Reference1869 to 2026
History of the central vacuum
Nobody had written this down in one place, so we did. Five eras, from compressed-air carpet renovators in mansions to a hose that hides in the wall, with the makers that shaped the industry and the standards that let their parts fit together. Dates come from patent records, standards bodies, company histories and trade press; where they disagree, we say so.
Dates from the timeline below.
The timeline
From the machine room to the garage wall
The central vacuum is older than the portable vacuum. It began as a building-scale machine for mansions and offices, nearly disappeared when small motors made portables cheap, and came back in the 1950s and 60s once plastic pipe made it affordable in an ordinary house. The last decade has been about who owns the brands.
Before the house system1869 to the 1930s: blowing, then sucking, in buildings big enough to justify a machine room
- 1869
The hand-cranked "Whirlwind"
Ives McGaffey of Chicago patents a portable hand-cranked sweeper. Not a central system, but the first practical attempt at machine cleaning of carpets in the home.
- 1899
Thurman's pneumatic carpet renovator
John S. Thurman of St. Louis is granted US patent 634,042. His machine blew compressed air into the carpet to drive the dust out; it collected nothing. Within a few years he was offering built-in versions for buildings.
- 1901
Booth turns the idea around
Hubert Cecil Booth in London patents suction cleaning. His petrol-engined "Puffing Billy" was horse-drawn to the building and its hoses run in through the windows. His company prospectus is the first recorded use of the phrase "vacuum cleaner".
- 1905
Spencer Turbine builds stationary cleaners
Ira Hobart Spencer founds the Spencer Turbine Cleaner Company in Hartford to make installed turbine cleaners for large buildings: low suction, light hoses, pipe in the walls. The company itself dates its origins to 1892. It still sells commercial central vacuum systems today.
- 1910s
Arco Wand and TUEC
American Radiator Company catalogs the Arco Wand stationary cleaner for "cottages, mansions, offices"; The United Electric Company of Canton, Ohio sells its TUEC built-in cleaners. Collectors still find both in older mansions and hotels.
- 1914
Built into a famous house
Orville Wright's Hawthorn Hill in Oakwood, Ohio is completed with a compressed-air central cleaning system of his own design. Stan Hywet Hall in Akron opened three years later with a built-in system too.
- 1930s
Portables win the house
Small, powerful motors make portable vacuums cheap and effective, and built-in systems retreat to institutions. The idea waits for a cheaper pipe.
The residential system1945 to 1979: plastic pipe, the first house brands, and the Canadian industry
- 1945
H-P Products founded in Louisville, Ohio
Harold Bishop and Paul Schumacher start with gas conversion burners and move into tubing and fittings for industrial central vacuum. The company is still family-run and still in Louisville.
- 1955
Vacuflo True Cyclonic
H-P launches the Vacuflo residential power unit, which separates dirt by cyclone with no bag or filter. The company counts it as the first residential central vacuum line; the claim is its own.
- 1956
VacuMaid begins in Ponca City, Oklahoma
Thermodynamics Inc. starts building units in 1956 and takes the VacuMaid name in 1960. It becomes Lindsay Manufacturing in 1987 and remains family-owned.
- 1957
Beam Industries, Webster City, Iowa
The old Beam Manufacturing Company is sold and Beam Industries emerges under R.L. Sampson, building central vacuums and nothing else. It will become the biggest name in the US market.
- 1959
Lightweight plastic tubing
H-P introduces thin, inexpensive plastic tubing for residential systems, by its own timeline; one newspaper account puts it in 1952. Either way, this is the change that makes a central vacuum affordable in an ordinary house.
- 1960
Trovac founded in Quebec
Les Industries Trovac is founded by Jacques Bruneau. It creates the Cyclo Vac brand in 1976 and, sixty years on, owns more North American central vacuum brands than anyone.
- Early 1960s
PVC replaces metal pipe
Extruded PVC pipe takes over from metal tubing across the industry. Central vacuum becomes a mainstream option in new North American homes, with Canada adopting it faster than the United States.
- 1966
Canplas starts in British Columbia
Canplas begins making ABS and PVC fittings in New Westminster. Its Vaculine division, now in Barrie, Ontario, goes on to make a large share of the industry's inlet valves and fittings.
- 1967
NuTone sold to Scovill
The Corbett family sells NuTone, the Cincinnati door-chime and fan maker, to Scovill Manufacturing. NuTone's central vacuum line is a later addition; sources put its start anywhere from the late 1950s to 1973.
- 1969
Husky enters central vacuum
Husky begins developing central vacuum products in Quebec, the start of a brand that later spreads through a French dealer network.
- 1971
Remote control patented
Perry W. Sparrow is granted US patent 3,626,545 for a central vacuum switched on and off by wireless remote, the ancestor of today's radio-frequency hose handles.
- 1974
Electrolux buys Eureka
AB Electrolux of Sweden acquires Eureka-Williams of Detroit. The Eureka name will later go on Beam-built central vacuums.
- 1976
Cyclo Vac brand created
Trovac launches Cyclo Vac, the burgundy units that remain its flagship line.
Consolidation and the 2-inch standard1980 to 1999: a trade association, a common pipe size, and the big appliance groups move in
- 1980
The dealers organize
The Vacuum Dealers Trade Association is formed by J.R. Beall and Charles Dunham; its newsletter starts in 1981 and its first trade show follows in 1982. It still certifies central vacuum installers.
- 1982
Drainvac and Johnny Vac founded
Conrad Sévigny starts Drainvac in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, building wet-and-dry central vacuums that drain through the pipe. The same year Jean Beaulac starts the Montreal distributor that becomes Johnny Vac.
- 1986
2 in OD pipe becomes the standard
H-P moves Vacuflo from 1-13/16 in tubing to 2 in outside-diameter thin-wall pipe, and the rest of the industry settles on it. Every standard inlet, fitting and power unit sold since assumes this size.
- 1987
Electrolux buys Beam
AB Electrolux acquires Beam Industries from the Sampson family. Every account agrees on 1987, though no original announcement has surfaced. The same year VacuMaid becomes Lindsay Manufacturing and Valor of the UK buys NuTone.
- 1994
Hayden inlets under Canplas
Canplas files the Hayden SuperVac trademark, placing Hayden's inlet business, including the SuperValve electrified inlet, under Canplas by this date. Hayden's power-unit line later goes to Trovac.
- 1998
Nortek buys NuTone
Nortek acquires NuTone from Williams plc for $242.5 million and merges it with Broan to form Broan-NuTone the following year.
- Late 1990s
The retractable hose is conceived
Gary Drivstuen of Monroe, Washington, after nearly tripping over a hose and watching a bank's pneumatic tube, starts work on a hose that lives inside the pipe. It becomes Hide-A-Hose.
Licensing, standards and the retractable hose2000 to 2017: big appliance names on licensed units, ASTM standards, and the housing boom and bust
- 2000
Dirt Devil central vacuums, built by H-P
H-P Products begins building Dirt Devil, Royal and Platinum Force central vacuums under an exclusive license from Royal Appliance, later TTI Floor Care. H-P's own timeline gives 2001. The license is still how Dirt Devil central vacuums are made.
- 2001
ASTM F2158: the pipe standard
ASTM approves F2158, the specification for residential central vacuum tube and fittings, on December 10, 2001. Revised in 2008 and reapproved as recently as 2024, it is the reason any maker's fitting goes on any maker's pipe.
- 2003
Hide-A-Hose patent filed
Rod and Gary Drivstuen and James Harman file the provisional application for the retractable hose central vacuum; US patent 7,010,829 is granted on March 14, 2006 and expired in 2024.
- 2004
Honeywell-branded units arrive
A Honeywell central vacuum line of four power units and three cleaning sets launches through the distributor ADI. Parts listings point to Beam as the builder.
- 2007
BEAM by Electrolux
Beam is rebranded "BEAM by Electrolux Central Vacuum Systems" and markets Beam, Eureka and Electrolux central vacuums from the same plant. ASTM publishes F2647, the installation guide, the same year.
- 2008
H-P distributes Hide-A-Hose
Hide-A-Hose reports 300 authorized dealers, and H-P Products becomes its distributor, putting the retractable hose into the Vacuflo dealer network.
- 2012
Peak builder adoption
An industry builder survey finds about 18 percent of new US homes get a central vacuum, up sharply since 2007; the next year's survey shows the number falling again as builders cut amenities after the housing bust.
- 2013
Screens on the hose handle
Beam's Alliance line puts a two-way "Smart Screen" display in the hose handle. In Germany, powerhead maker Wessel-Werk is bought out of insolvency by a private equity firm and keeps supplying brushes to the industry.
- 2016
Eureka goes to Midea
Electrolux sells the Eureka brand to Midea Group; the Eureka central vacuum line ends with it.
- 2017
Trovac buys Hayden; Cana-Vac changes hands
Trovac takes over the Hayden power-unit business and relaunches the SuperVac line. In April, Cana-Vac of Stratford, Ontario is bought by Johnny Vac's president and two partners. A builder survey the same year says 74 percent of builders offer central vacuum and 15 percent of new homes get one.
Electrolux exits, Trovac and Drainvac rise2018 to 2026: the US giant leaves, two Quebec companies gather the brands
- 2018
Electrolux sells Beam to Nuera Air
On August 8, 2018 Electrolux announces the sale of its global central vacuum business, Beam, to Nuera Air of Laval, Quebec. Nuera already runs Husky and DuoVac and buys InterVac the next year.
- 2021
Broan-NuTone to Madison Industries
Madison Industries agrees to buy Nortek Air, including Broan-NuTone, for about $3.6 billion. NuTone's central vacuum line has two years left.
- 2023
NuTone exits; Drainvac takes the line
Broan-NuTone discontinues its central vacuum line on August 31, 2023. The next day Drainvac announces it has acquired the NuTone, Broan and Venmar central vacuum business, and NuTone's pages now say the line is owned by Drainvac.
- 2024
Nuera halts; Trovac buys Beam
Nuera Air stops production of all its brands on April 2, 2024 without public explanation. In June, Trovac acquires Beam; units it builds from September 2024 carry Trovac's warranty. Trovac picks up DuoVac, Husky, SoluVac, Smart and InterVac as well, having absorbed Cana-Vac shortly before.
- 2024
The retractable patent expires
The 2006 Hide-A-Hose patent runs out on June 4, 2024, and ASTM reapproves F2158 the following month. The industry now has three retractable systems: Hide-A-Hose, Vacuflo's Chameleon and Cyclovac's Retraflex.
- 2025
A central vacuum without pipe
Drainvac launches the MP-AIR series, a central-style unit that needs no in-wall piping, modeled on former Venmar, Broan and NuTone units.
- 2026
Kenmore comes back, built by Drainvac
On April 7, 2026 Kenmore & Brands announces that Drainvac will design, build and distribute Kenmore central vacuums for North America, with a launch expected in the third quarter. Drainvac also launched its Elegance series in January.
Green marks technology and standards, teal founders and products, gold acquisitions and licenses, orange sales and exits. Company founding dates are the companies' own; acquisition dates are from press releases or trade press unless noted.
Technology
Six changes that explain today's system
Strip away the brand names and the central vacuum has changed in six ways. Each one is the reason some part of your system looks the way it does.
-
Blowing becomes sucking
Thurman (1899) blew dust out of carpets with compressed air; Booth (1901) reversed it to suction and the principle has not changed since.
1899 to 1901 -
A pipe cheap enough for a house
Copper and steel tubing in the mansion systems; thin-wall plastic from H-P in 1959; PVC everywhere by the early 1960s; 2 in OD as the common size from 1986; ASTM F2158 from 2001.
1959 to 2001 -
Switching from the inlet
Two low-voltage contacts in the inlet, bridged by the hose cuff, start the unit. Handle switches and electric hoses follow, then direct-connect inlets that carry 120 V for a powerhead.
1970s onward -
Separating the dirt
Cyclonic separation with no bag (Vacuflo 1955), disposable bags, inverted and self-cleaning cloth filters, and today's hybrid units that run bagged or bagless.
1955 onward -
The hose goes into the wall
Hide-A-Hose, patented 2006: the hose is stored in the pipe and pulled out at the inlet. Vacuflo's Chameleon and Cyclovac's Retraflex follow; a 2013 Beam line adds a screen to the handle.
2006 onward -
Going pipeless and going online
Drainvac's 2025 MP-AIR puts a central-style unit in a home with no piping. In Europe, Aertecnica claims the first Wi-Fi and voice-assistant power unit (2023); no North American maker had matched it when we checked.
2023 onward
Each change is dated in the timeline above.
Adoption
How many homes have one
The best public numbers come from builder surveys, and they move with the housing market. New-home installations climbed through the 2000s boom, peaked around 2012 and fell back as builders dropped amenities. Canada has always piped a larger share of its new homes than the United States, which is why so much of the industry is in Quebec and Ontario.
Consumer Technology Association and National Association of Home Builders survey figures as reported in the trade press.
Where the record disagrees
Dates we could not pin down
A few milestones have two dates in print and no original document we could find. We show the better-supported one above and list the conflict here rather than pick silently.
H-P's plastic tubing: 1952 or 1959
H-P's own milestones say 1959. A 2001 newspaper profile credits the company with light-wall tubing in 1952.
Electrolux buys Beam: 1987
Every dealer history and directory says 1987, but Electrolux's published timeline omits it and no announcement has surfaced. Treat the year as well supported, not documented.
Spencer Turbine: 1892, 1895 or 1905
The company dates itself to 1892; an organ-builders' database says 1895; the Turbine Cleaner Company itself is usually dated 1905.
Booth and Westminster Abbey: 1901 or 1902
Booth's machine is said to have cleaned the Abbey carpets before Edward VII's coronation. The coronation was in August 1902; many retellings say 1901.
NuTone's first central vacuum
Accounts range from the late 1950s to 1973. NuTone's own history does not date it, so the timeline above gives the company sale in 1967 instead.
The Dirt Devil license: 2000 or 2001
H-P's company history says 2000 and its milestones page says 2001. The license itself is not in doubt.
Who owns your brand now?
Half the names on this page have changed hands since 2017, and the owner decides who honors the warranty and stocks the parts. The brand timeline tracks every sale, license and exit.