Is a central Vacuum worth the cost? Here’s first-hand user experience:

“I am in the process of constructing a house, which means I can confidently say that there are about a billion decisions to make: from what kind of door hinges to install, what type of tile to use on the backsplash, to where every electrical outlet goes. Today I find myself mulling over a new topic: should I acquire a central vacuum system or stick with a traditional vacuum?

Central Vacuum Options

When our contractor asked us if we needed a central vacuum system, I started to imagine all of the beautiful crumb traps (called toe kicks, in central vac parlance) I could install all over my household—in the kitchen, bathrooms, front hall—the choices seemed endless. It would seem like a miracle to have someplace to sweep all those crumbs and just see them disappear, particularly if you’ve ever met my son.

Then I began thinking about those central vacuum hoses. Man, they are long and cumbersome, and I would want to store them somewhere and then drag them out every time I want to vacuum. What parts do not appear ideal? As you can see, I was all over the place with this choice.

I decided the best thing to do was educate myself a little more about the technological advancements of the central vac because the last time I lived in a house with a central vacuum cleaner was about 15 years ago. Well, here’s what I’ve come across;

The Central Vacuum Hose Problem

The hoses are still large! They extend to 30 or 40 feet, and unless you have to pay through the nose (and still potentially run into some snags) you want it to be those large ones that require to be stored and not the retractable ones. Why so long, you ask? In many homes, there are only one or two inlets on every floor for the hoses to attach to, so they have to be long enough to reach every corner of the room.

The Crumb Trap Trap

The second thing I discovered is that crumb traps cannot essentially go wherever you want. This was pretty disappointing news. For the same reason that you can only have inlets in particular spots, the same applies to the toe kicks. The dirt requires a way to travel to the main system, so each kick means additional piping through the house to the garage, making it a big, costly, and often infeasible work to have them in each room.

Traditional or Central Vacuums?

And The Verdict Is…

Irrespective of my disappointment with the latter and considering that I am going to have hardwood throughout the household, I decided that ahaving central vacuum system was the way to go for us. The advantages of having cleaner air, better suction than with a canister vacuum, and getting to have that one toe kick in the kitchen, outweighed the disadvantages of the bulky hose. I will have a designated spot for the hose in my laundry or storage room, and when I don’t require a big vacuum, I will simply use a dry mop or a robot vacuum.”

The End!

References and Resources

• Advantages of Using Central Vacuums