Toe Kick Vacuums May Be the Most Genius Kitchen Invention Ever

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was The Kitchn's founding Design and Lifestyle Editor as well as Managing Editor of Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s late '00s green living site. She now thinks a lot about design, kids, and designy kids' things. She lives with her two daughters and their father in St. Paul, MN.
updated Jul 16, 2020
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(Image credit: Christine Han)

I realize the title of this post is the very definition of hyperbolic, but I allow myself to bask in hyperbole when I come across something that’s clearly straight out of the Genius Factory. (You know the one — it’s the same factory, I presume, that produced this nibble pan and this whisk tealight holder.)

Toe kick vacuums — also called baseboard vacuums, or automatic dustpans — are technology’s answer to the fine line of dirt that brooms and dustpans always (always, always!) leave behind. Here’s how they work, and why ideally every kitchen would have one.

It works like this: If you have a central vacuum system in your home, you can install a VacPan inlet (like this one by Nutone) in your kitchen’s baseboard or toe kick. After sweeping the kitchen, just maneuver the dirt pile over to the VacPan, flip the toe switch, and let the VacPan suction all the dirt inside and straight to the central vacuum. No bending over, no dustpans, no dirt line.

See it in action here:

Like I said, genius.

If this doesn’t excite the cleaning geek in you, then … nah, I don’t believe it. There has to be a little part of you that’s impressed, right?

Filed in:
Cleaning
Cleaning Tools
Interior Design
renovating
technology