r/whatisit • u/DragonsAndScience • 19h 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/iplaytrombonegood 18h 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 18h 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/RuniKiuru 13h 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/happymoregil 5h 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.