For the first time in her life, my mother saw how a central vacuum system works and I’ve never seen her so amazed by technology. I recently took her to see my cousin’s new house, which happens to be a smart home that has all the bells and whistles. It has an Alexa dot in practically everyone room, automatic lighting control throughout the house, a top of the line security system, and an awesome central vacuum system.

During our visit, my cousin’s friend accidentally dropped a bowl of chips on the carpet and my mother immediately went into mom-mode and asked my cousin for the vacuum so she could help clean the mess. Instead, my cousin went into the other room and came back with a hose that had a handle attached to it. Attached to the handle was a ratcheting wand with a turbine brush connected to it. My mother literally said, “Okay? I think you forgot the vacuum part dear?” My cousin laughed and pointed my mother to a spot on the wall that had what appear to be an electrical outlet with a latch over it. What my mother didn’t know was that it was an actual automatic on/off wall inlet. With a confused look on her face, my mother followed my cousin to where the wall inlet was. My cousin then opened the latch and quickly connected the hose to the inlet and walked back to where the mess occurred. She then used the fingertip switch on the handle to power it on and began vacuuming the mess. The look on my mother’s face was priceless because it was then that she realized how amazing a central vacuum system is.

What my mother quickly noticed was how easy and quiet it was when vacuuming. My mother is old-school and was accustomed to using heavy, bulky portable vacuum units that tended to be really loud and annoying. My mother used to always get mad at us when we were children because we always hated vacuuming our rooms, and the excuse we always gave her was, “But Mom, the stupid vacuum is too heavy and loud!” She would always proceed by yelling out, “I need stronger kids!” Either way, my mother would end up vacuuming our rooms after seeing us struggle (or pretend to struggle). And to be honest, I still think portable vacuum units are still bulky, heavy, and loud. The funny thing is, my wife gives me the same excuse for not wanting to take turns vacuuming our apartment. She’s a small woman and the vacuum we have is practically half her size and pretty heavy. So yeah, guess who’s permanently in charge of vacuuming our apartment – I am of course.

So after seeing my cousin vacuum, my mother quickly took over and ended up vacuuming my cousin’s entire house. My cousin tried to stop her but when my mother is in super-mom-mode, it usually takes the rest of day for her to act normal again, so I just told my cousin it’s better to let her finish. After my mother was done, she boasted about how lightweight the hose was and how she didn’t breath in dust that normally would linger in the air when using portable vacuums. My mother then asked my cousin, “Where does the dust go?” My cousin walked us downstairs to her basement where there was a cool-looking, red column-like device attached to the wall. Attached to the this device was a pair of tubes. This device was the central vacuum power unit, or the motor.

Again, my mother was amazed of how a central vacuum system works. The fact that you can use various types of vacuum tools and vacuum brushes that can be attached to hoses; and the hoses are attached to wall inlets that are part of a network of tubes that are hidden in the walls. And that the debris, dirt, and dust travel through the tubes and are then deposited into the container that is attached to the central power unit. Plus, the air that was sucked in is exhausted outside the house so that there’s cleaner air and less allergens inside the home.

My mother and I spent a wonderful day visiting my cousin. It’s funny because it was the first time my mother experienced how various types of smart devices work and how they can really make life easier for everyone. She kept saying, “Wow! That’s amazing! Can I try?” She was impressed by all of them and wants me to help her slowly convert her home into a smart home. But I will say that out of all the smart devices she saw that day, I think it was the central vacuum system that amazed her the most.

If you would like to convert your home into a smart home and impress all of your friends and family with cool and amazing smart home devices, we can help! Just call our toll-free number at 858-693-8887 (7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific, Monday – Friday) for free tech support and product advice.