Customer Reviews

Oreck XL 2000 Lightweight 8 lb. Upright Vacuum Cleaner

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I have to admit that I fell for the "if it costs more it must be better" theory when I purchased this vacuum. It does the job adequately enough, however, I find it is very hard to "push" along as you vacuum and I do not have any extra plush carpeting; just basic apartment carpeting! I have to really put my shoulders into pushing it along. I know there are less expensive vacuums out there that are much easier to use. I've already invested a lot of money into this purchase so I plan to make the best of it, however, if I had it to do over again, I would have went into a store and actually tried some vacuums first; I ordered this one online without ever trying it first and regret that now. The lesson here is do not fall victim to the hype of a product you see on tv!

I certainly admire the pluck and salesmanship of Mr. Oreck, who's clearly energetic and is seen everywhere, e.g. QVC, newspaper inserts, even on a large billboard on Broadway.

However, I can NOT endorse his poor product, which is about 20 years behind the curve in vacuum technology. I had the Oreck vacuum for seven years. Right out of the box, the vacuum is so ear-splittingly loud that I had to wear ear-plugs when vacuuming. The suction is lousy, and you have to go over the same area a few times for it to pick up lints and fine dust. The filter bags are expensive and have to be replaced frequently, or it loses suction even more.

The only advantage is that it is light, but you will get tired from having to re-vacuum the same area multiple times. I use Dyson now, and am very happy with its suction performance, though it has its share of flaws (see my review of Dyson for details). I use Oreck only for cleaning the stairs.

It's clear that people are catching on that Oreck is now overpriced, and overmatched by its current competitions. Oreck is now resorting to giving away a free iron with a vacuum purchse, which doesn't make much sense.
I'd advise Mr. Oreck to devote his energy to improve his increasingly outdated product, which will then be promoted through good word-of-mouth.

I hate this vacuum. I go through belts like crazy. Not only do the belts break easily, but I had smoke coming from mine. I've taken it to be repaired and now I am getting ready to take it in again. I love the small vac. that comes with it, but that's about it. Like another user, I hate vacuuming my floor too because something always happens to it. And I'm pretty careful with it. My aunt has an older model (80's or so) that works a lot better than my new one.

The light weight of the Oreck vacuum cleaner is nice. However, it won't get lint off carpet that is 'stuck.' You have to go over the same area several times. The most frustrating thing is that in order to get the base plate off (it gets clogged under there), you have to remove 5 screws. Some dummy at Oreck decided that the screws should be recessed 1 full inch, apparently so you can't see the screw heads and wind up stripping the screws, and then you have to take the stupid thing to an Oreck dealer. Hey you people at Oreck, wake up! Make the thing user friendly! The best thing about the Oreck is the little canister that comes with it, which is very user friendly. Of course this canister, if bought by itself, is very much overpriced.

I can't tell you how well the vacuum works, because when I was taking my $500+ vacuum out of the box, it snapped in half. This alone tells me it is not good quality. I have spent at least 3 hours on the phone, shipping it back, getting PARTIAL credit for my return...and have never received an apology!! Is this how they do business? I am still trying to get my account resolved, but when you call customer service they seem un-interested and there is no supervisor or manager to talk to, apparently they have really good working hours!! Unless you're up for a good fight and inferior quality (total opposite of what is advertised), I don't recommend dealing with this company. All I wanted was an apology and a product that worked...I guess I was asking for too much!!

I have owned two Oreck vacuums within the last ten years, both of which are still operational but I gave the former to a friend who was in desperate need of an upright vacuum (she still had one of those canister Electrolux vacuums that, unfortunately, seem to NEVER die).

Of all vacuums I have used I really love those from Oreck the best. They are super light weight, unlike competitors who call their vacuums lightweight, but they still weigh at least twice as much as the Oreck.

Now, onto the suction and durability. The Oreck's suction is phenomenal, it picks up everything you throw at it and the only thing it will (sometimes, mostly it will pick them out) throw back out are items such as screws or nails (which you shouldn't vacuum up anyway).

Many people who have reviewed the Oreck have complained that they have problems picking up even the lightest and smallest of objects, but I would like to ask all of them when the last time they changed the belt in their Oreck was. IF YOU DO NOT CHANGE THE BELT ANNUALLY, SUCTION WILL GREATLY DECLINE. I found this out the hard way. A few years back I noticed that my carpet (which is green) had a lot of lint on it and vacuuming did nothing to pick it up. The problem ended up being the belt, which hadn't been changed in I would say at least two years. I changed the belt and the vacuum began working as good as new. Also, letting the vacuum sit idle while running will wear out the belt much quicker (and emit a pungent odor) so I would recommend not doing this as it will greatly diminish the lifetime of your belt.

I would say that the only true problem with this vacuum has been with the power cord. Somehow there is a short inside the handle (where the power cord connects to the vacuum) and unless you are tugging on the cord, the vacuum will not run. I have disassembled the handle and tried to fix the problem but it will not go away. The best remedy I have found has been to sandwich the cord between my hand and the handle and to tug on it slightly while running the vacuum, and it works great.

All in all, I would not want to own another vacuum other than an Oreck due to their great power and super light weight design, They are excellent machines if properly maintained.

I've suffered through three years of Oreck's garbage and I'm giving up today. This thing smells so bad that after only 2 months the scented pads they give you to clip inside the bag don't do the trick anymore. In retrospect, the fact that they gave me scented pads should have raised my suspicions right away.

A toothpick or anything more than the most inconsequential piece of paper clogs things up just south of the roller brush so you have to dismantle the tube, take off the bottom plate and fish the junk out with your fingers.

Hair wraps around the roller brush, which is to be expected, but tends to wrap up in a gap between the wood of the roller brush and the end-caps such that you can't get it all out. Eventually this causes the bearings to heat up and seize, which is not to be expected. Oreck is unapologetic and doesn't think they should have to pay for this design flaw, so be ready to buy replacements frequently. For a point of reference, I have 4 girls and have replaced the roller brush 3 times in the last 3 years. The roller-brush I bought just 6 months ago seized just yesterday, and that's the final straw.

The line on their bags that indicates when the bag is full dramatically overpromises - to maintain reasonable airflow you'll have to replace it long before it gets to the line. It's not worth the effort to try to use it on hard floors, and the belt location on one side of the roller brush means that you simply won't be able to position the vacuum to clean some edges. In the effort to make bag replacement fool-proof they made it such that you frequently can't tell if it's on right; at first I could hear an audible snap when everything was in place, but that stopped after 6 months or so. It seems like it's become louder as it's aged, but in all fairness it's just as likely that I'm more sensitive to it now that this thing annoys me so much.

If I could give this vacuum less than one star, I would. Save your money - don't buy an Oreck.

Whatever you do, don't fall for the Oreck bull... This vacuum is the worst (and most expensive) that I have ever owned. It eats belts, does a lousy job and requires dissassembly and re-assembly every time it's used. My house gets dirty because I HATE the thought of having to drag the piece of excrement out! AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!

We have owned numerous vacuums over the years and the Orek XL is by far the best. The suction is excellent but the unit and the bags are overpriced. Buy online and literally save over a hundred bucks. The bags are over twenty bucks in the Orek store, so buy them online as well.

I had an Oreck for 6 weeks before it stopped working. Yeah, I liked the weight; it was easy to push and carry around. However, the performance is inferior. I sent the Oreck back to the company and they never responded; so they have my money and my vaccuum. Think seriously before getting one of these; there are many vaccuums with better performance and better customer service.