The range of central vacuum cleaners that are on the market at present is very large, as more and more manufacturers become involved in the production of a household appliance that was once considered a luxury.
Central vacuum cleaners are now becoming more accepted as a feature being offered by builders in high end, new build schemes and which are also being considered a necessity in one-off houses being built by couples that consider a good cleaning system to be a priority. With there being more central vacuum systems on the market, and given that we are in recessionary times, the price of C.V. systems is becoming more reasonable and customers that are good at driving a bargain are finding suppliers more willing to negotiate on price.
Like an automobile, there may be many models and styles on offer in the marketplace, but the basic operating idea remains the same. When it comes to central vac installation there are 2 basic systems, filtered and cyclonic.
Filtered systems do pretty much what the label says – the central vac cleaner uses a filter to clean the air that the central vacuum cleaner has taken in, before it passes the motor and is re-released into the environment. This system works well, and does ensure that the motor is protected, but the filter does need to be kept clean and replaced regularly. If you allow dirt to build up in the filter, it will effect performance over time and may eventually lead to damage of the system. Do not let this fact put you off purchasing a filtered system, the same reasoning would apply to giving your car an oil change and if you don’t do that at reasonable intervals, your car will suffer also – it is just good maintenance.
Illustration Of A System For Central Vacuum Cleaners. Courtesy of www.robert-thomas.de
A cyclonic system is the opposite to a filtered system, in that it uses force to separate the dirt and dust from the air. As the dirt spins in a cyclone-like action, the air pressure forces nearly all of it into a bag, or a canister. There is usually a small residue of dirt, between 2% and 10% depending on the efficiency of the system, that does not get removed from the air when you are vacuuming, and this gets put through a second filter. This is why central vacuum manufacturers claim that they can get 100% filtration with a system working at peak efficiency.
However I think it is always good policy to ensure, where possible, that your C.V. system, be it filtered or cyclonic, is vented to the outside of your residence.
All central vacuum cleaners are very strong and claim very good filtration, but whereas your regular vacuum is mobile (and follows you around), a central vacuum is stationary, is usually located in a store, attic, garage or basement and therefore is in an ideal position to be vented to the outside (if the containing room has an exterior wall), thereby guaranteeing that all of the air that enters the vacuum system is expelled to the outside. C.V. cleaner base units can even be located in a metal carport. If you do locate the base unit in a carport, venting to the outside would not be necessary. Carports are relatively simple to build and you might even consider erecting one for the purpose of holding the base unit for the central vacuum system.
With both filtered and cyclonic central vacuum cleaners there is the option of a bagless system (canister), or a bagged system. The decision here is whether you would rather clean out the system manually when it is necessary, or would you prefer to take out a sealed central vacuum bags. Personally I prefer the bagged system, and if you suffer from dust allergies of any type, you should seriously favour the bagged system. The bags also make the whole cleaning process more hygenic and do provide an extra filter of sorts when the system is operating.
Many people find the cleaning of a canister to be a dusty task, even though a central vacuum cleaners will hold a lot more dirt than a regular vacuum and will need to be emptied only infrequently.
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