What's the deal with Oreck?

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adamthemieleman

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 9, 2013
Messages
206
Location
North Yorkshire
After hearing about Oreck going into bankruptcy and being acquired by the tit company, (sorry Tti!), I came across a parody magazine advert, they had given it the name Orwreck. Have Oreck actually had a safety issue or something with their cleaners?
I have never been a fan of Oreck, when I was a young kid there was a magazine advertisement with a scary looking lady in it, always made me run from Oreck,I could just remembered that advert!
Think it was just the way it was taken, it wouldn't bother me now, I wonder if anyone actually has it

What are they actually like though, I've never had the pleasure of using one

Cheers
 
My grandmother has a twenty year old Oreck and I have one that is right around a year old, and we both like them a lot. My biggest complaint is that the machines are screamers. Other than that, never had a problem.
 
My experience is that Orecks don't do a terribly good job of cleaning - the airflow is fairly weak. They're durable enough, but for an ultra-light upright, Tacony makes some better options, in the various lightweight Riccar and Simplicity models. Also, they're loud and expensive - too expensive for the one thing they're good for IMHO, which is maintaining a carpet that you otherwise use something with better deep cleaning on.

They used to use Orecks where I work, but they only really got the surface litter, so the maintenance staff here have Sanitaires now, plus a Riccar canister for the hallways. Before they got the Sanitaires, I used to have to convince them to drag the Riccar into my office every two weeks or so because there'd be so much sand and fuzz ground into the carpet.
 
Nothing but good things to say about Orecks!

I love my Orecks. The XL21 is great! I have the 9100 and use it as a daily driver. Both Orecks really groom the carpet well. Orecks are great for senior citizens because they are so light weight. I especially like the helping handle on the 9100 it is very easy to grip. The Dutchtech canister is wonderful and has a lot of power. I have nothing against Oreck. I know the 9100 could have more power. I don't understand why so many people are against them. Go read the personal history on David Oreck he served in World War II as a pilot. I have to admire any veteran. [this post was last edited: 9/11/2013-17:22]
 
And the Oreck stores always give really great service. I'll go in every couple of months for their cleaning supplies and they're always really nice and helpful, and I have a pleasant shopping experience.
 
I love my Orecks!

I also own an XL9100, And love it!


I've noticed that some Oreck motors (Mainly XL2 Series) Are SCREAMERS, But the older motors used in the XL9100 are about mid-way between the soft purr on an ancient canister -to- A Dyson with a motor implosion throwing bits of the commutator (About a Bissell on noise level).


 


It does an O.K job, great on dust, Don't remember it's performance on pet-hair. It does best on lower pile, I once tried an XL Classic on Medium Shaggy-Carpet, And the thing nearly killed over!


 


My local Oreck store is also very friendly. The nice Woman who runs the store saves me the off-brand trade-ins, and their service is great. I will admit, though, they can get pricey, Especially on those little scent tabs!


 


-Alex.
 
I'd forgotten about the Dutchtech canister - that one's pretty solid. Also, I think the Oreck uprights will do better on medium-pile carpets rather than the really dense stuff we have in my office (which seem to need loads of airflow to get the goobitage out).

For the record, I don't dislike Oreck as a company, I just think their well-known uprights are too expensive for their middling performance. I do like the lightness, but the similarly light Riccars seem to perform better.
 
Personally speaking, Oreck vacs do better in the U.S and Canada. I had an old Oreck XL for many years as a hand-me-down from my parents but I was never that keen on it simply because it had a tendency to eat belts and the old push-on-bag dock was a major pain - a real pity because the machine had an excellent brush roll on carpets. The oval dust channel was also inclined to clog a lot, often pushing the bag off the dock, even if the bags were supposed to lock on.

Since then I have seldom recommended Oreck for home owners. John Lewis sold some of them but eventually had to be cut in price as the demand for them in the UK stores just wasn't high enough.

The biggest "alternative" bargain I got more recently was the Vax VCU-02, itself an Oreck copy but slightly better made and designed (still noisy though)- has a decent large dust channel and a wider dust push on bag style but at least they stay on and the machine has a fantastic bushy brush roll that grooms carpets really well. It is currently my daily driver in between SEBO and Miele vacs.
 
Using an oreck

It depends on what model you get some of the newer models (xl-21, gold, platinum)
have a larger fan stiffer brushroll and a larger filltube.

Now the older models are loud they have a higher pitch kind of whine to them and on thicker carpets can be very difficult to push i honestly don't think they are that bad of a performer and do well on flat commercial style carpet.

The XL-21 is quieter and actually uses a half an amp less of power than the XL ultra but it does outclean it while being easier to push, which i would assume comes from it's stiffer roller

I did a test a while back with the simplicity freedom, XL-21, XL ultra and Hoover platinum. Freedom 2 was a re-test i had put the freedom on a bad pathway with very high traffic any vacuum i put on this area during a test does the worst. I can't quite recall what i used to pull up dirt after the test it was either a fantom or dyson

blackheart++9-12-2013-09-49-41.jpg
 

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