paper, you name it - the closest was them complaining it wasn't sucking quite as well, opened the flap in the wall socket, and there was a ball of stuff like in the old vaccuum bags right there, started pulling at it, and it all came out- bobby pins etc. Just the way it works, it seems if its gonna jam, it does it right there, at the elbow.