Review of Oreck XL3 vacuum cleaner

GH Institute

Upright vacuum cleaners

Features

Bagged. Set power level. 8m flex. No hose. Washable outer bag acts as filter. Headlights. No beater bar. Extra portable vacuum supplied with tools. Weight with flex: 4.8kg. Noise: 89.1dB

Comments

Good points: Extremely lightweight and portable. Extra handheld vacuum is useful for stairs and edges. Drops very flat and has headlights which make it ideal for reaching under low furniture. Can be wall hung as quite flat in design. Good dust pickup on carpet and laminate and very good pet hair pickup.

Drawbacks: Dated looking and basic. Noisy. Spreads dust on carpet before vacuuming up as no beater bar. Poor edge cleaning results.

Rating: 79/100

Price: £305

Stockist: 0800 684 684 - http://www.oreck.co.uk

GHI Test Report - September 2010

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Other products in Upright vacuum cleaners

Review of Dyson DC24 vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagless. Set power level. 6m flex. 1.6m hose. Washable HEPA filter. Beater bar can be switched off. Tools on board: crevice, upholstery and dusting brush. Weight with flex and tools: 5.4kg. Noise: 83.4dB
Comments
Good points: Quick start instructions are useful. Ball makes it easy to manoeuvre. The handle slides into the body for compact storage. Dust canister is easy to remove, empty and replace. Hidden filter is less messy than other designs. Beater bar can be pushed out for cleaning. Good dust pickup on carpet and laminate. Good reach under low furniture.
Drawbacks: Pictorial instructions are annoying. Handle doesn't lock into position when retracted.

Rating: 86/100

Price: £279.99

Stockist: 0800 298 01298 - http://www.dyson.co.uk

GHI Test Report - September 2010
Review of Vax Mach Air vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagless. Set power level. 6m flex. 1.5m hose. HEPA filter. Tools on board: crevice tool, upholstery and dusting brush. Weight with flex and tools: 4.9kgNoise: 78.1dB
Comments
Good Points: Very good dust pick up on carpet, floor boards and laminate surface. Good results when removing pet hair from carpet. Satisfactory edge cleaning. Very lightweight and easy to manoeuvre and carry. Dust canister is easy to remove for emptying.
Drawbacks: None

Rating: 80/100

Price: £179.99

Stockist: 0844 412 8455 - http://www.vax.co.uk

GHI Test Report - September 2010
Review of Oreck XL3 vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagged. Set power level. 8m flex. No hose. Washable outer bag acts as filter. Headlights. No beater bar. Extra portable vacuum supplied with tools. Weight with flex: 4.8kg. Noise: 89.1dB
Comments
Good points: Extremely lightweight and portable. Extra handheld vacuum is useful for stairs and edges. Drops very flat and has headlights which make it ideal for reaching under low furniture. Can be wall hung as quite flat in design. Good dust pickup on carpet and laminate and very good pet hair pickup.
Drawbacks: Dated looking and basic. Noisy. Spreads dust on carpet before vacuuming up as no beater bar. Poor edge cleaning results.

Rating: 79/100

Price: £305

Stockist: 0800 684 684 - http://www.oreck.co.uk

GHI Test Report - September 2010
Review of Dirt Devil DDMSTK1 vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagless. Set power level. 5m flex. 1.2m hose. Washable HEPA filter. Tools on board: crevice and upholstery. Weight with flex and tools: 4.3kg. Noise: 81.0dB
Comments
Good points: Extremely lightweight. Auto cord rewind keeps the cord tidy and is unusual to find on an upright. The handle can be removed easily for compact storage. Canister locks in place securely. Good dust pick-up on laminate and floorboards.
Drawbacks: Flexible hose is not very stretchy and not long enough to clean many stairs. Falls over easily. Visibly poor pickup on carpet, poor pet hair pick-up and very poor edge cleaning. Small capacity dust canister.

Rating: 51/100

Price: £59.99

Stockist: 0800 525 089 - http://www.dirtdevil.co.uk

GHI Test Report - September 2010
Review of Hoover Xarion vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagless. 1500W. Variable power. 6283g. Flex length 6.07m. Flexible hose length 1.93m. HEPA filter. Tools: dusting brush, crevice nozzle, upholstery tool, 2 x turbo brushes.
Comments
Carpet cleaning score: 66/100. Floor boards cleaning score: 97/100. Laminate floor cleaning score: 98/100.
Good points: One of the quietest cylinders tested. Good filter efficiency. Can reach 10 stairs.
Drawbacks: Poor pet hair removal: 6 - 8 sweeps.

Rating: 73/100

Price Range: £147 - 149

Stockist: 01685 721 222 - http://www.hoover.co.uk/airvolution

GHI Test Report - August 2009
Review of Miele Autocare S7580 vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagged. 1800W. Variable power. 9854g. Flex length 10.48m. Flexible hose length 2.98m. 2 filters (1 HEPA). Tools: dusting brush, extra long crevice nozzle, turbo brush.
Comments
Carpet cleaning score: 100/100. Floor boards cleaning score: 98/100. Laminate floor cleaning score: 98/100.
Good points: Good pet hair removal: 1 - 2 sweeps. Longest flex. Swivel head gives good manoeuvrability. Can reach 12 stairs. Quietest of all the uprights tested. Excellent filter efficiency.
Drawbacks: Quite bulky, one of the heaviest uprights tested. The door that gives access to the dust bag can be tricky to close.

Rating: 94/100

Price Range: £339 - 379

Stockist: 01235 554 455 - http://www.miele.co.uk

GHI Test Report - August 2009
Review of Dyson Ball DC25 vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagless. 220 airwatts. 7389g. Flex length 7.42m. Flexible hose length 3.12m (not including extended wand). 2 filters (1 HEPA). Tools: dusting brush, crevice nozzle, upholstery tool, turbo brush.
Comments
Carpet cleaning score: 93/100. Floor boards cleaning score: 98/100. Laminate floor cleaning score: 98/100.
Good points: Good manoeuvrability. Average pet hair removal: 2 - 3 sweeps. Excellent filter efficiency. Can reach 13 stairs. The British Allergy Foundation Seal of Approval.
Drawbacks: Short flex.

Rating: 85/100

Price Range: £237 - 311

Stockist: 0800 298 0298 - http://www.dyson.co.uk

GHI Test Report - August 2009
Review of Oreck XL10 vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagged. 400W. 4940g. Flex length 9.25m. No tools, but comes with a free portable hand held cleaner 2596g that has a dusting brush, crevice nozzle, upholstery tool, turbo brush, wall and floor brush, telescopic extension tube and flexible hose.
Comments
Carpet cleaning score: 92/100. Floor boards cleaning score: 94/100. Laminate floor cleaning score: 96/100.
Good points: Excellent pet hair removal: 1 sweep. Lightest upright tested. Doesn't have a flexible hose for stair cleaning but comes with a free portable vacuum with lots of accessories. Good filter efficiency. Headlight.
Drawbacks: One of the loudest machines tested.

Rating: 81/100

Price: £429

Stockist: 0800 684 684 - http://www.oreck.co.uk

GHI Test Report - August 2009
Review of Sebo X4 Pet vacuum cleaner

Features
Bagged. 1300W. 8235g. Flex length 9.72m. Flexible hose length 1.75m or 5.64m with extra hose attached. 2 filters (S class filtration system). Tools: dusting brush, extra long crevice nozzle, upholstery tool, turbo brush, extra stair cleaning hose.
Comments
Carpet cleaning score: 79/100. Floor boards cleaning score: 96/100. Laminate floor cleaning score: 98/100.
Good points: Good pet hair removal: 1 - 2 sweeps. One of the quieter uprights tested. Can reach 17 stairs. Long flex. Average filter efficiency. The British Allergy Foundation Seal of Approval.
Drawbacks: Dustbags can be a bit fiddly to change.

Rating: 81/100

Price: £299

Stockist: 01494 465 533 - http://www.sebo.co.uk

GHI Test Report - August 2009