The horrible truth about central vacuum systems and why every non-Canadian millennial hates them.

[reactor]

It is if no value to argue. I see opinions being stated as gross exaggerations and laughable overt generalizations trying to prove one person opinion is better than anothers. Using statements as, "will clog" instead of "may clog" are once again false overt generalizations. A canister "may" clog, an upright "may clog." I have had both clog more in my lifetime than my central vacs. ANY vac may clog if the conditions are right.

If someone prefers an upright, or a canister to a central vac, that's cool. If someone prefers a central vacuum system that is cool, too.

What is right for you, is not necessarily right for someone else. I have had a very nice vintage and new collection of canister and upright vacs, from Whirlpool, General Electric, Panasonic, Hoover, Sunbeam...you name it. I have had central vacuums in most all of my homes for over forty years, cyclonic, bagged, cloth filtered from Broan, Nutone, VacuFlo, Eureka, Kenmore by Whirlpool.

I have had great fun using them all, central, upright, canister. After forty+ years of collecting I always turn to the central vacuum for day to day cleaning. That's my choice through experiential assessment. I won't go into all the specifics, and it doesn't mean I find a central vacuum superior "in every way." That was a statement meant to win an argument through false gross generalization. lol. No one made the state that culentrak vacuums are supior in every way, un

Saying that it it "loses cleaning performance drastically, unless you install it correctly...". I could say a similar statement about virtually any built-in installed system, residential or commercial. Such as, "A central air conditioning unit loses cooling performance unless it is installed correctly."

I can not find any logic in that statement, try as hard as I might. Aren't all mechanical systems/electrical ststems designed to be installed correctly?

Using similar logic in comparing a central vacuum negatively to a canister or upright vac because it "must be installed correctly," is akin to stating that stairs are superior to an elevator because an elevator may not perform well if it is not installed correctly. If there was some logic in that member's statement that I am overlooking, please let me know.

In my case, there are enough superiorities, in the areas that are meaningful to me, that I chose a central vacuum for my everyday source of house cleaning.

If someone else finds some aspects of a given canister or upright that they find superior for their preferences, that is great.

We should all have enough emotional maturation to not denigrate each other for varying opinions. Accept that we are not all the same, our needs are not the same, our perceptions are not the same and as a result our opinions are not going to be the same.

...and that's not a bad thing. As stated before, If we were all alike the world would be a very boring place.

If you find a canister vac superior for your needs, if you prefer a central vac for your needs, or if you prefer a dust pan and a broom for your needs, it's all good.

 

[kirbyman65]

Oh my god. There are people who thinks central vacuums is better in literally EVERY single aspects and not just SOME.

I agree with @Vacuum Facts and fw the take...

Even cordless dupes - not true mains-equivalents like all Dyson flagships since Cyclone V10 (and V12 and V8 Cyclone onwards (V16 is a partial exception because it's crippled out of the box instead)) and most recent competition (in general, maxing out at at least 150AW minus performance-limiting B.S.s out there), but OUTRIGHT DUPES - are all better than central vacuums in so many ways. Heck, even most corded modern models across all known brands are better than at least most central vacuums and they consumes WAAAY less energy, especially after regulatory limits!

I would rather have central vac-like power in an actual lightweight, long-lasting, fade-free mains-equivalent cordless instead. That would be same superior cleaning power but in a far more convenient package, with efficient deep cleaning to match. I agree with @Vacuum Facts on that, not simply talking about his thoughts. He is right - central vacuum sucks (in a bad way)!

What about a fully-sealed, whole-machine, proper HEPA filtration? That works even better for those allergies because none escapes the machine itself, not even viruses like the dreaded COVID-19. Come on!

You’re missing the point. There’s not a single stick vacuum with the power a central vac has. They also have really good filtration. Most central vacs have a hepa bag, and most central vacs exhausts are piped outside. Like a dryer. Additionally you only have to empty a central vac a few times a year. Unlike a stick vac you empty every 30 minutes. There’s also no filters to wash!

 

[Absolute Rainbow]

You’re missing the point. There’s not a single stick vacuum with the power a central vac has. They also have really good filtration. Most central vacs have a hepa bag, and most central vacs exhausts are piped outside. Like a dryer. Additionally you only have to empty a central vac a few times a year. Unlike a stick vac you empty every 30 minutes. There’s also no filters to wash!

There currently isn't any stick vac that have that much power, but most stick vacs of today are better than am central vacuums.

 

[cheesewonton]

You’re missing the point. There’s not a single stick vacuum with the power a central vac has. They also have really good filtration. Most central vacs have a hepa bag, and most central vacs exhausts are piped outside. Like a dryer. Additionally you only have to empty a central vac a few times a year. Unlike a stick vac you empty every 30 minutes. There’s also no filters to wash!

Last thought. Stick vacs only have a few minutes to maybe 30 minutes of run time before you have to park it. That is not enough to do my normal cleaning. Not even close. With a central vac, or corded portable vac, there is no battery to run down so your cleaning time is not limited.

 

[Hatsuwr]

Even cordless dupes... are all better than central vacuums in so many ways.

I would rather have central vac-like power in an actual lightweight, long-lasting, fade-free mains-equivalent cordless instead.

What about a fully-sealed, whole-machine, proper HEPA filtration? That works even better for those allergies because none escapes the machine itself, not even viruses like the dreaded COVID-19. Come on!

You seem to be a bit confused about this topic.

Could you give a brief list of the 'so many ways' that cordless vacuums are better than central?

Regarding power — there are no cordless options that match a central vacuum. I don't even know where you got that idea.

Regarding filtration — central vacuums can have HEPA filtration, but often that isn't even required since you can just vent the exhaust directly outside. There is no filtration that is better than ventilation. HEPA filters are nice, but they don't catch everything and they add more restriction than a filter that just needs to collect things dust-size and up.

 

[Absolute Rainbow]

You seem to be a bit confused about this topic.

Could you give a brief list of the 'so many ways' that cordless vacuums are better than central?

Regarding power — there are no cordless options that match a central vacuum. I don't even know where you got that idea.

Regarding filtration — central vacuums can have HEPA filtration, but often that isn't even required since you can just vent the exhaust directly outside. There is no filtration that is better than ventilation. HEPA filters are nice, but they don't catch everything and they add more restriction than a filter that just needs to collect things dust-size and up.

Well... You clearly haven't watched Vacuum Facts' video.

 

[Hatsuwr]

Well... You clearly haven't watched Vacuum Facts' video.

I would like to supportively challenge you to not say "Vacuum Facts" every single comment.



Instead, maybe address - with your own thoughts - those three points I brought up.

 

[panasonicvac]

It is if no value to argue. I see opinions being stated as gross exaggerations and laughable overt generalizations trying to prove one person opinion is better than anothers. Using statements as, "will clog" instead of "may clog" are once again false overt generalizations. A canister "may" clog, an upright "may clog." I have had both clog more in my lifetime than my central vacs. ANY vac may clog if the conditions are right.

If someone prefers an upright, or a canister to a central vac, that's cool. If someone prefers a central vacuum system that is cool, too.

What is right for you, is not necessarily right for someone else. I have had a very nice vintage and new collection of canister and upright vacs, from Whirlpool, General Electric, Panasonic, Hoover, Sunbeam...you name it. I have had central vacuums in most all of my homes for over forty years, cyclonic, bagged, cloth filtered from Broan, Nutone, VacuFlo, Eureka, Kenmore by Whirlpool.

I have had great fun using them all, central, upright, canister. After forty+ years of collecting I always turn to the central vacuum for day to day cleaning. That's my choice through experiential assessment. I won't go into all the specifics, and it doesn't mean I find a central vacuum superior "in every way." That was a statement meant to win an argument through false gross generalization. lol. No one made the state that culentrak vacuums are supior in every way, un

Saying that it it "loses cleaning performance drastically, unless you install it correctly...". I could say a similar statement about virtually any built-in installed system, residential or commercial. Such as, "A central air conditioning unit loses cooling performance unless it is installed correctly."

I can not find any logic in that statement, try as hard as I might. Aren't all mechanical systems/electrical ststems designed to be installed correctly?

Using similar logic in comparing a central vacuum negatively to a canister or upright vac because it "must be installed correctly," is akin to stating that stairs are superior to an elevator because an elevator may not perform well if it is not installed correctly. If there was some logic in that member's statement that I am overlooking, please let me know.

In my case, there are enough superiorities, in the areas that are meaningful to me, that I chose a central vacuum for my everyday source of house cleaning.

If someone else finds some aspects of a given canister or upright that they find superior for their preferences, that is great.

We should all have enough emotional maturation to not denigrate each other for varying opinions. Accept that we are not all the same, our needs are not the same, our perceptions are not the same and as a result our opinions are not going to be the same.

...and that's not a bad thing. As stated before, If we were all alike the world would be a very boring place.

If you find a canister vac superior for your needs, if you prefer a central vac for your needs, or if you prefer a dust pan and a broom for your needs, it's all good.

I'll admit, when I was younger, I wasn't really into central vacs. Always thought I liked uprights or canisters more. It was until like in middle school when I really started to appreciate them more and then later over the years with more experience that I realize they're my most favorite. I like them so much where I came to a conclusion that I'd never live in a home without one. I could live with using only a upright or a canister under certain conditions. But I'd never use only a cordless, I think they're fine for quick jobs but I'm not gonna use one to clean my whole place. I'd rather rip up all my carpeting and get rid of area rugs so I can just only use a dust mop and a broom with a dustpan. I guess I'm just more old school that way. At my office, I actually use the Dyson V8 over there more than the Shark upright we have. Mainly because I hate using that upright. But at home, I use my Beam central vac over the cordless stick vac I have because it does a better job and doesn't run out of batteries. Not to mention you can't smell nasty odors of using the central vac and it only needs to be emptied about twice a year. Oh my goodness I'm super grateful we had a SilentMaster central vac installed at our new cabin, the absolute worst odor I've ever smelled on a portable vacuum is dead cluster flies (this is a common problem with log cabins). The Panasonic upright from our old cabin smelled like dead flies, and the Kenmore canister from my grandfather's cabin is just as bad. Actually it is the worst coming from my grandfather's cordless machines, they sucked up so many flies where I can't even use them anymore because they stunk at my breaking point and I can't wash the filters in the washing machine like I do with the Kenmore. Anyways, my cordless stick vac and hand vac no surprise already has their batteries going bad. I plan to chuck them out and not get another one ever again. In fact, just yesterday I had a neighbor of mine bring her Dyson V7 over for me to look at. As I predicted, the battery is bad. So while the new battery is being ordered, no one can use it for a while which is another drawback with cordless machines. I recommended her an aftermarket one because the genuine ones are so expensive, why on earth should someone pay that much for it? I've seen cords and electric hoses last longer than any batteries. Overall, like you pointed out, we all like different things and we should use whatever that works best for our needs. I think one thing about this site all of us would agree on is that we love to clean and we love vacuums.

 

[reactor]

Many central vacuums have capabilities well beyond "stick" vacs. Stick vacs can have many advantages, for some individuals. Each has something different to bring to the plate. You can't argue which is "better" unless you specifically compare point to point for each on one. Even then you have to filter arguments to account for individual's inherent bias.

Why bother wasting time trying to convince each other which is superior, because you can only resolve what is superior to you, or superior is a certain stated circumstance under a specific set of conditions.

You can say one is superior, for example, in dust recirculation. You can say one is superior in CFM at the end of a house at a given length, or one us superior at sealed water lift, at a given hose length..BUT, even then you have a multitude of potential models to compare to each other.

With some exceptions, when people use "all," "every," "always," , etc. these overt generalizations invalidates a statement as an argument and it then becomes an unsupported opinion.

Most "arguments" I see on sites like this are actually a clash of egos because someone who thinks their opinion is the only right one.

If you truly want to argue in central vacs, versus conventional vac, you are going to have to state specific brands, what individual parameters you are going to compare, and under what conditions, and provide technical comformation. You can also "argue" from an experiential viewpoint, but even then you have to go back to specific brands, models, and conditions under which they were used. Sometimes it's pertinent to also have to look at the time the individual used the product, how many different brands they have experience with and the specs and conditions they were used.

The bottom line is no one is really doing much but spouting their personal opinion, based upon their internal bias. Odds are no matter what you say, the information you put forth will be filtered to match their preconceived bias anyway.

This is a very long way of saying that why can't we agree not to agree. If you like central vacs and you want to state your reason, fine. If you like "stick" vacs, and you want to state your personal reason, that's what we're here for, and vice versa, if you want to state why you enjoy s central vsc, super. But state your reasons without denigrating someone else's opinion, or viewpoint. It's called respect.

These laughable global statements and false generalization often demonstrate a person's emotional maturation (or lack of) as opposed to the value of a given type of vacuum cleaner. This true value can only be determined by the user. They have to determine what us right for them.

Odds are on the issue of central vacs versus other formats, you are going to have two camps. You have to be mature enough to accept you are not going to change their opinion, and they are not going to change yours.

 

[Absolute Rainbow]

I would like to supportively challenge you to not say "Vacuum Facts" every single comment.

View attachment 170220

Instead, maybe address - with your own thoughts - those three points I brought up.

You think I never ever make up my own thoughts?

 

[Hatsuwr]

You think I never ever make up my own thoughts?

I didn't say that, but it would be nice to read them.

 

[Absolute Rainbow]

I didn't say that, but it would be nice to read them.

I found Vacuum Facts very objective. That's why I defended him.

 

[Hatsuwr]

I found Vacuum Facts very objective. That's why I defended him.

Nobody is attacking him here. There is no need to defend him. You brought him up in this thread unprompted. If we can move on from that, here are the comments I made in reply to you earlier. Do you have any thoughts?

Could you give a brief list of the 'so many ways' that cordless vacuums are better than central?

Regarding power — there are no cordless options that match a central vacuum. I don't even know where you got that idea.

Regarding filtration — central vacuums can have HEPA filtration, but often that isn't even required since you can just vent the exhaust directly outside. There is no filtration that is better than ventilation. HEPA filters are nice, but they don't catch everything and they add more restriction than a filter that just needs to collect things dust-size and up.