Vacuum FAQ

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What is a central vacuum?

Just as central heating supplies warmth to an entire home from one location, a central vacuum (or built in vacuum) provides suction to clean a home from one location (the vacuum power unit).

How does a central vacuum work?

Just as central heating supplies warmth to an entire home from one location, a central vacuum (or built in vacuum) provides suction to clean a home from one location (the vacuum power unit).

Are central vacuums difficult to install?

•Just as alarm installers or plumbers need training and certification, a professional vacuum installer should know building codes and pass the exams to work in his area. But the requirements are usually not onerous.

•Most people believe a central vacuum can only be installed during construction, and many vacuum retailers work with contractors to put in piping as the home is built. In fact, centrals can be installed in any home, anywhere and anytime.

•In Europe, where walls are solid concrete or masonry, our retailer/installers successfully retrofit Hayden systems. Piping is hidden from view and there is no trace of construction when the job is done.

•Retrofit installations are especially easy where walls are stud-and-drywall construction, as they are in North America, because piping is run through hollow, interior walls in the home. It is a simpler job than security companies have retrofitting existing homes by running wire through congested, insulated exterior walls.

How are central vacuums a healthier choice in vacuums?

•Did you know that in the last 25 years, the cancer fatality rate among children has been cut in half. However, the asthma rate among children has increased six-fold due in some part to ineffective household cleaning methods and devices, like conventional vacuums.

•Also, vacuuming is a leading cause (#1 or #2, depending whom you talk to) of back injury recurrence. Central vacuums help because the part the user carries is lighter. And SuperVac, with its orthopedic handle, encourages better posture. Conventional vacuums are major contributors to indoor air pollution. While their bags filter our visible dirt, invisible dirt passes right through the bag, and is blown back into the home’s air. This small, invisible dust particulate is the kind that is most harmful

Can a central vacuum cure asthma?

•They do not. But they do remove the household allergens that do cause asthma.

•Asthma is mostly an inherited condition, triggered like an allergy. Indoors, the most common allergic triggers are the feces and skin of house dust mites; the flakes of human and animal skin that dust mites eat, and mold spores.

•On Britain's Isle of Wight, a team with the University of Southampton showed that by removing allergens from around a child during its first year of life, you reduce the child's lifetime risk of getting asthma symptoms by up to 75%.

•In fact, the Isle of Wight team told mothers not to vacuum; it was healthier to have dirty carpets, than to have cleaner carpets and contaminated air!

•Central vacuums, however, remove allergens because allergens are exhausted outdoors instead of back into the indoor air as with portable vacuums.

•In North America, the EPA and Canada's CMHC both have suggested centrals as the vacuum of choice for health reasons, and most indoor air technicians choose centrals.

Are HEPA vacuum as good as they say they are?

A vacuum with a HEPA filter is a compromise.

•HEPA filters remove tiny, invisible particles from indoor air. Without them we would not have computer chips, modern pharmaceuticals, or space exploration.

•The HEPA filter can remove many contaminants that are recirculated by conventional vacuums, but not all. About half of all harmful contaminants get past HEPA filters; those between .3 and .2 microns in size.

•Also, to stop smaller particles, HEPA filters must constrict airflow, so that even with a new, clean filter the vacuum does not perform as well. HEPA filters clog quickly and reduce vacuum efficiency even further.

•HEPA filters are expensive; often over $100 just for one filter. They cannot be cleaned like many filters, but must be replaced several times a year.

•Finally, HEPA filter vacuums often do not filter well. Many leak dirty air around the HEPA filter. Besides, the HEPA filters fracture easily as the vacuum is dragged and bumped through the home, so the filter itself can often fail.

•HEPA filters are great for their intended purpose. But filter experts say HEPA filters were never designed for vacuum cleaners and should not be expected to perform properly in such machines.

What is so great about the Hayden central vacuum?

•Ted Hayden worked on the development of SuperSystem for 20 years before it was finally launched as a complete product line in 1995. So our system is engineered to be the ultimate central vacuum.

•We have the biggest, most powerful motors. We have the most sophisticated microprocessor controls (VacTrack and SoftStart). Our unit is made from thick (and more expensive) dent-resistant ABS plastic that dampens sound.

•Even our little things stand out. Our dusting tool has horsehair bristles, because cheaper, more common nylon bristles can pick up and retain sand specks that could scratch fine furniture. Our deluxe crevice tool lays flat for going under things like the fridge or the stove. Our floor tool has bristles from being vacuumed away.

Is a central vacuum expensive to own and operate?

•Actually, people who see our video presentation before they know the price, are amazed at how inexpensive SuperSystem can be. Price depends on which model is most appropriate for your size of home, how elaborate the installation is, and so on.

•Different retailers calculate price differently, but in general, a central vacuum, completely installed in the walls of the home, is less than many high-end portable vacuums.

•There are other factors to think of. People spend money buying a new vacuum every few years. Statistically, vacuums are the most-replaced appliance in the home. But a central should last 10 to 20 years; maybe longer. On a per-year basis then, a central is very low in cost.

•Secondly, a central is built into the home, so it adds to the home's value, just as adding a sundeck or finishing a basement increases your home's value.

•Third, the Hayden SuperSystem with it's power and it's unique agitation-vibration, can double or triple the life of your carpets. That too is a saving that can easily eclipse the price of SuperSystem.

•Think about the costs of impaired health too. The World Health Organization finds that a family with asthma will spend, on average, 9 per cent of its gross income treating asthma. A family with a $50,000 annual income that doesn't get asthma would, save 2 or 3 times the price of a SuperSystem each year