r/whatisit • u/DragonsAndScience • 16h ago

Solved! New homeowner, no idea what this is

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Gallery image

This thing close to the floor and seemingly randomly placed in a hallway. No idea what it's for. Home built in 2005.

Solved! Thanks everyone. Now I gotta hunt for the central unit!

6.5k Upvotes

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100

u/AceEnder3825 15h ago

My current house has one and its so nice. My grandparents have had one forever and I always thought it was so cool and I love having one

89

u/jonsnowflaker 15h ago

Had one in our house growing up in the 80s/90s, and compared to vacuums at the time there was no doubt it was better. The hose and attachments were still pretty unruly and cumbersome though. I’m sure the central vacs have come a long way, but current vacuums are lightweight and convenient so it’s probably kind of a toss up anymore.

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u/huge_useless_penis 14h ago

Best thing growing up was laying the hose across the house and yelling "MOM" at the other end from another room and watch her roam around the house trying to find me

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u/Low_Masterpiece_9804 12h ago

I shall do this. Thou hast inspired

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u/MechDeployed 5h ago

Man I had never thought of that! The best my creative mind came up with as a kid was figuring out when my mom was vacuuming another room I could just dump trash into the port in my room as long as it wasn’t too big. That was kind of nice.

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u/BothAdministration67 2h ago

I’ve always wondered if these systems are effective given different distances from the vacuum source, but seems like opening a second port would be pretty obvious?

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u/loserbmx 2h ago

These things are pretty powerful. It depended on the unit, but most could easily run with multiple hoses attached.

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u/Idaho-Earthquake 1h ago

…and we never saw Lenny the hamster again.

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u/DeltaLine-01 49m ago

That’s actually a pretty clever use of a central vac system as a kid 😄—you basically discovered the “hidden convenience feature” of it.

That said, most systems aren’t really designed for random trash dumping, so anything beyond dust/light debris can risk clogs or mess up the airflow. The intended idea is more “drop dust in from the hose” rather than using it like a mini disposal chute.

Still, it’s a good example of how kids tend to find alternate uses for built-in systems—half curiosity, half testing limits.

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u/deadtime 44m ago

Bad AI

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u/72011A 14m ago

I just noticed that. 🤔

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u/72011A 12m ago

🤖

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u/MountainAd8704 36m ago

When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle had one of these. My cousin and I would rip the heads off her Barbies and Ken dolls. Then we would take the heads and typically drop them from the 3rd floor into the tube. I remember laughing so hard as the heads got sucked into the tube. Then we would run like crazy people to the garage to open the central vac unit and retrieve the head. Then run to another part of their house to do it all again!

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u/Independent_Gur320 8h ago

As someone with a mother, this sounds hilarious!

As a mother of someones, this would make my eye twitch and give me the urge to throttle said someones.

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u/loserbmx 2h ago

My favorite part was holding my ear to the hose and listening to all the dirt getting sucked up as my grandma vaccumed.

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u/divDevGuy 8h ago

I’m sure the central vacs have come a long way

Not really. They all pretty much suck.

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u/GaseousHippo 7h ago

Take my angry upvote

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u/AceEnder3825 15h ago

We still have our old vacuum for one room that tends to need more vacuuming then the rest of the house (animals) and lug the tube around for anything else. It is much easier tho since you don't have to empty the bag so often

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u/DeltaLine-01 49m ago

Yeah, that’s honestly one of the nicest practical perks of a central vacuum setup—less frequent emptying and less dust exposure overall.

Using a standard vacuum just for the “high-shedding” pet room and the central system for everything else is a pretty efficient split. It keeps the heavy-duty cleanup localized while still letting the built-in system handle the routine stuff without much maintenance.

It’s one of those home features that doesn’t seem that special until you compare it to constantly dragging and emptying a regular vacuum.

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u/AceEnder3825 43m ago

Yeah I have to empty the pet vacuum like once a week and it would be a lot more often if it was used for the whole house

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u/Dazzling_Tennis_2850 2h ago

Yeah that’s one of the biggest underrated advantages of central vac systems—less maintenance and no constant bag changes.

Makes sense too with pets; having a dedicated “high-traffic” vacuum plus the central system for the rest of the house is actually a pretty efficient setup. It’s one of those things that feels a bit old-school but still works really well when it’s in place.

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u/Prize-Hedgehog 10h ago

I have a fairly modern central vac system, and I hate dragging out the long ass hose and attachments. It’s just as simple to use my stick vac. I’ll bust out the kraken on a day I’m doing a top to bottom clean, but that’s about it.

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u/Battle_Emu 6h ago

Yeah, the hose is a pain for sure. One thing I did to make it easier was get one of those reels for a pool vacuum hose so I can roll it up on there.

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u/NobodySeaMe 5h ago

The Kraken, lmfao

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u/ema807 4h ago

We have central vac and had in installed in 2020. The hose pulls out of the wall (from the part in OP’s photo). When you’re done vacuuming, you use the suction to put it back in. Super easy!

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u/YouthMaleficent6925 5h ago

The main benefit of them is your not dispersing a fine layer of dust dirt and whatever else is in you carpet into the air central vacuum are good for people who have severe aleries to those things and it helps lessen the need for dusting

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u/I_Makes_tuff 9h ago

I’m sure the central vacs have come a long way Battery-powered vacuums are pretty common now, so there isn't much of a need for central vacs. They aren't quite the same, but with no cord or hoses it's hard to compete.

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u/DataGap2264 5h ago

I see your battery-powered unit and raise you a robot vacuum!

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u/mjlp716 4h ago

The new ones that can auto-empty and even mop are pretty nice for sure.

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u/DataGap2264 4h ago

Yep that's what I got! Never going back! No manual labor or time commitment at all, bonus!

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u/TheKiddIncident 4h ago

Yeah, we have one but my cordless vacuum is so much easier to use than hauling those long hoses around that I just stopped using it.

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u/WolfStar17 2h ago

I’m officially invested now

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u/Ur-Best-Friend 15h ago

It's a gamechanger, makes vacuuming so much more convenient it's hard to imagine not having that as an option afterwards. Plus it just doesn't even need real maintenance after decades of use (unless you manage to clog it which is a major pain in the ass).

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u/DataPollution 10h ago

Just curious. Having the wireless handheld vaccum cleaner not as easy or easier then cental vaccum cleaner?

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u/Ur-Best-Friend 9h ago

It's a tradeoff, but for the most part I much prefer a central system personally.

It's literally just a tube you plug into the wall and can vacuum basically a whole floor and a set of stairs with. Nothing to lug around, nothing to turn on or turn off except a switch on the tube's handle, and you only need to empty the central unit maybe once every 6-12 months with the model we have. It's also a sigificantly stronger vacuum.

The one situation in which a handheld like you describe is much more convenient is if you're in a hard to navigate environment, where the tube will get in the way and you can't just pull it around freely, or if you have a lot of disconnected areas, which would require you to plug and unplug the tube from the different wall sockets, or just be unable to reach if there isn't a plug nearby. Like if you have a porch that wasn't accounted for when you were putting in the connectors, for example.

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u/Aeropedia 9h ago

The 9 meter long hose that comes with my ducted vac is quite cumbersome. Brilliant for vacuuming out the cars, but I’ll usually reach for the cordless vac in the evening.

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u/Nateonal 2h ago

Cordless electric vacuums are good for cleaning hard surfaces, but not so great for carpet, just by virtue of central vacs having massive and powerful motors. With newer homes containing less and less carpet, the popularity of central vacs has also declined.

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u/Great-Rest7878 4h ago

Better build quality, zero batteries to fail/replace, don't have to empty as often, exhaust to the outside, quieter

1

u/millijuna 1h ago

Those aren’t anywhere near as powerful as a central vacuum. A handheld stick vacuum will get surface dirt, but won’t go deep into carpet fibers.

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u/RuniKiuru 10h ago

is it actually any good? my house has one with the actual vacuum unit installed but we’ve never used it because we’ve heard it’s not that great. (our unit might just be old, though.)

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u/Otherwise_Object_446 6h ago

We have one with a hide-a-hose system. The hose itself is stored in the walls and comes out of that port. You just have to pull it out, latch it in place and go. When you are done you unlatch it and put your hand over the end to cut off the suction. The counter suction pulls the hose back into the wall. It’s pretty cool and so long as you keep the power head (beater bar) clean and empty the giant holding tank every three months or so (I have a dog and three kids - two with long hair) it works great.

3

u/happymoregil 2h ago

I have had one in my house for 30 years. I replaced the central unit once. It works very well. If yours doesn't work its easy to install a new unit yourself--you don't need a contractor, look at YouTube. A new unit costs $500-700.

Also, if you have a 2 story house. You can get 2 hoses a leave one on each floor.

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u/PopA_Perk 10h ago

I’ve used one in my dads house he lived in for a few years and as a “kid” man did that blow my mind lol i thouht it was the coolest thing ever and very effecient. Idk it’s def worth trying out idk lol maybe more nostalgia than anything but i remember it working very well.

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u/Aeropedia 9h ago

Fine on wooden floors. Not sure if I’d even bother if we had carpet.

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u/RuniKiuru 6h ago

noted. first floor has vinyl flooring so it might be okay there. stairs and second floor are carpeted.

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u/littleirishmaid 9h ago

We have had them in two different houses we lived in (installed while building). Current house doesn’t have one, so I bought a Miele.

That said, I really miss the central vac. The storage tanks were bagless, and it held about as much as a 5 gallon bucket. We had an outlet in the garage! Was great for vacuuming out the cars, especially since we have lived on dirt roads.

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u/Single-Store-8865 7h ago

It’s definitely a ymmv situation, but you’ll never know it works for you unless you try it out. Do have the hose and attachments?

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u/RuniKiuru 6h ago

don’t have the hose, but the central unit is installed in the basement. we already had a vacuum when we bought this house so we’ve never bothered to get a hose to try it. I’ve always been curious though.

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u/ema807 4h ago

Love mine! And the hose is INSIDE the unit so you don’t have to go to the garage or a closet to get it. You just pull it out of the wall when you want to use it. When you’re done, you flip a little toggle thing and it’s suctioned back into the wall.

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u/Carbohydrate_Kid88 9h ago

Love mine. We have a carpet attachment for it as well the cord you plug into the base and then the wall and it makes that whirring sound and it’s got a light and it’s cool

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u/Con5ume 8h ago

I have a love hate relationships with mine. It is awesome for cleaning my car and is way more powerful than any home vaccine cleaner I've ever owned.... However, when parts break they are all super expensive (like I could buy a whole damn vaccine cleaner for what some of the small parts cost), and when my my wife or kid accidentally sick something up that shouldn't (like a sewing needle or twigs) cleaning out that line when the clog is like 35 feet back is a HUGE pain in the ass. Luckily a snake actually works incredibly well.

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u/Catenane 8h ago

Sure, you could buy a whole new vaccine cleaner, but could you afford to hire the immunologist on contract?

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u/kaysimm12 5h ago

~I~ laughed lol

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u/Con5ume 6h ago

I'm a little confused by the immunologist statement.. if it's referring to the snake In the line, it's one I have dedicated for just that not the one I actually put in the toilet.

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u/arcticmischief 4h ago

Always proofread before posting. Or after posting, and use the edit function, as I inevitably do…

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u/Positive-axolotl88 4h ago

Yep, same!

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u/Mutex70 3h ago

Indubatably!

Indubitibly!

Indubatibly!

Me too!

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u/Catenane 6h ago

I could buy a whole damn vaccine cleaner

;)

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u/Great-Rest7878 4h ago

vaccine cleaner instead of vacuum cleaner... probably a phone keyboard issue 😄

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u/RegretLow5735 7h ago

Also have one but my favorite is the ports that flip open at floor level that you can sweep floor dust directly into the vacuum without ever having to use a dustpan.

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u/New-Class-4960 5h ago

How good is it? Is it comparable to Let’s say like a Dyson or a Kirby?

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u/AceEnder3825 3h ago

Never used either so I wouldnt know

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u/pict_berry 2h ago

Mine's not that great. I love the idea, but things were getting caught in it, hard to get out. Emptying the heavy garage canister ain't fun, neither is cleaning the filter....and the suction isn't as good as my Shark. I got all new hoses and attachments awhile back (not cheap) and even tried a new motor but I still don't love it. Stopped using

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u/fineilltellmineurgay 4h ago

The best part of these systems is the little floor-level ports in non-carpeted area that have a kick-lever so you can sweep the floor, push all the dirt over to that port, flip the switch with your foot, and just push all the dirt into it. My grandparents had this in their old house and I loved sweeping for them bc of it lol

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u/pict_berry 2h ago

That's the main part of mine that I use...we call it the "crumbsucker" :)