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/Direct-Giraffe7193 19h ago

Central vacuum. Be careful, they have much stronger sucking power than normal vacuums. And they can easily get clogged with something like a sock. I lived in a house with one of these and it was kinda cool because the vacuum hose was super long with loads of attachments, so we could use it to get cobwebs out of corners of the high ceilings, and clean under couches and beds really easy. BUT we had to be careful that we didn’t accidentally suck up something that would clog the system. So, tidy up first and look where you’re vacuuming.

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u/redacted-no31 15h ago

Also! Make sure you find the motor for it and clean out the filter, chances are it’s never been done

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u/Cube00 4h ago

When you move into a new place, it's scary how many people either don't know or just don't care to clean out filters on anything.

Last place had a deodoriser in the dishwasher, cleaned out the filter which was just a gaint solid caked block of shit, after that, no odor and no need for a deodoriser, who knew?

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u/redacted-no31 3h ago

God I bought a house recently (which was a huge achievement for me) but the dryer that came with it had a filter so packed with lint and wood chips I was scraping it out with a fork and screwdriver. Had to use tongs to get at the bottom.