Anyone own an Oreck vacuum cleaner? (1 Viewer)

[Michael*K]

Specifically, one of the Oreck XL vacuum cleaners. I always see the commercials ("..used by major hotel chains!") and have seen one in their store (sucking up beads.) But I wondered what they were like in real home environments with stuff like dirt or pet hair. I currently have a cannister vac and I hate dragging the thing around everywhere. I love uprights, but I have hardwood floors and didn't want to risk damaging them. But the Oreck model is said to work welll on hardwood or carpeting (useful for area rugs througout the house.) Any comments are appreciated.

 

[Jenna]

Perfect timing, Mike.

I purchased an Oreck XL in 1994, after using a Eureka for about a decade. The Oreck was VERY expensive, and yes, it worked very well...until this weekend (ironically). For some reason, the engine started "slowing down" with every 4-5 sweep. Then the vacuum started to smell. I checked the belt (which is still like new) and found no problem there. Cleaned the roller brush. Still no improvement. Cleaned the entire thing...but it's still not picking up dirt. In fact, it's spewing what little dirt flakes it will pick up. Considering the cost of the thing (over $300), I dread seeing how much it will cost to fix it.
Please note that I treated this particular Oreck like gold. It's NOT been abused in any way. Just basic use in a 3-bedroom home.

It is lighter than the usual vacuum...but I really expected it to last a lot longer. BTW, you can only find replacement bags at a dealer...and they're expensive too.

Seems that I'm in the market for a new vacuum now, too.

 

[Walt N]

My sister bought an Oreck. Looking at it I've concluded it's the Bose of vacuum cleaners ie. big hype marketing and criminally overpriced for what it is. Consumer Reports usually has a good breakdown of what's good and they're usually the cheap Hoovers and Eureka's one finds at Walmart. I've got a 7 year old Eureka that sees heavy duty at least 3 times a week (2 dogs) and it's been great. I paid about $175 for it. I replaced the roller brush recently and it was only about $25.

 

[Peter Kline]

Speaking of vacuum cleaners, I always get a kick out of the demos on the shopping networks. First they use another cleaner then the model they're selling to show how much more "dirt" there still is. It usually isn't really dirt but carpet nap. My understanding is that although convenient, bagless vacuums have less suction power then the bag types. I have a Hoover that uses bags. It seems to work pretty well.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

I'll have to disagree with Peter, I use a Phantom vacumn cleaner (bagless) which killed my old hoover by a mile. The only thing I hate is dumping the dust collector and must do this outdoors as it gets everywhere. I don't believe in any one vacumn cleaner is the best but specific vacumn cleaners that specialize in their respective areas almost always does the job either quicker or better. I own a hoover steam vac (shampooer), Red Devil portable (for stairs with a beater, the best stair solution I've ever tried), shop vac (for the garage and major liquid problems), mini-hoover wet&dry (great for quick little messes), and of course the Phantom (only other bad thing about it was the power switch but luckily it's stuck in the on position) all of which sucks (in a good way).

The only two vacumn cleaners that I heartily recommend against Little Green Clean machine (lacks suction power and now power brush to work into the carpet fabric) and Kirby (this is the Bose of Vacumn cleaners and highly over-priced in the $1000 bracket, actually took the 1 day sale training course).

 

[Philip_G]

I agree with walt!
I use a $99 hoover and have had no problems in 7 years, hell if I DID have a problem I'd bin the hoover and buy another.

 

[Tim Kilbride]

I purchased an Electrolux about 10 years ago...it was expensive, but it rocks. My sister in law moved in with us for a brief stint and she brought one of the new bagless type upright units (Tornado or such, I believe). She could vacuum a room until her unit it would not pickup anything else...and then I would go over the room one time with mine and it would pickup at least half of what hers would in one pass. I was blown away. All the sales hype was true. Her unit was not as pricey as mine, but hers was not cheap by any means...


Just my .02...

Thanks
Tim K.

 

[Peter Kline]

Consumer Reports tested bagless and bag units and found the latter were more efficent. I've had both and concur.

 

[Brian Perry]

The best vaccuum cleaner I've ever had is from a company you wouldn't really associate with vaccuums: Sharp. Their model TWT14 is $129 and will just about suck a golf ball through a garden hose.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

Isn't consumer reports the same magazine that gave Bose a bad rating and then turned around and start giving them positive ratings? Personally I don't trust that mag.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Consumer reports is not believable for something subjective like audio equipment, but for something like vaccume cleaners, they are the best source of information.

I got their top rated vaccum cleaner and it sucks bigtime (works great). It was cheap, too. Seems to be fine on my hardwood.

 

[Michael*K]

Thanks for the tips. I guess the "Bose of vacuum cleaners" is a telling analogy. I appreciate the fact that the Oreck is light, but I wouldn't like having to go to their stores to pick up replacement bags. And I have to say I'll always go with a bag model. The bagless vacuums are just too messy. What's the point in putting HEPA filters on those things if everytime you pop out the dirt cup, dust and dirt go flying everywhere? Yeah, you could empty it outside, but who wants to do that all the time in the dead of winter?
I guess I'm now leaning toward a Eureka upright (the Ultra Smart Vac 4870, based on Consumer Reports recommendations.) I always used Eureka when I had carpeting and had few problems with them. I have friends who swear by Hoover's, but I recall that the belts were a bitch to replace on those. Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[Jay H]

Those HEPA filters seem silly to me, they probably work a little but not half as good as the manufacturers probably claim. My parents have a sort of cheap Hoover with one on it and it's a bagged vacuum and the heap filter is stuck on the panel that encompasses the filter bag. The panel simply snaps onto the upper body of the vacuum cleaner through two points and is certainly not an airtight seal around the panel. Not all the air is going to be going through the HEPA filter and certainly not when you change the bag which isn't too often, fortunately.

My parents also used to have a 25 years old like Kirby. The upright weighed at least 40lbs cause it was like solid steel but had a nice accessories set and lasted forever.

Jay

 

[Todd Hochard]

I have a cheap Hoover upright that I picked up at Sears for $69. This recently replaced a 9 year old cheap Hoover that the impeller exploded on. The impeller was plastic, and I guess we picked up one too many rocks or pennies. I had to replace the belt once on the 9 year old model. It took 3 minutes- not difficult.
I put the allergen filtration bags in it, and these are apparently as efficient as the more expensive HEPA bagless vacs. As a VERY allergic person (dust, pollen, dog, cat, etc, etc.), I can tell you they do work.
I wouldn't say Kirbies are the Bose of vacuums. They are great- the certainly do suck (a good thing), and they last FOREVER. But, way overpriced. So, let's call them the Krell of vacuums.
For wood floors, I think your best bet is a Swiffer. They grab everything!
Todd

 

[Ryan Wright]

Jenna: Have you called Oreck? My mother had an Oreck which also developed a problem after a couple of years of use. They sent her the parts to fix it free of charge.

Yeah, you could empty it outside, but who wants to do that all the time in the dead of winter?

All the time? We have a Filter Queen (canister, bagless). We only have to empty it once every couple of months, and we vaccumn at least twice a week (we have a dog, and I don't like dog hair on my carpet, so we clean constantly).

They pitch that Filter Queen as a $2000 vaccumn. We paid $700 for ours and probably overpaid. I doubt the salesmen pay more than $350. Regardless, I love the thing. It's about 5 years old now and still works great. I've replaced the power cord (only comes with a 20 footer, I put a 35 foot cord on), and a couple times a year we have to replace the belt in the powerhead ($3.50, 5 minutes of my time). Then there's the misc filter media that gets replaced every once in awhile, but they're cheap, too.

At any rate, the thing is powerful!

As for Kirbys, I'd buy one in a second if I was looking for a new portable vaccumn. I wouldn't pay their prices - you can talk them way, way down over "retail" - but they are very nice. There really is a difference between a $90 Hoover and a $1500 Kirby - it's like the difference between a Saturn and a Lexus. Those who have owned more expensive vaccumns generally never go back to the cheapies.

When my Filter Queen dies, or when I build my next home, I'm putting in a central vac.

 

[MickeS]

Jenna, when you say you checked the belt, what does that mean? The belt can look perfectly fine, and still be worn. That happened to me, and the symptoms were exactly like you describe them. A belt change later (which I figured would do no good), and it worked like new (this wasn't an Orceck though).

/Mike

 

[Walt N]

"As for Kirbys, I'd buy one in a second if I was looking for a new portable vaccumn. I wouldn't pay their prices - you can talk them way, way down over "retail" - but they are very nice. There really is a difference between a $90 Hoover and a $1500 Kirby - it's like the difference between a Saturn and a Lexus. Those who have owned more expensive vaccumns generally never go back to the cheapies."

I disagree. We used a Kirby for years and it was a total POS. Most cheap Eureka's or Hoovers will smoke it in every category. First, the particle matter goes through the fan then into the bag instead of the fan sucking through the bag, so the first time you suck up a penny it dings the impeller and it loses efficiency. The attachments are a total PITA to use. It's heavy. It doesn't have near the cleaning power of the cheapies as can be evidenced by the Consumer Reports testing. They're sold through a shady multi-level marketing scheme and they're way overpriced. Parts are expensive. You couldn't give me another one. The only worse vacuum I've used is the Rainbow vac. Bad idea, bad execution.

 

[Todd Hochard]

First, the particle matter goes through the fan then into the bag instead of the fan sucking through the bag, so the first time you suck up a penny it dings the impeller and it loses efficiency.

I think ALL uprights run the air through the impeller, then to the bag. I know for a fact that Hoovers do. Canisters do not.

 

[Jay H]

Funny, I recently took apart my father's Hoover because it was jammed. Somehow the O-ring that clamps the bag to the outflow hose was stuck inside the tube connecting the impeller and the bag so all the vacuumed stuff was all jammed up and down to the impeller. So I removed the upright part from the base and took some long screwdrivers and pliers and pulled out all the gunk that was stuck in there. I cleaned the impellor area and everything that I could find. The impellor itself is a plasic fan and sucks from the belt-driven roller and also the hose attachment to the bag.

Jay

 

[Brian Perry]

I think ALL uprights run the air through the impeller, then to the bag. I know for a fact that Hoovers do. Canisters do not.

I know the Sharp vaccuum I mentioned earlier does not run the dirt through the impeller. In fact, the guy demo-ing the Sharp picked up about thirty pennies at the same time to show how it was unaffected.