A few years ago, I mentioned to a friend, in passing, that I had vacuumed my garage. She looked at me like I had two heads.
“Well, how do you clean your garage floor then?”
“I don’t know. Jim does it, I think.”
To me, the central vac consistently holds the MVT award. MVT: Most Valuable Tool. I designate one at the end of each project. Other past MVTs include the hex attachment for the drill, the seam ripper, the packing tape dispenser, and the KitchenAid stand mixer.
The central vac is in a separate category. It works in all parts of the house on a regular basis, so how else would you pick up all that garage floor dust?
Well, let me tell you from experience: not with the Roomba. Ours is called Carl and, once upon a time, he had googly eyes. One of them went missing a couple of years ago and hasn’t been seen since. It’s probably stuck under the couch somewhere. Carl is now a cyclops.
And he did not like the garage when I tried the lazy approach last spring. Basically, he sent all that fine winter dust all over the garage and all over himself, including his sensors. He essentially blinded himself and was later found going around in circles. So, in the spring of 2026, my central vac is back in the garage.
Now, I can already hear some of you.
“You shouldn’t use that in the garage. That fine dust isn’t good for your vacuum.”
I get it. I also shouldn’t eat dessert and drink wine. Gotta live a little. So what if my vacuum lasts 18 years instead of 19? The freedom is glorious.
Besides, why would I buy a shop vac just for that? I already have a hand vac, the central vac, and Carl, of course. How many vacuums does one person need?
I don’t suck that badly!
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