A proud brag..

[KrazE]

When the kids & I first moved in with SO, I noticed that he had central vac installed in the house. Unfortunately, he said that it could not be used as there was something wrong with the unit, that he did not know what was wrong, and it probably needed to be replaced at some point.

I had my own upright vacuum, so it wasn't a big deal to me... until this year.

My vacuum slowly started to lose suction, and I have even completely taken it apart, given it a good cleaning, and it still did the job, sort of.

Stairs - an upright vacuum, even with the added tools just doesn't do the job as well as I would like, but I really do not want to put more money into another vacuum which would need to be a canister in order to get a decent cleaning job on the stairs.

I took it upon myself to research central vac units - how they work, the type of servicing they need, how they are built etc. I was disappointed to find out that the model in the basement is old enough that you can't even find actual manufacturer information about it on the net; but I refused to give up.

Today I decided to have a really good look at the unit and then take it all apart - 3 discoveries were made.

Discovery number one was seeing that the piping going into the unit was not connected tightly enough.
Discovery number two was that not only did the unit need to be emptied, but the filter was clogged with dust pretty badly
Discovery number three was that the filter can be removed and completely cleaned to get rid of the mildew-y odour.

I started off by emptying all the dirt & dust, then using my upright to get the clogged dirt & dust from the filter. Once that was done I removed the filter from the unit & tossed it into my laundry sink, then I cleaned it and used some of my home made fabric softener to remove all the mildew odour from it - then hung it up to dry.

Next I wiped down the entire unit, and using a cloth dampened with the home made fabric softener, I wiped out the inside of the unit to remove odours.

After the filter was dry, I put everything back together, and using a worm gear clamp I reconnected the piping to the unit tightly to seal it properly.

Plugged the unit in, hauled out the hose & the attachment power head for the stairs to give it a go.

Worked like a charm!!!

I stopped several times to physically check the unit while it was running, and tested it powering on when the hose is connected to an outlet, then powering off when I disconnected the hose from the outlet.

I did the stairs from the basement to the first floor, then the entire first floor. After I was done, I popped the bottom off the unit & HOLY COW the stuff it picked up - I just vacuumed yesterday!

Now I don't have to hunt for canister vacuums that will simply have to be replaced in a few years, pay for someone to come service the central vac unit, or hunt for good deals on a new central vac unit.

Putting in the time to research things can really save a lot of money

[ssbean]

Good for you!! WTG!

[kerrylj]

Good Job. It is amazing what you can fix yourself.

If you can access any og the joints in the tubing you should tape them with duct tape as well. I was told by an installer that they do this when they put the units in because it helps make the joints more airtight in case the glue doesn't make a complete seal. If it easy to get to it may help a little more.

[MrsSunshine]

NICE JOB! WTG!. can i get your business card in case i need work done down the road

[KrazE]

Thanks all

All the piping for the unit up to the unit was glued, and it's pretty solid, so that was a plus - it was only the connection right at the unit that needed to be fixed thankfully.

I love researching how to do things around the house myself, it's always been incredibly fun to me.

[redhdlois]

You're hired !!!

[couponer2]

Good for you!!!

[lilo0003]

IMPRESSIVE, good for you.
I am envious of your central vac though.

[barato]

good job! once you use central Vac, never again want to use a canister vac

[SharonMe]

That's so great. You've save yourself a lot of money right there.
Good for you!

[aashi]

Wow... You are really a smart saver... bit of research and looking around for sure saves you lot and the knowledge itself is priceless.. Thanks for sharing your experience

[ColleenMGorecki]

You should be so proud of yourself

[jemwars]

Awesome job, good for you

[KrazE]

Thank you to all

[matrix82]

That is awesome. Congrats on fixing it yourself :D.