Three things you know:

A central vacuum collection unit is located outside the principal living space of the home in the garage, the basement, or utility room. Most often the exhaust air is vented to the outdoors so even the finest particles which may pass through filtration are sent outside the home.  A recent post on web MD indicated that even the best portable vacuums put particulate into the air due to the flow of air from the vacuums exhaust or limitations of the filters. Only a central vacuum prevents this occurrence making it the best solution for allergy sufferers or sensitive home owners. A recent EPA study suggests that air quality has a measurable impact on concentration and learning in young people. Air quality matters and central vacuums represent the best solution for cleaning your home when considering this important fact.

Central vacuums deliver more power. One of the defining benefits associated with central vacuums is the delivery of superior air flow and sealed suction. These two measures of performance have been refined by industry experts into a single measurement: air watts.  A high air watt number isn’t a measure that can be accepted without some guidance. Experienced producers of central vacuums recognize it is important to balance both air flow and sealed suction to deliver a superior cleaning result and have considered this in they designs.

Central vacuums raise the value of your home. Like any installed mechanical system a central vacuum eliminates the need for the owner to deal with transporting a portable vacuum around the home. Strategically placed inlets and new technologies make central vacuum more convenient with cleaning solutions specific to different areas of the home. As a system connected to the home, like your furnace or air conditioner, the value is attached to the home imparting a benefit that translates into a better assessed valuation.

Five things you will come to know:

Central vacuums are durable. Cleaning is a rough business. Many have come to believe replacing a vacuum cleaner every year or two is normal.  Not only is this environmentally negative. it results in the spending of dollars that could be used for other life needs like education, vacations, or a night out with family and friends. Recently we have had conversations with customers who purchased the latest solution, then realize they spent significant dollars hoping to capture durability only to be disappointed.  There are innumerable cases of central vacuums running fifteen, twenty, or even thirty years without replacement or service. Let’s face it: when you clean you want the vacuum to run, capture the dirt, and do it quickly. Pretty colors and seeing dirt are great but they don’t really make the experience more pleasurable. 

Assuming a typical wood frame home of 2,500 square feet you will keep your home clean for the next twenty years for less than $75.00 a year. If you follow the recommendation of most portable vacuum manufacturers you will be spending that on filter bags and filters without consideration of the cost of the vacuum.

Central vacuums are versatile. The range of unique cleaning solutions available for use with the superior performance of your central vacuum allows you to customize your vacuum to the specific needs of your home. Whether you have hardwood, carpet, or polished stone, there are tools perfect for every surace. One vacuum, not seven, can get the job done.

Central vacuums change with your home. Homes can completely transform over ten to twenty years following the needs of the family or trends in home surfaces or customer preferences. Wall to wall carpeting becomes hard wood floors. Vinyl changes to tile. Young children grow up and move away and hard wood comes into the home. Dad takes up wood working or mom becomes a quilter. A central vacuum takes these changes in stride. Sure a few tweaks may be needed to the accessories but the vacuum keeps on cleaning.

Central vacuums clean faster. Homes are not big empty rooms. They are rooms filled with furniture and often have more than one floor surface in the same room. Upright vacuums or canister vacuums with the necessary bulky dirt collection bins don’t like to move in and around furniture or do well with changing floor surfaces. By necessity they are often heavy and that weight not only makes for more effort but can damage furnishings or base boards when the vacuum comes in contact. Because the collection bin is not part of the central vacuum in the home accessories are smaller and lighter. They can move in and around furnishing faster and get to places the bulky portable vacuum can’t access. We have been in many a room where using a popular upright vacuum requires a furniture mover to permit effective cleaning. Moving furniture is no one’s preference and as we age in our home it becomes even less appealing.

Central vacuums don’t create more work.  Portable vacuums discharge air into the room as they move about.  This requires dusting afterward, which isn’t an issue with central vacuums. With the rise in hard floor surfaces this raises the bar even further since the dirt sits on the surface and discharge air can move dirt from the floor up into the air. After a few times using your newly installed central vacuum you will find yourself having to do less dusting. If you have dark hard wood floor surfaces you will see less dust back on the floor hours after you vacuum. This is even more important with the changing patterns of cleaning. Capturing the time to clean the home from top to bottom is tough, and many now spot clean rooms one or two at a time. This pattern makes the advantage of clean air and less particulate in the air after a spot clean even more important.

Central vacuums provide durability, added home value, and a healthier environment for you and your family. Further, it saves money, provides a system that changes with the needs of your home, versatility, and less work. Central vacuums make sense.