Oreck vacuum? Any good?

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So I currently have a Dyson Animal (the purple one) when it was new it worked great and come to think of it, it still does BUT I have cleaned the little sponge filter a few times and taken the cannister off and cleaned it in the dishwasher but all the tubes and the funny whirlwind thing on the top has caked in dust and gunk thats like concrete in there. The problem with that is every time I vacuum the air being exausted smells like my dog and makes my whole house tempararoly smell like dog. I've lived with that for about 8 months but now we are in the process of buying a new house and I dont want to bring that dirty vacuum into the new house so......I say all that to ask you this! Are Oreck's any good? I see the stores everywhere so customer support has to be great and parts are easily availible. I also like the idea of having a bag vac instead of getting dirt everywhere when I dump the canister out. Any oppinions?
 
Consumer Reports Mar 10 ranked vacuums. Oreck #33, your Dyson #13. We just bought a Hoover Wind Tunnel, replacing a 15 yr old Hoover, for less than half of the Dyson or the Oreck.
 
Originally Posted By: ryland
I also like the idea of having a bag vac instead of getting dirt everywhere when I dump the canister out. Any oppinions?


I don't have any experience with the Orecks, but you are on the right track with the bag vac. One of the local independents here who has been in business for 35 years plus swears by bag vacs only, particularly for the reasons you pointed out. Further, the filters, even on the expensive ones, get clogged too easily and if you're in a dusty environment, you'll be cleaning the filters each use.

Go with, as you pointed out, something for which you can buy bags and/or filters easily. A HEPA type vac is always nice, too.

Bagless seems convenient until you have to give them a good cleaning.
 
Too bad I dont trust a word of anything consumer reports says! I'm not tring to be rude, thank you for responding but I just dont like consumer reports. I will take a look at the hoover your talking about though!
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: ryland
I also like the idea of having a bag vac instead of getting dirt everywhere when I dump the canister out. Any oppinions?


I don't have any experience with the Orecks, but you are on the right track with the bag vac. One of the local independents here who has been in business for 35 years plus swears by bag vacs only, particularly for the reasons you pointed out. Further, the filters, even on the expensive ones, get clogged too easily and if you're in a dusty environment, you'll be cleaning the filters each use.

Go with, as you pointed out, something for which you can buy bags and/or filters easily. A HEPA type vac is always nice, too.

Bagless seems convenient until you have to give them a good cleaning.


Thats too true! The orecks claim to be HEPA without really having a hepa filter because it uses the disposible bag to filter plus the permanant exterior bag.
 
I don't own one, but my mom's got an Oreck. I had to use it the other day when one of my little darlings tipped over a plant and got dirt all over the carpet. I was first shocked at how light it was when I got it out of the closet, then amazed at how powerful and wonderfully it got up the dirt. It wasn't until I was done that I realized this was all on the "low" speed! What else is cool about them is the bag is huge. Most of your vacs now, canister or upright, use a lousy cigar box sized bag. If I had carpet instead of all hardwood, laminate and tile, I'd have an Oreck.

Joel
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
I don't own one, but my mom's got an Oreck. I had to use it the other day when one of my little darlings tipped over a plant and got dirt all over the carpet. I was first shocked at how light it was when I got it out of the closet, then amazed at how powerful and wonderfully it got up the dirt. It wasn't until I was done that I realized this was all on the "low" speed! What else is cool about them is the bag is huge. Most of your vacs now, canister or upright, use a lousy cigar box sized bag. If I had carpet instead of all hardwood, laminate and tile, I'd have an Oreck.

Joel


Well that does it, I'm going to stop by their store tomarrow. They are made in America too! I try to buy american if its a quality product. So not american cars lol. I shouldent say that though as my Honda Elemnt and Hyundai Sonata were both made in America.
 
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Originally Posted By: ryland
Too bad I dont trust a word of anything consumer reports says!
I would trust a word or two.. But I know where you are coming from.
Anyway, Panasonic is worth a look. TCO is super, bags are ubiquitous and cheap, efficiency is superb too. A former employee of mine who now pushes Kirby takes in a lot of Pannies as a 'trade-in' and he successfully remanufactures and sells those. He was the one who steered me towards Panasonic, as the only brand he would pay money for.
 
our local independant vac guywill sell or work on anything.but he prefers mieles vacs ,not exactly a cheap brand and recommends them.
we bought one and it is a good vac.a drag along, though it has small bags.the local guy does a free tune up/inspection on them twice a year i think, for life.
 
My parents have had an Oreck since I was little. I grew up around a bunch of dogs and a bag vac really is what you need. Other than change out the belt and the bag I don't think there has ever been any repair service to that one.

My wife had a Oreck before we met, she still has it, and if we did not own one we would have bought one. I have had a few other vacuums and none of them have held up like my parents Oreck. Especially the "wind tunnel" vaccuums. I own one as a backup, but it really does a bad job compared to the Oreck.
In the Oreck we replace the bags when they start to smell like dog. That takes 3-4 months with our 2 medium sized dogs that live indoors with us.

I highly recommend them. Although they can be quite pricey.
There might be something better out there, but I like what I have.
 
Originally Posted By: ryland
Too bad I dont trust a word of anything consumer reports says! I'm not tring to be rude, thank you for responding but I just dont like consumer reports. I will take a look at the hoover your talking about though!

I'm right with you on Consumer Reports.

Not trying to change the direction of the thread. We have had an Electrolux Canister Type for 42 years. First was a hand me down. 2nd was New in 1975. We bought our last one around 10 years ago. My wife will have nothing else. I won't get into a Flame war with vacs though. :)
 
My mom has had an Oreck XL for about 15 years now. It's a sturdy vacuum. Not the most powerful nor the nicest looking, but it is built like a tank and never has issues.

The bags are a bit annoying is my only thing.


Also, I worked at Sears for a few years when I was younger. It included selling vacuums. The Dysons are not necessarily the best. They're decent but there are certainly better vacuums. Some of the high-end Electrolux vacuums are quite good, truth be told.

Mieles are good too but you pay through the teeth.
 
I'd look at panasonic and miele. Best out there IMO, we've had good luck and they are light/powerful. I never liked bagless and prefer to stick with a bag and hepa if need be.
 
I used an Oreck almost daily for many years. very happy with it - it was very light, compact, easy to store. not as good of suction as our Kirby... but those Kirby's are heavy!

so yes, I would buy another
 
Orecks are great machines- my MIL had one for years. Probably the best combination of power, weight, and ruggedness that I've seen in a vacuum. That said, I'm never having another bag vacuum again as long as I live. Yeah, yeah, yeah, "throw the bag away and get rid of the dirt." WRONG. Every bag vac i've ever used gets uber nasty inside the permanent bag with little dust particles that either get out of the disposable bag or leak where it attaches. Bagless vacs are vastly superior- throw away the DIRT, wash the sponge filter, and (if you're allergic) replace the HEPA output filter once a year. You're never stuck unable to vacuum without a trip to the store for a fresh bag, either. If Oreck made a bagless, I'd pay 3x the price of a Hoover or Bissel to get a bagless of that high quality. Dysons look nice and I'm sure the vacuum/filtration part is the best, but they're still plastic and that's what always fails on the cheap Hoovers or Bissels- never the motor or filtration parts. Its always the body, the handle latch, the wheels, etc. etc. and I don't see the Dyson as any better in that department.
 
We had an Oreck about about 14 years ago. Gave it away after two years and replacing the brush assembly (poor design) three times. Hair and thread would get into the bearings of the rotating brush until you would get a lovely burnt hair smell and a busted drive belt.

Replaced it with a Kenmore vac that still runs with only the plug replaced.

Added a Dyson five years ago and it is our favorite. It probably qualifies as commercial use because my wife takes it to do some cleaning at her mom's house, her work, and favors for friends. The ability to dump and clean everything out is much better. No bags to buy. More flexibility with the hose extention. I would never try an Oreck again.
 
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