<p>My son also loved to vacuum, as did my nephew. My sister and I used to say they were going to start Two Cousins Housecleaning. What happened?</p>
<p>Upstairs Downstairs Dysons just save you from having to schlep the (somewhat heavy) machine up and down. It can be a sweet extravagance for those of us without cleaning staff.</p>
<p>Gourmetmom, that was another thing I hated about the central vac-- the damage from pulling the ribbed hose around the house. I wanted to install hose guides like I have in my garden.</p>
<p>I love my Beam central vacuum. I haven’t seen anyone else mention this brand. We had it put in when we built the house. I especially like the KickSweep in my kitchen island.</p>
<p>I also have a Beam central vac with a kicksweep in the kitchen, and I really like it, so much that I love to use it! I find the hose to be less cumbersome than dragging the canister around.</p>
<p>Looking at the web site for Beam, I see that the hose retracts into the wall. Awesome.</p>
<p>Odd man out here. We have a Beam Central vac system in our house and we LOVE it. We actually have two hoses…one for each floor. We like that the vacuum exhaust does not go into the room. It is much quieter than a regular vac. We have wood floors downstairs, and the floor tool is a good one. It’s also nice not to have to think about emptying the vac very often. When we got ours, the price was the same as buying a new really good vacuum.</p>
<p>Hmmmmm. So those who like their central vac have Beam. Interesting.</p>
<p>LOVE my Beam central vac! Hose hangs in the stairwell to the basement. No big deal, get a garden hose rack. I have hardwood and carpet. Works great on both. Has been operational since 1991 and no service on the unit needed. Had to replace the switch in the handle about 10 years ago. Easy to take between floors, plenty of outlets. Would love to have another for any future house!</p>
<p>I have a Vacuflo central vacuum. I had it installed over 30 years ago and never had a problem with it. I am on my second hose that has an on/off button on the handle. I love it.</p>
<p>I am seriously too tired to check my central vac brand. I think it’sVacuflo. I had to learn a few things, but I would never go back.</p>
<p>I just installed a central vac with a Hide-a-Hose, where the hose retracts back into the wall. No more lugging around a heavy hose.</p>
<p>The work was done at the same time as the electrical rough-in. If the walls are already open for that or the installation of central a/c then it makes things easier.</p>
<p>[Central</a> Vacuum Cleaner / Hide-a-Hose Retractable Hose System](<a href=“http://www.hideahose.com/]Central”>http://www.hideahose.com/)</p>
<p>I am another Beam lover. There is no hot dog hair smell when I vacuum, unlike with my canister. I always felt like the house smelled worse after I used it. I also like how quiet it is because the motor is in the garage.</p>
<p>Our house was built with a central vac but the original owners never put a motor in and neither have we. Never used it.</p>
<p>We had ours put in when we were doing a major addition to our house, but it didn’t seem like a big deal to retro-fit it into the older part of the house. A friend of ours, who has lots of allergies, had been pushing us for years to get central vac. Our son has dust allergies and all 3 of us have pollen allergies. I can’t tell how much difference it has made, but I do think it makes sense. I’ve gotten used to the long hose.</p>
<p>Our house had a Beam system when we bought it. I like it fine. One thing not mentioned is that the Dyson is big and heavy itself. I like the smaller carpet head and the tiny regular head for my hard floors. I liked my Dyson (and haven’t gotten rid of it), but it’s a beast. </p>
<p>The Kicksweep is awesome.</p>
<p>So how much does it cost to retro-fit an existing house with one of these puppies?</p>
<p>We just moved into a home without central vac and I really miss my “Vacuflo” brand central vac system in our previous home. Our 2-story home had 2 sets of hoses and tools because it was alot more convenient than schlepping hoses up and down stairs. The suction of a good central vac system is much superior to that of any upright or cannister vacuum that I have ever used. The other aspect of a central vac system that I loved was that our garage-mounted system had a third set of hose/tools for vacuuming the cars or for dry pickup in the garage area. </p>
<p>With that said, I would not add one to a home that didn’t have the duct work already in place.</p>
<p>VeryHappy–I think you could get a free estimate. They didn’t have to tear our walls apart to retrofit. I was surprised.</p>
<p>I had my Vacuflo installed and all the duct work went to the attic. The only holes in the walls were where they placed the suction outlets. This is the only appliance that I have in my house without any need of repair or replacement in 30 years though I bought a new hose, a new power beater brush and some other attachments. However, the machine itself is still in perfect condition.</p>
<p>The Vacuflo is also bagless (or at least mine was) and I never had to replace anything in 10 years, including the belt on the carpet attachment brush head.</p>