Installing a central vacuum in an existing home

Traditionaly central vacuum systems have only been installed in new construction homes as they are being built. This is because of the bulky piping systems that are normally run through the walls of the home, making a retrofit of a central vacuum system difficult and expensive. The cost of a central vacuum system can run into the thousands of dollars, and to retrofit an existing home or condo can add thousands more.

Now with the Intervac Design Home/Condo units you can install your own central vacuum system in your residence without a contractor and for as little as $300 dollars. With these unique space saving vacuum cleaners you can enjoy all of the benefits of a traditional central vacuum at a fraction of the cost, and still install it in your existing home.

With a unit such as the RMF-581 pictured to the left, you can install the vacuum in a closet or any other hidden area with just the inlet valve showing in the living space. Just like a traditional central vacuum, when the hose is plugged into the inlet valve the vacuum starts automatically, stopping when the hose is removed from the inlet valve. These units can either be surface mounted on a wall or even flush mounted inside a 2x4 wall!

Don't let the low cost fool you, these vacuums are just as powerful as most central vacuum systems with a 12 Amp, twin fan motor and 100" of water lift.

All of the Intervac units use our specially designed HEPA type hypo-allergenic filtration bags which are a breeze to replace and hold about a gallon of tightly compacted debris.

We also have models which can be installed inside a kitchen cabinet out of sight with just the inlet valve showing. Again, just plug the hose into the inlet valve and the unit starts up automatically. With our 30 foot central vac hose you can clean several rooms from the same unit and inlet valve. One unit is perfect for a small home or condo, while multi level homes can put a unit on each floor at a fraction of the cost of a traditional central vacuum.

All of the Intervac Vacuum cleaners are built in the USA at our Palm City, Florida factory and come with an incredible 6 Year Warranty.
To learn more, please call 1-888-499-1925 or visit http://www.intervacdesign.com/
For your boat or RV, visit http://www.roadvac.com/ and for your Garage please visit http://www.garagevac.com/ to learn more.

Don't be fooled by the cheaper brand

Just because something has a well known "brand" name doesn't mean that it's a better product. Improved engineering and Made in the USA quality trumps brand name recognition every time! You can avoid the problems this fellow is having:

"I recently bought/installed a Hoover GUV for the garage. I know reviews are mixed on this. One problem that I've run into is what to do with the hose when not in use. Currently I have the power unit on the 1ft wide wall between garage doors with the hose running up to a long shelf made to fit between the garage door tracks. This allows the hose end to drop down next to the air/power reels in the middle of the garage. The problem so far with this setup is that you can't really push the hose back onto the shelf since it naturally wants to just flop to the side as you push. I have to haul out the ladder and pull the hose up onto the shelf.So I could:#1 - Locate a retracting vacuum hose reel to go along side the air/power reels. So far everything I've seen is either: too big and meant for exhaust systems, too small and meant for air, or only sold in Australia. #2 - Make some sort of hose traction motor for the end of the shelf that pulls the hose up and pushes it into the shelf area. Probably something like an old drill driving an RC car tire on a simple angle iron frame with another RC car 'idler' tire and the hose in-between. Then wire up/down buttons to the bottom of the shelf.Any other ideas? How has everyone else dealt with this? "

Here's how we deal with it, buy a Garage Vacuum with a stretch hose!

Pet brush for Vacuum

We're now offering a new product, the Pet Brush for Vacuums. This soft rubber brush is perfect for keeping Fido's coat clean and well groomed. The 1-1/4 inch connection fits most vacuums including central vacuum systems, but works especially well with the GarageVac's 40 foot stretch hose so that the vacuum cleaner noise is well away from the pet.

A thing of beauty on the wall

Our customers are always our biggest fans. Just found this link back to our site from an auto detailing forum. autotopia
" For regular dry vacuuming, I just bought a GarageVac. Made in the US, 6 year warranty, 100 CFM, 100" of water lift, 12 amp motor, 4" deep on the wall with a 40' hose that contracts to 8'. It is also a thing of beauty on the wall. If a vacuum can be called beautiful, this is it.): "

Facebook fan promotion

Become a Fan of the GarageVac on Facebook by clicking the box on the upper left side of the Blog. We're going to be giving away a set of micro tools to one lucky member once we reach 100 fans. You can also post photos of your own GarageVac installation, ask questions, and find out about our upcoming specials and discounts.

Fourth of July

Nothing says quality like a 'Made in the USA' stamp! We were looking over the included warranty information of one of our competitor vacuums the other day. Yes, you can get one made 'over there' for less money, but their warranty was for one year and didn't cover the motor at all!?!?

If you came across this blog because you're looking for a garage vacuum, take a look at the highest quality garage vacuum available for sale today. This unique American made wall mount Garage Vacuum comes with a full 6 Year Warranty. And yes, it covers the motor!!!!

GarageVac for Father's Day Winner!!

Congratulations to Amanda Yashirin of Lincoln, NE for being the lucky winner of a Free GarageVac for Father's Day!!!! She was selected out of over a thousand entries for our contest on www.garagevac.com I hope Dad enjoys the new garage vacuum Amanda!

New Product, 10' Stretch hose extension

Our latest product, the stretch hose extension! This 2 foot hose connects right to your other Intervac vacuum hose and adds an additional 10 feet of reach.

Click Here to learn more and order now

Pin Striped GarageVac

Click image for larger view- This is a hand-painted pinstripe GarageVac, available upon request for a small extra fee. Contact us at http://www.garagevac.com/ for more info

How NOT to use a garage vacuum

From the Niagara Gazette , April 21 2010

• ACCIDENT: A resident of A Street narrowly avoided serious injury in an early morning mishap Wednesday that involved gasoline, a car and a vacuum cleaner. At 2:53 a.m., firefighters from the Royal Avenue station were alerted to respond to an automobile fire in the first block of A Street. On arrival, firefighters found a 1996 Buick on fire. The fire was quickly brought under control, but the nearby home did sustain a slight amount of damage. Apparently the resident was siphoning gas from the car and during the process some gasoline spilled onto the ground. In an attempt to clean up the gasoline, the resident decided to use a vacuum cleaner. The electrical motor of the vacuum ignited the gasoline, which in turn ignited the automobile. Most electrical appliances are not intrinsically safe and can easily ignite flammable and combustible vapors. If gasoline is spilled, it is best to use some type of absorbent material to remove the hazard. Never store absorbent material that has come into contact with gasoline or dangerous liquids inside a structure or near any heat source.

See the GarageVac at the National Hardware Show

Come see the exciting new GarageVac at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas on May 4th, 5th and 6th. Owners Peter and Susan Schlapkohl will be there to answer all of your questions. If you're attending the show, stop by and see us at booth #2713

How to find a Garage Vacuum near you

So you stumbled across this blog and now you want to find out where to see this cool wall mount vacuum for yourself. Maybe you've got some ideas for putting it to a different use like a craft room vacuum or something you could take to your RV and you need to see how it will fit. Or you might not believe the claims and want to see for yourself just how powerful this vacuum is. Click the picture to find a GarageVac dealer near you. If there isn't one, call 1-888-499-1825

Customer Service

Want great customer service from your vacuum cleaner manufacturer?

Call us at 772-463-1400..........and listen to a real person answer the phone!

Mon-Fri 8 am to 4:30 Eastern.

Flush Mount the Garage Vacuum in your Wall

The GarageVac by InterVac Design is the only vacuum on the market capable of being flush mounted inside a 2x4 wall. The patented design allows for a cleaner, less obtrusive installation than has ever been possible before.



First, find a spot in the wall where you would like to mount the unit which is close to a stud. It's best to mount one side into the 2x4 for the strongest support possible. Cut out the hole for the GarageVac using the provided template. Hardwire the unit to a breaker or existing electrical outlet with Romex cable and install in the cutout. The Flush mount GarageVac comes with special mounting brackets for hanging the hose along the unit as shown in the pictures.



With the unique stretch hose that extends out to 40 feet, now you can have the benefits of a central vacuum in your garage without taking up all the space. The Garage Vacuum also comes in 4 great colors to match your interior, Black, Red, Gray, and White.



If you don't want to cut a hole in your wall and hardwire the GarageVac, that's ok too, because the hanging model is incredibly easy to install with just the 4 provided screws and template. Then you can remove and place the vacuum on the wall similiar to a picture frame.



And it's not like it takes up a whole lot of space!

QVC Vacuum Demo Disaster

Hilarious! This is not our vacuum!! However, it's a perfect example of why you want to buy a quality unit built here in America.

Garage Vacuum specifications and ratings

Sealed Suction or Inches of Water Lift and how they relate to vacuum cleaners:

The sealed suction of a vacuum cleaner as rated in inches of water lift is a good indication of how well it will perform, especially when comparing systems with higher resistance to the air flow. The air flow is proportional to the amount of suction produced by the motor and inversely proportional to the total resistance to air flow within the complete system. Therefore, if everything else is equal, the more suction produced by the motor, the better the performance of the system. The sealed suction rating is somewhat greater than the suction normally produced when operating with air flow. It indicates the maximum suction which can be produced by the motor as described in the section about the load on the suction motor. Since the sealed suction rating is measured with absolutely no air flow, it is not affected by the resistance to air flow within the system. If there are no leaks within the system, the sealed suction as measured on a gauge will be the same at the cleaning nozzle as it is at the suction motor. Even if the filter system is extremely restrictive, the sealed suction will not be affected by it. Alternately, when air flow is present, the actual suction will decrease as resistance to the air flow increases between the suction motor and the point where it is measured.

GarageVac sealed suction=> 100" of water lift The other garage vacuums, 55-95"

Amperage Ratings and Vacuum:

The amperage rating shows the maximum amount of electrical current which normally flows through the vacuum cleaner's electrical system. This is the sum of the amounts flowing through the suction motor and electronic components. A rating of twelve amps is the maximum permitted for any appliance which plugs into a standard household electrical outlet. Don't be fooled by ridiculous HorsePower ratings, which have nothing to do with vacuum suction.

GarageVac Amp rating=> 12 Amps The other garage vacuums, 8-10 amps

Garage Vacuum

Come see the GarageVac in Tampa this weekend!

This weekend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday March 19-21 you are cordially invited to come see the GarageVac at the Tampa Woodworking Show. Our production supervisor Armando will be there to answer all of your questions. Tell him you heard about it on the blog, and get a show special!
Click here for a map to the show

The advantages of HEPA filtration

You've probably heard the term 'hepa filter' before, but maybe never understood exactly what it meant. Well, let me clear the air and tell you the facts about HEPA filters and why it makes the wall mount garage vacuum a better vacuum.

HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) filters got their start back in the 1940's during the Manhatten project when nuclear engineers were looking for a better way to filter radioactive particulate from the air. The technology has advanced and today our Hepa and Hepa style filters remove 99.7% of particulate .3 microns in size. To put that in perspective, the average human hair is 50 to 150 microns wide. That's not to say that particles smaller than .3 micron get past the filter, both smaller and larger are stopped it's just .3 micron is the size where 99.7% are blocked. For a vacuum, filtering out the dust, allergens, and pollen is important because you want to catch those particles, not just recirculate them through your vacuum and back into the room. For allergy sufferers and people with weakened immune systems, it's vital to remove the very small pollen and yes, dust mite feces from the environment.

You may be thinking "it's just a filter, big deal". However, the Hepa filter doesn't work like a common sieve type, where there are holes of a certain size and anything bigger gets blocked. The Hepa style filter is actually a collection of usually fiberglass fibers that collect particulate through 3 different means. Interception and Impaction are methods where particulate run into the fibers and either embed into it or stick to it. The other method, Diffusion, is a result of the collision with gas molecules by the smallest particles, usually those below .1 micron in diameter, which are thereby impeded and delayed in their journey through the filter. This is called 'Brownian motion', named after a Scottish botanist named Robert Brown who happened to be the first guy to stare at dust through a microscope.

If you have allergies, asthma, or any other breathing related issues than a hepa style vacuum will clearly make a difference in your life. Even if you don't have breathing issues, don't you still want the best garage vacuum available?

Hopefully you now know everything there is to know about Hepa filtration, but if you still have questions give us a call, we're the vacuum experts! 1-772-463-1400

Win a Free GarageVac for Father's Day

Help Dad complete his Man Cave this Father's Day with a Free GarageVac from InterVac Design. Just Click Here to register to Win! No purchase necessary. Tell your friends and share the link.

Don't just take OUR word for it....

What a great vacuum review! Thanks for the kind words John

THANK YOU for making such an amazing..AMAZING product/vacuum! we found a brand new, still in the box, wall/flush mount system at an auction (we moved here from NY 6months ago) a few months back for little money. they had no idea what it was; apparently it was a QVC or other type unsold item and wound up at this auction. after buying our home and doing all the fun touch up/finishing touches... i flush mounted the system where it would allow the hose to reach just about everywhere throughout our entire home (with a bit of stretching it to its max). it is by far, the BEST vacuum we have ever had; and we have had just about every kind and price range. NONE of them have or had the 'neatness, ease of use, strong-well-built attachments, way-long reach hose, incredible metal telescoping tube, most of all, its excellent suction and cleaning. we LOVE IT!! it may not be those HUGE, expensive, monster installation central vac systems with all the bells and whistles (whatever they may be), but this rather small, neat and compact unit is just awesome for eveyday use. it is convenient, easy to install, maintain and change the bags; which are HEPA. we just love it and have never 'thanked' a company before on a product....so you are the first, and you deserve it! by the way, our home is a single floor approx 2000 sq.ft Southern Homes home with wood and tile floors.. this vac does the job! again.. thanks!
John Martini- Lakeland, FL

Brooks Laich Garage Makeover

Washington Capitals hockey star Brooks Laich recently had his garage renovated by Potomac Garage Solutions, and because he demands the best they of course installed a Garage Vacuum by GarageVac. You can see the entire makeover video below. (hint: the best part is at 2:07-09 into the video!)

The Truth About Horsepower

Most manufacturers of garage vacuums and shop vacuums are marketing their vacuums as 4 to 5 PeakHorsepower PHP. Lately GarageVac had no choice but to follow this trend.

No matter what you call it, PHP, HP, or horsepower, it's all just horse hockey when it comes to the performance of a vacuum cleaner.
To put it into the simplest terms: When it comes to vacuum cleaners, horsepower is a bogus,fictitious number having no relationship to the performance or cleaning ability of the product.

It is not based upon the nominal operating current of the vacuum cleaner, but on the in-rush current to the motor when first turned on.
The peak in-rush current lasts no more than 0.008 to 0.012 seconds. It is often inflated by chilling the motor to temperatures as low as -20F.
Four horsepower equates to 2983 Watts, or 24.9 Amps, at 120Volt under ideal conditions. This would greatly exceed the voltage supply circuits and blow the circuit breaker in a home.
It is a 100% marketing gimmick. In other words, it's just horse hockey.

For the technical person:
Horsepower is not based upon the normal operating current of the motor. It is calculated using the maximum in-rush current. In-rush current is the current a motor sees when first started up, before the effects of winding inductance come into play. A motor with a nominal operating current of 12A can easily have an in-rush current of 30A to greater than 50A, depending upon the windings. It typically lasts for only 8 to 12 milliseconds (0.008 to 0.012 seconds). Some manufacturers attempt to maximize the in-rush current by conditioning the motor at very low temperatures (as low as -20F). This lowers the motor resistance, thus increases the in-rush current.
Power is equal to volts times amps. Even ignoring the efficiency and power factor of the motor, a motor with a nominal 12A current @ 120V will only produce 1, 440 Watts. There are 745.7 Watts per horsepower. Thus, under the best of conditions, the motor will only produce 1.9 hp. A motor touting 4 hp would have to produce 2983 Watts. With that power, the motor would be drawing 24.9 Amps. Horsepower is determined for the motor (without any fan blades), not the vacuum cleaner system, and does not take into account any normal system losses (air leaks, restrictions, piping and the like).

This became such an issue in the late 1980s and early 1990s that Underwriters Laboratories and the Canadian Standards Association put wording into the vacuum cleaner standard prohibiting horsepower from appearing on the products electrical rating label.
Horsepower has no bearing on the performance of the product.

Top 10 Reasons GarageVac is better than a wet/dry

1. The GarageVac is more powerful. Wet/dry vacs must use a bypass motor for their suction to prevent moisture from damaging the motor, while a dry vacuum can use a flow-through design which creates a more powerful vacuum.
2. The GarageVac takes up less space. With a slim 4 inch profile, the GarageVac can even be mounted inside a 2x4 stud wall. If you choose the hanging model, it still takes up very little space on your wall unlike the big, bulky trash can style vacs.
3. The GarageVac mounts on a wall and has a hose that stretches out to 40 feet, so you don’t have to roll the awkward wet/dry beast around and bang it into or scratch your vehicle while trying to detail your car. And unlike those tube style blower/vacuums that exhaust out the back end and blow all the dust around, you don't have to roll or carry the GarageVac.
4. Better Filtration. The GarageVac uses a high quality hepa type filter which prevents dust and allergens from being returned into the air. No more dust blowing into your face when you bend over to start up the wet/dry vac.
5. You don’t have to find a place to stow your vacuum. The GarageVac mounts on a wall in under 5 minutes. However, you can still take it down and move it to your boat or RV, where you continue to enjoy all of its unique space saving features.
6. Stylish, high-tech design. Unlike the wet/dry vacs or tube style vacs that haven’t changed their appearance in 50 years, the GarageVac is made of high quality polycarbonate and features a sleek new design.
7. We have a 6 Year Warranty. That means the GarageVac only costs $3.50 a month to own. That discount wet/dry vac might seem a bargain at first glance, but check what kind of warranty comes with it.
8. The GarageVac is faster and easier to use. Because it mounts on the wall with all of its accessories, the GarageVac takes a lot less time to use. No more of that laborious task of digging out the buried wet/dry behemoth, finding the lost attachments, moving it to where you need to vacuum, finding a place to plug it in, etc. Watch this video to see how easily the GarageVac performs.
9. Made in the USA to exacting standards. Every GarageVac is tested at the factory before leaving.
10. The GarageVac comes in 4 different colors to match your garage. Black, Red, Gray, or White

Drew Carey, Come on down with the GarageVac

Yes, that's right, that was the Garage Vac you saw last week on The Price Is Right, hosted by veteran comedian Drew Carey. Talk about some happy prize winners!


Ok, so you didn't win the new car, but with the versatile garage vacuum by GarageVac now you can clean up your old one and make it look like new!

The GarageVac comes standard with all the attachments needed for cleaning that car or garage including an adjustable telescoping aluminum wand, crevice tool, dashboard brush, upholstery tool and floor tool.

Garage Vacuums by GarageVac, The 10 minute step to a cleaner garage

Looking for a Garage Vacuum? You've found it. The Garage Vac by Intervac Design Corp is a compact, powerful central vacuum system for your garage, home or workshop. It's so small that it can be flush mounted into a 2x4 stud wall, or the Garage vacuum can be hung on the wall completely out of the way. The unique 40 foot hose reduces to just 8' for easy storage along with the unit. Watch the video, and then go to http://www.garagevac.com/ to learn more: