https://www.houzz.com/discussions/central-vac-w-hide-a-hose-disadvantages-dsvw-vd~2332549?n=71

Thank you! that is a great thread.

I've posted many times before but I love my central vac system. So I grew up with a traditional central vac system that had the long hose you dragged from room to room. I was used to the ups and downs of that - winding the hose back up, rubbing it against the walls, etc. When I built my first home I didn't bother getting a system installed because I didn't know what I would be missing. I lived there for four years and realized about a month in that other vacs just can't compete. If you're someone who tends to clean a lot of bare floors (or uses the attachments a lot) than a central vac is wonderful because you can zoom around a room and up and down a staircase without a canister up against your heels. I got really sick of dragging my Miele canister around the house.

When we built our new home a central vac was a non-negotiable. Unfortunately, our builder didn't let us choose the unit - it was a Dirt Devil Pro Series 990 that worked fine for about 3 or 4 years. It was very powerful but our cleaning lady broke it. I actually opted to replace the unit instead of just the motor because I prefer a central vacuum with bags as that's a lot easier to maintain. I ended up replacing it with a MD unit. My parents have had a MD Silentmaster forever and it hasn't ever needed servicing.

In terms of outlet setup, my house we have a couple of vacpans (never use them - way too loud), about 9 inlets for a standard electric central vac hose and we added a hide a hose outlet on the main level of the home. If you can design your system - definitely go with the hide a hose. It's SO much easier to pull the hose out of the outlet, clean and suck the hose back into the wall. My parents are very jealous of the ease at which I can manage the hose.

Thanks for all the info! Just curious, where did you order the system? I plan to DIY but can't quite figure out where to order it.

I want to go with the HAH for sure.

We installed an Electrolux "Quiet Clean System". Only one kick plate vent, in the kitchen, that I don't use very often. Small unit, "tuck-able" into even a storage closet. Cleans like a dream, never loses suction power and the hoses reach everywhere, due to carefully planned outlets. I have two hoses, one up and one down, as I don't like to carry that sort of stuff upstairs. Oh- and it doesn't stink, like standard vacuums do, over time.

We ordered ours from the people who did all our low voltage work. Paid less than it takes to buy 3 quality vacuums, and will last for decades.

I wonder if i can install the same system you did but with a hide a hose as well.

J- Make sure if that's your goal, make sure you work with a very knowledgable company on both the systems. Somebody, upthread, mentioned the concept of salespeople who are familiar with one, but not the other. So take care, on that one.

HAH was explained to me, from a company that did them both. Hard floors throughout, but a lot of area rugs. 2 years ago, you needed separate fairly bulky vacuums attachment to accomplish good clean on an area rug. Still a storage issue, still a "lug it" factor. That was a huge negative to me. But perhaps that's changed.

Maintenance/failures/fixes are also something to ask about.

ILoveRed, do you have hardwood or carpet?

We sold our house and we are building now.

Our house had a lot of hardwood and tile. Carpet in the bedrooms. Cork in the basement. One big hairy dog and one small hairy dog.

We used the central vac on the hard surfaces. TBH we used a Dyson on the carpets.

we are not using any carpet in the new house.

our system was Electrolux. No problems in more than 10 yrs. Same company installing our system in new house. Both dh and him talked me out of the HAH.

A little remorse.

So my parents had Central Vac when I was growing up. I thought it was the worst thing ever with the super long hose!

But my Dyson is broken and doesn't seem to do a great job either. I figured I would just get a Rainbow or Kirby.

Does Central Vac really work that much better than a regular high end vacuum? My whole basement will be carpet. Does Central Vac not work well on carpet? Main floor will be tile/wood/rugs except carpet in the master. I love the idea of sweeping the kitchen into a central vac opening.

I do plan to do one or two really nice robot vacuums to get the every day cleaning done. Also plan to have a housekeeper 2x a month. But, I would still put the money into central vac if it is a better unit than residential vacuums. The parents do use their (new house) central vac in the garage to clean the car....it is pretty sweet for that!

We put an MD in around 15 years ago and have had no problem with the system! Great suction; we have two dogs and have raised 4 boys in this house so the vacuum has had enormous use. We have had to replace a few receptacles, they are an all-in-one power and hose. OTW, we have all the original equipment and it still works wonderfully! We are just finishing up on another house and will plan to install the same brand but updated - we will definitely add a hide-a-hose...