Anyone have an Oreck XL upright vacuum?

[BWVDenise]

I just bought a new vacuum 9 months ago (Hoover Windtunnel), and it died today. It seems that no matter how much I research and shop, I end up with a vacuum that doesn't last. I seem to be having appliance problems this week. The vacuum, the shop vac, the dryer...

 

[Pop Daddy]

maybe you have to much dirt

 

[KimRaye]

I do. Had it well over a year now and, just replaced a belt. And, now I have new carpeting to go with it!

 

[nyfinfan]

I bought it for my wife last Christmas. I'm not as impressed as I thought I would be. Maybe I expected too much.

Pros- Extremely lightweight, goes under furniture with ease, fairly
good suction

Cons- expensive

If I had to do it over again I probably would pass. Hope this helps.

 

[marlasmom]

the day my dh gives me a vaccum for christmas ------------------- caps not working - sorry

 

[parrothead365]

We have used one for a while and found it to work just fine for the most part. The bags and belts are not cheap and we have had problems with throw rugs getting jamed in the brushes. This will burn up a belt in no time flat. I do think it does a better job than any hoover we ever used.

 

[Ranatra]

I Love My Oreck! I've had it for 2 years now.
I have a friend, Carol, who's had her Oreck for 25 Years!! She's STILL using it. It's the older model with the shorter handle, but it's still running. It might be more expensive but you're paying for something that's going to last.
I'm buying one for my DD for her shower gift. The best one with the 21 year Warranty!

 

[Dan Murphy]

We have had one for probably 12 years or more, and it is great. I do know that is what the Swan/Dolphin uses at WDW also, see lots of them there.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

My DH and I never splurge on much for ourselves during the year (except WDW trips) so we wait until Christmas or birthdays to splurge on something of really good quality that we need/want. And this year it's a vacuum. (nyfinfan, I'd be delighted if you got me one! ) I had really wanted a Dyson ($500) but have been reading mixed reviews. One review I read was in Consumer Reports, and they rate the Hoover WindTunnel the highest, so we were thinking about getting that one; so Denise...you just threw me off with this post!

My mom has an Oreck canister and likes it alot. But she's 80 and lives alone with no pets, so she doesn't have a whole lot to use it on. I have three kids and a DH who constantly track in dirt, and a dog who sheds a lot. Maybe I should just get each of them a Roomba to follow them around.

 

[Serena]

LOL!!! I know the feeling.

I'd get a Consumers Reports mag and see what it says. You can also look them up online.

 

[jrmasm]

I've had a Windtunnel (with bag) for about 18 mths and I love it!! No problems so far.

The only downside I see is that it is really heavy. It's self propelled so using it is easy but trying to carry it up the second floor really stinks!

 

[arminnie]

I bought my Oreck about 5 years ago and still just love it. I bought it after I had Pergo floors installed. My Hoover just spit out the dirt from the back on hard surfaces.

I think I paid about $370 for it on QVC and I got the small portable vacuum to go with it so I don't think it's overly expensive. Not cheap but there are lots of machines that cost more.

I have moved since I bought it and now live in a home with about 800 sq. feet of tile flooring in addition to the carpeted areas of the house. The Oreck is the only vacuum that I've found that will actually do a decent job of vacuuming a hard surface. I tried 2 types of Hoovers and a Kirby. I love that it is so compact and lightweight. It also does a good job on the rugs and carpeting and so far I've not burned out a belt.

 

[grinningghost]

I do!!! It's the best thing I ever bought. And I got the extra little Oreck XL handheld vac which I use constantly.

I will NEVER buy another vacuum unless it's an Oreck.

 

[Disney Doll]

The first 3 years or so that we were married I vacuumed with an older Kirby(also a good vacuum but VERY expensive!!). Then we bought an Oreck and the first time I vacuumed with it, I was AMAZED at how much it sucked up out of the rug. It is lightweight, strong, the bag is easy to change, it goes under furniture nicely. We got it for about $300 and they had a special at the time where you could pay $30/month for 10 monthss, no interest or anything else. It was great!

I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

 

[alabamaalan]

Ours is a recent purchase so I have not yet had to replace the belts or bags....my opinion may change at that point but for now we love it.

My wife has back problems and finds it easy to handle. It self-adjusts between our tile and carpet so we don't need a cannister vac anymore.

She also really loves the portable vac that came with it. (We also got the iron which was more of a joke with the price than anything else)

We have used Kenmore cannisters, Hoover wind tunnel and Dirt Devil uprights and prefer this over any of them we have had so far.

 

[disneygals]

I have one and I like that it is light (I pick it up and vacuum the couches with it), has a nice long cord and it works well enough.


Vivienne

 

[tar heel]

I bought a new vacuum about a year ago and researched in Consumer Reports at the time. Oreck got very mediocre ratings. I remember that one of the comments was that it didn't have some kind of safeguard (don't remember exactly what it was) that kept hard objects from going into the mechanics instead of the bag. That is exactly what happened to my Oreck -- my little boy was storing rocks under the couch and one broke a blade.

I had been very excited when I got the Oreck and liked it's ease of handling and weight, but it didn't vacuum as well as my ancient Kenmore. After it broke, I didn't even consider buying another one. Got a Windtunnel, which I'm mostly pleased with.

BTW, Consumer Reports highly recommends buying cleaners with bags instead of bagless.

 

[MJTinNH]

I have two Orecks. One is about 10 years old and the other 3 years old. I keep the older one upstairs and the newer one with the "headlight" downstairs. I have area rugs, hardwood floors, tile and wall to wall. I also have pets and people that track in dirt. I love the Oreck because I do not have to worry about going from carpet to hardwood floors and changing settings on the vac. Just keep going. Picks up dirt and pet hair very well and it is lightweight. If one of my Orecks "died" I would replace it with another Oreck!