Cleaning

Central Vacuum

The house has a central vacuum system that features Hide-A-Hose in-wall retractable hoses. The main vacuum motor and debris tank is located in the garage, about the middle of the back/East wall.

Usage

To use the vacuum, locate one of the connection locations based upon where you want to vacuum:

• For the 2 guest bedrooms upstairs, hallway, kitchen, dining room, the Hide-a-hose location is in the kitchen by the nook table on the way to the hall;

• For the Living Room, and Master Suite, the Hide-a-hose location is in the entryway between the doors to the powder room and master suite;

• For all downstairs rooms and the stairway, the Hide-a-hose location is downstairs on the way to the bedroom on the right;

• For the garage or your car, there is a physical hose in the garage to the right of the garage car-door which plugs in at that spot or directly on the motor against the back wall;

• Only one location should be used at a time or performance will be poor.

If using one of the garage connections, you will need to find the physical hose to connect to the inlet and attachments you want to use. There are physical switches located near the inlet for turning the vacuum on/off.

If using the Hide-a-hose outlet:

• Lift the lid to reveal the hose protruding from the top of the box. Grab it start pulling down on the hose to pull out the length of hose you need;

• If you pull the hose all the way out, don't panic, just put a foot or so of it back up into the inlet;

• When you have enough hose out, slide the lock lever across to hold the hose in place;

• Locate the attachments you want to use:

  • Upstairs, these are in the hall closet across from the bathroom by the kitchen;

  • Downstairs they are in the hall closet between the two bedrooms;

  • You will want a handle, plus either the rug-beater or another type of end.

• The handle contains an RF remote to turn the vacuum on/off. Use this while vacuuming.

• When finished:

  • return to the inlet location, bringing the handle and hose with you;

  • disconnect the handle;

  • slide the locking lever to "unlock";

  • turn on vacuum by pulling the red switch out;

  • place your hand over the end of the hose and the hose will start retracting back into the wall;

  • remove your hand as needed to control retraction speed and stop when fully retracted;

  • push in red switch to turn off vacuum;

  • wait a few moments for airflow to decrease, then let inlet lid close;

  • Return the attachments to their place if you are done.

Maintenance

Eventually, the canister in the garage will get full of dirt. Fortunately, it has a bag inside making emptying a bit less messy. Here's the basic procedure, though it has not been tested:

• Locate a replacement bag before you start - don't want to operate without one!

• Unplug the vacuum motor to insure it is off and stays off;

• Lift the lid on the canister - looks like a 55 gallon oil drum;

• Lift the bag off the rim and close it up tight, maybe with a twist-tie, if you have one;

• Lift bag out of canister;

• Put new bag into canister and fit the top over the rim;

• Replace lid on canister;

• Plug the motor back in.