Is your central vacuum misbehaving? If it makes a weird noise or does not have sufficient suction, this article is for you. We go over various common problems or issues you might run into when dealing with a central vacuum and some essential safety tips when working with a central vacuum. Central Vacuum cleaners are an excellent investment. However, like all investments, they require routine maintenance. These tips will work for you no matter what make or model vacuum you own.

Important Safety Tips

• Always ensure your machine is unplugged, and the power button is turned off, before servicing your vacuum.

• Make sure your hands are dry before servicing your vacuum cleaner machine.

• Ensure to wear gloves when servicing your machine to prevent any cuts or scrapes.

• If you are uncomfortable working in your vacuum, do not hesitate to contact us, and we can help you through the procedure, or you can send it to us to fix it for you. 

The Ports in a Central Vacuum Unit

After buying and installing central Vacuum cleaners, users will notice four ports outside of a central vacuum unit. All ports on the bottom are used for suction. The piping from your home will go into either the left or right bottom ports. In many instances, most homes only use one.

Your piping will hook up to one side, and the other will have a length of PVC pipe with a cap on the end. A common problem we have seen is that homeowners hook up their pipe properly on one side and leave the other side open, with no cap. When this happens, the suction will go through the open port, and you will not have suction in the rest of your house.

The port on the front has suction. However, you will also notice it has a lid with a seal. This requires it to be closed for the central vacuum to have suction in the rest of your house. The purpose of this port is so a user can attach the hose and vacuum to the room where the central vacuum is located.

How a Central Vacuum Works

Typically, central vacuum cleaners are installed on the wall of the garage. There will be piping that runs throughout the whole house, and these pipes will end in hose connectors. The hose connection for our demonstration is at the end of the suction pipe.

Your hose will plug into the wall outlet. Most central vacuum owners fail to understand that the wall outlet has wires that run back to the central vacuum unit through the walls. These wires command the central vacuum unit to turn on.

References and Resources

• Central vacuum cleaner suction power
• Types of central vacuum cleaners