How can I remove a clog in a central vacuum system?

Question

We have a central vacuum system in our house:

Original Photo UR: www.homesandgardenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/central-vacuum-300x235.jpg

Somewhere along the line, something got stuck so various rooms do not have suction.

How can I unblock it? Should I try fishing it out, or will that just jam it in further (I don't know what it is in there). I suppose if I got enough line, I could just keep pushing it till it came out the end.

I'm comfortable / competent enough that if I need to cut into the wall and remove that part of the pipe and replace it, I could do that too - though then how do I figure out where the blockage is?

you could reverse the suction (attach a vacuum cleaner on the port while the system is shut off) and see if that loosens the clog — ratchet freak, Jan 23 '12 at 18:02
@ratchetfreak Interesting; will give that a go this evening. — vcsjones, Jan 23 '12 at 18:11
@ratchetfreak A variant of that seems to have solved it (it was a sock). If you post as an answer I'll accept. — vcsjones, Jan 24 '12 at 19:26

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 24 '12 at 20:19

7

you could reverse the suction by attaching a vacuum cleaner on the port while the system is shut off and see if that loosens the clog

answered Jan 24 '12 at 20:19

ratchet freak

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How can I remove a clog in a central vacuum system?

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