Hi,
Unless you have a poor installation or have a a old Sears system, with the small interior diameter tubing, in the walls U should B all set to go. You may need a bigger central unit, get someone out to see about the set up, or if there is a clog. Most people put in what the builder tells them or they buy a house with it already installed, with the Builder's Special. They are undersized! That's just wrong, and it is no wonder why people don't like central vac. You may need to upgrade your hose, Power Nozzle, and cleaning tools. Today's hoses are 1 3/8 ID and produce by far more air flow. I grew up with CV and I installed them in 3 homes, after market, and my hair salon. I have allergies, myself and they are a god send. check out www.builtinvacuum.com. There is a lot of info and much to read. Miele is a fine vac. It is the cost of the bags and filters are the killer. If you are a busy mom, you will never do the hose conversion on a Kirby or pull out the Rainbow to chase Cherrios. I have both. Most people by electric brooms at K Mart for this and this defeats your purpose. Throw out the Hoover as it is just a dust blower. U will be shocked as to what a retrofit will cost you for a CV. You will be much happier. The plus is that there is not thay much ongoing expense.

Do not rip out your carpet! ! ! I grew up with hardwood and the dust was always, airborne! The minute the carpet was installed, I did not have to spend Saturday mornings with tubes stuck up my nose! The dust may fall on the carpet but it stays in place and is not flying through the air with every person who walks through the room. You just need a good vac to deal with it.

I am certain that Graywings and GEguy will respond to your post. Graywings has had CV and a Dyson and GE knows his vac stuff. Let us know what you decide.

Fantastic Advice.
Truly thank you so much.

I am not sure about updating my CV. I plan to only live
in this hou,se 4 maybe 5 more years. Spending money to
improve my CV means it can't go with me.
The CV is Eureka CV2000 series. Not sure if this is a
good one or not.

I do agree the bag,s are expensive. My sister buys her bag,s
in giant quantities lasting a year. She is freakishly clean.

I tend to run my CV to do the wood floors every other day.

You are on TARGET. The Doc said wood floors do not improve
as the allergens are airborn. The floor were here before
we moved in.

I never use the CV carpet feature to do my upstairs
carpet. Never! It just does not clean the way my old
hoover does. I do use the hose part of the CV to do
curtains, corners, bathrooms, railings, stairs, ceilings,
vents, closets, under furniture...

But the hoover
has got to go. It works but it is a bagless and this
is where the problem is. (The doctor tells me)
I am also getting an air purifier for my daughter. She
can take that to college too. Hopefully this can help.

The Miele is pricey but maybe this could help. My DH told
me today to not rush the vacuum. Learn all I can and make
a wise choice.

I look forward to hearing more info.
Thank you again. It is nice to know I am not alone in
this allergy war.
~boxer

As Eteinne mentioned it sounds like you don't have a very good built in vac. I would suggest a vac-u-flo. It is amazing just the amount of dust, etc. that ends up in the canister. And any overflow dust particles are vented to the outside. I have no affiliation with the vac. Just impressed with how well it works.

As having a child who was becoming asthmatic I put in the in-house vac coupled with a electronic air cleaner on the hvac system. By constantly filtering the air, and being OCD about daily vacuuming, he went back to just needing seasonal medication. I also would blow the areas around the entrance to the house (daily) in order to keep the pollen from being tracked in the house. One other thing was to make sure and take another shower after being outside all day. Helps wash the pollen off their bodies. So two/three showers a day was not uncommon.

As far as animals, we have always had one dog. And the breed we have had is a long hair variety that are seasonal shedders. But from what I understand it is the dander that is the real issue. They make a dander spray for pets. I don't know how well it works, but you might try it until you determine what you are going to do with your boxers.

Hopefully you will find the right combo in order to help your child.

You could upgrade your central vac and save your current unit. Then when you move you could switch out the units and take the better one with you - providing you'll have a CV in your next home.

As for vacuums - I used a Miele canniser and I found it so difficult to maneuver the power head that I took it back. I replaced it with a top of the line Kenmore Progressive canister that I love and I have another one at our vacation home. One is 10 years old, the other is 6 and they've been great. You have a choice of bags - a cloth bag and paper. I just use the paper, it's cheaper.

I am not sure why you are not using your Central vac on the rug. I can understand if you only have a suction only rug nozzle, but a power nozzle would do well. If you have the electric power nozzle, make sure that it is running properly. Check the belt and make sure the the brushroll is spinning while going over the rug. Make sure the bristles have not worn down so much that they are not effective at cleaning the carpet.

I would not suggest getting a new unit if you are only going to be there for a few years and money is an issue. A regular vacuum cleaner can be taken with you.

There are different levels of people with allergies and how much reaction they have. Personally, I have some allergies, but only require a thoroughly cleaned environment and a vacuum that filters well. I do not need the super duper tremendous filtration vacuum cleaner. There are others who must have the best filtering.

If you have carpeting and floors, you probably want a canister with power nozzle. If your child's allergies are terrible, look into a vacuum cleaner with a sealed system. This insures that any air goes through filters and does not escape through cracks before leaving the vacuum cleaner.

I do not know your cleaning routine, but you should make sure that you really keep the dust down. Dust often and vacuum everything. That means vacuuming the rugs, floors, furniture drapes, walls, etc. The walls do not have to be done every time you vacuum, but they do need to be done occasionally. Vacuum your mattress once a month. It is very easy to do. Don't put off vacuuming, because you do not see dirt. Dust is there, because dustmites are there(unseen). There is no need to remove carpeting, just vacuum more often. I love having carpeting. I do not want to be dusting floors daily; chasing dust across the floors.

A Miele vacuum cleaner, with a power nozzle, would work for you. I just do not care for their expensive bags. They have come out with a new and improved bag, decreased the number per package and raised the price. A better idea, for the customer, would be to give them a choice. Remember, earlier I said that people have different levels of allergies.

Take a look at Tacony's Riccar and Simplicity brands. They offer some canisters that have a sealed system like the Riccar Pristine or the Simplicity Verve. Go into the vac shop and take them for a test drive. Do not pay attention to the website prices, because they are MSRP. A good vac shop should have a better price. Cost of bags and filters are cheaper than Miele.

Another brand would be SEBO, but are expensive also.

I would suggest that if you look for a vacuum, take your child with you. See how the child reacts after the vacuum is turned on. You cold do this if you test the Kenmore line. Another cheaper vacuum would be the Hoover S3670. It does have the high filtration "HEPA" bags and filter, but it may not work for your child. It does filter well, but may be a problem if any dust escapes.

Dysons filter well, but the problem is when it has to be emptied. You would have to make sure the dirt bin is emptied outdoors. I do not care for the performance of many of the models on rugs except the DC17 and DC28 uprights.

Take your time when looking for a good vacuum cleaner.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simplicity

Thanks for the great advice.

My daughter's doc says I must be a good cleaner because
her allergies are so bad with Dust mites that she needs
an Epi-pen. So this means no dusting for her ever.
She is HSchool age.

I dust two times a week. I run my floor vacuum every
other day and the carpet vacuum then too.
The reason I do not like the CV for the carpets is that
it does not seem to clean as well. My hoover makes
the carpet look new. The CV picks up all the dust but
for some reason is not that great. The belts are all
new, I take it to a special Vacuum store that only sells
high quality sewing machines, air filters and vacuums.
I like this place because if you buy from them there is
free service for 5 years. And with my CV it is never
very much to change the belt.

But my system is probably 14 years old and not the top of
the line. I just ordered air filter systems for her
room and family room. Ouch this was pricey but they were
recommended by the doctor.

I have never heard of the Sebo but am reading about it on
line. I love German cars, appliances so I bet I am going
to love the Sebo.

I am also seriously thinking of updating my central vac
system even though I plan to move. I know nothing about
central vacs. I want one that has bags not the bagless
kind I currently have. I am going to do a little research
on a Hepa Filters for the Eureka I have before shelling
out cash for an entire new system. It might be possible
to upgrade what I have to at least trap some of the dust
mites. Eureka is now Electrolux for central vac upgrades.
So much to learn.

I had no idea my daughter would be dealing with this
allergy. I feel terrible for her. My other kids seem fine.
Guilt for not breast feeding her longer. : (

Truly thank you so much for all your information. I am
so thankful to have GW.
~boxer

No guilt allowed! I'm sure you made the best decision you could at the time.

We purchased the Miele Capricorn last year to replace a HEPA upright that we had had for about 15 years that just wore out. I had resisted the idea of a cannister vacuum, but I was wrong. I really do like the Miele.

I tried the Kenmore Progressive but found it difficult to maneuver. Preferences are very personal. Be sure to try out the vacuums before you purchase.

We also have allergies, although not as severely as your daughter. And a sweet, very hairy golden retriever. The Miele bags do seem to fill quickly due to the hair and are quite expensive. For us, it's worth it. That's a decision you will have to make for yourself.

I love the lighted powerhead on the Miele Capricorn. It's so much easier to see what I'm doing. I only wish the parquet floor attachment was lighted as well. That's one of the things that I didn't realize would be so helpful, but really is. And having the controls on the handle makes it easy to move from surface to surface on the go.

I've never had a central vac so don't have an opinion there. I just know that we are very pleased with the Miele.

In 1996, our house was new.

Looked for a good vac...couldn't care less about price. I wasn't about to get a sub-$100 cheap piece of crap!

Stumbled upon a small vacuum shop that sold Simplicity & bigger Bissel vacs.

The Simplicity 7250-upright we bought for $425 THEN is still going STRONG.
Good on-board tools.
Jeeeezz that things' got power! Good filtration too IMO. It has "exit"-air filter pads.

It's the only vac I'll even look at...

Faron

I bought a Dyson a few years ago and love it. It has hepa filter and I use it on my carpeted floors and then straight onto the tile in the kitchen. I also bought the smaller model last season to take with me when we go r.v.ing. I could not believe the amount of dust it picked up after I just finished vacuuming with my Kirby (which I promptly donated to the Sally Ann).