Do you have a central vacuum?

[sweetptater]

Our new house has a central vacuum. When the old owners moved out they took all of the attachments with them. I have never had a central vac, so I'm wondering if I'm missing anything by not using it. 

I don't want to spend the money on replacing all of the hose/attachments if they're not worth it, especially since I have a perfectly good canister vac already. If you have had one, are they really that great?

[kermit]

My parents' house has one so I used it growing up. I was always annoyed by the dragging that hose around. My house now has one and they left the attachments but I haven't used it since I like my vacuum and the only carpet is on the 2nd floor so it's not like I have to carry the vacuum up and down the stairs.

[wawa]

The house I grew up in had one, and vacuuming was one of my chores, so I used it a ton.

It was ok. The biggest pluses in my mind are that it's easy to use on the stairs (just a hose to follow you around instead of a heavy upright body or a canister) and that it's quiet. All you hear is the sucking noise instead of the whole motor running. Performance-wise it's similar to a good bagless vac - doesn't lose suction over time, etc.

Ours was really hard to get it to work with the power attachement head (i.e. the beater bar for carpet). I had to use a lot of force to plug the hose into the wall and the attachment into the hose well enough so it'd actually get power. Not sure if that was just an issue with ours though. It is also a pain in the ass to store neatly - it's this loooong coil of hose. Doesn't just sit nicely in a closet like a normal vacuum.

[Deleted]

It depends on the vacuum (system, age, power, attachment options, etc). I love ours but it's brand new with all the new features.

If you have a good canister vac that you like, I don't think it will be worth spending $$ on the hose/attachments.

One of the odd things I like about it is being able to vacuum any time. I don't have to worry about waking up anybody. We're so busy that most of the time the only time I can vacuum is when DD is napping/sleeping. And with an infant arriving soon, I can vacuum while the baby is napping.

[sweetptater]

May 2, 2013 11:54:08 GMT -5 kermit said:

My parents' house has one so I used it growing up. I was always annoyed by the dragging that hose around. My house now has one and they left the attachments but I haven't used it since I like my vacuum and the only carpet is on the 2nd floor so it's not like I have to carry the vacuum up and down the stairs.

This is one of my biggest hesitations with it. Although I currently drag my canister vac around with me so it's probably better than that.

[april37]

We have one and I LOVE it. I think I actually vacuum more because of it. It's so much easier than lugging an entire vacuum cleaner around the house. Especially if you have stairs - they are a breeze to vacuum with central vac. My only complaint is that the long hoses can be a hassle to store but it's worth it to me in the end.

[Deleted]

I really don't understand the complain of dragging the hose around. I prefer to be dragging a hose around than a canister/upright. Maybe most people have too long of a hose for their central vac?

Regarding hose storage, ours came with a hose hanger (similar to a water hose hanger) that you install on the wall.