Oreck XL2605 Upright Vacuum

I bought this to replace an ORECK which I had had for nearly 20 years. I would not have any other vacuum cleaner, it is light and easy to puch around and they give you an excellent canister type free with it. It cleans perfectly and I would recommend this cleaner to anyone.

The Oreck XL upright has no technological advances other than being light weight at around 4kg. Having owned one for nearly five years I couldn't wait to get rid of my parents model. They passed it onto me after they grew tired of it after just two years of ownership and as such with my busy lifestyle it made sense to keep before something new and better came along.

For a start it doesn't come with any small cleaning tools or a hose - this is just a basic upright vacuum cleaner with a very noisy low suction powered 350 watt motor. At least the drive belt is easy to replace but if there's a clog be prepared for taking the whole machine apart to loosen whatever has got stuck up the main dirt channels.

Not only does it suffer from a horribly loud motor; the handle may well rise down to the floor without stepping on pedals but the floor head and the cleaner do not lie sufficiently flat to the surface. Try as much as you want but the floor head bristles don't touch flooring under low furniture whilst about the only other saving grace that the Oreck XL has is a long power cord of 9 metres and that very comfortable and easy to grip Helping Handle at the top.

Another problem the Oreck XL suffers from is the fact that it is a dirty fan system which means dirt and gravel/normal traffic dirt gets passed through the fan and then upwards through the handle and bottom/top spine at the back of the cleaner before it is deposited in the bag. A clean fan system means less wear and tear on the fan and on the XL2605 model, the fans fitted are always plastic and not metal which can be found on the Oreck XL red uprights which are commercial grade.

Edge brushes fit on by way of removable parts and can be screwed to the sides of the Oreck XL floor head but they wear down over time and need to be replaced. Why can't Oreck just fit edge brushes to his soft bristle roller bar? It would make a lot more sense than having to charge the customer every couple of years. Another problem I feel worth pointing out is the fact that after use the XL can't be wheeled back because the wheels lie flush under the sole plate and whoever dreams of carrying an upright back to the store cupboard when all is finished?

Unfortunately for Oreck there is now another rival on the market who does things similar but not with a high price to pay and its made by Home Tek, called the "light and easy," upright. It too is very similar to Oreck having the same (and retaining by design) the spine tube at the back of the soft bag which takes up all the dirt. Once that gets clogged you then have to remove several pips and rubber rings to dismantle the pipe at the back before anything can be cleared. Helpful for elderly people? Not quite!

Fitting a bag in the newer Oreck XL should be easy since bags can simply be slid into a holder before the zipped soft outer bag is zipped up. Older 2605 grey models suffer from an air inlet hole where the bag must be securely pushed on before it locks into place. Don't lock it in properly and in use the bag comes away and dirties the inner cloth bag. Oreck's so called Celoc bags don't seal in the smell of pet hair, which is great news for people with allergies - NOT! Bags are very expensive too.

Around carpeting the Oreck XL will happily glide and on hard floors the brush will not mark flooring since there are no beater bars fitted. However this doesn't stop dirt flying around and the Oreck suffers badly from leaving tracks thanks to its edge brushes.