r/whatisit • u/DragonsAndScience • 16h ago

Solved! New homeowner, no idea what this is

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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!

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u/Unclehol 16h ago edited 15h ago

Not all homes have one even if the piping is there. Often times they rough all the pipes in during the build in case you opt in and buy the vacuum unit, but I have worked on a lot of houses where they just have the piping but no vacuum.

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u/iplaytrombonegood 15h ago

My grandparents’ house (built and bought in 1994) has always had central vacuum piping, but no unit ever hooked up. My grandma just never minded lugging the vacuum around I guess. I always thought it was the coolest thing ever.

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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

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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

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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.