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GBlist: Vacuums suck



A central vacuum unit doesn't need to be outside the building envelope.
But the exhaust pipe does need to terminate outdoors. You can mount the
motor/vacuum unit in a basement, closet, garage, etc. and, as long as
the exhaust run is outdoors, any dust in the exhaust is also outdoors. 

The only drawback to having the motor/vacuum unit indoors involves
chemically sensitive people. They sometimes react to minor odors
released by a warm motor. Personally, I solve that problem by mounting
the unit in a closet that's ventilated to the outdoors. Actually, I like
to have all closets ventilated to keep them fresh. With an HRV, I use a
single supply grille in the center of the house and multiple exhaust
grilles, one in each closet (plus an exhaust grille in the kitchen and
in the bathrooms). Thus, anything stored in the closets is automatically
aired out.

The biggest problem I've seen with central vacuums and sensitive people
involves the flexible hose. They're all made of vinyl and they have a
very strong odor when new. I recommend buying at least the hose early
and letting it air out. I have hung them outdoors, protected from the
weather, all summer, and eventually they seem to air out fairly well.

I put central vacuums high on my list of good things to have in a
healthy house. Even if you don't have carpet, you still have dust to
contend with. And it's more visible without carpet.

I wrote a general-information article about central vacuums a while
back. If anyone's interested it's at:
http://www.hhinst.com/Art%2Ccentralvacuums.html

-- 
John Bower, The Healthy House Institute
http://www.hhinst.com/    email: healthy@bloomington.in.us
430 N. Sewell Road, Bloomington, IN 47408
Phone/fax 812-332-5073
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