Most vacuum cleaners are a one-person carry with a cord to coil and nothing else to think about. The exception is a central vacuum, whose motor and canister hang on a wall in the garage or basement, often above head height.
Uprights and canisters
Empty it. Take out and throw away the bag, or empty the bin of a bagless vacuum into the trash outside. A full bin spills the moment the vacuum is tilted.
Coil the cord around its hooks, and click the hose and wand into their clips.
Attachments. Gather the loose brushes and crevice tools into a bag and tie it to the handle so they go together.
Empty a bagless bin outdoors, straight into a trash bag, and tie the bag closed. The fine dust inside is the part that ends up everywhere if it’s emptied over a kitchen bin.
Central vacuum units
A central vacuum’s power unit hangs on a bracket on the wall, with an intake pipe running into the top and an exhaust pipe out of the side.
Every appliance needs to be disconnected before pickup, including electrical, gas, and plumbing connections. For a central vacuum that means unplugged and its intake and exhaust pipes undone, and the canister lifted off its wall bracket and resting on the floor. It’s longer than it looks and awkward to hold at head height, so lift it down with two people. Empty the canister once it’s down.
Worth a pickup on its own?
A vacuum on its own starts at $75. Added to a pickup that’s already collecting a carpet cleaner, a washer or anything else, it adds only $20.
Vacuum checklist
- Bag thrown away or bin emptied outdoors
- Cord coiled, hose and wand clipped in
- Attachments bagged and tied to the handle
- Central vacuum unplugged, pipes undone, canister down off the wall
- Added to a pickup with anything else going
