Several people have commented that Oreck's aren't in general heavy duty vacuums.  So what carpet types are Oreck's most appropriate for?   I believe CR gave most of the Oreck's tested in the last several years scores of good to very good for cleaning medium pile carpeting.   

Carmine has mentioned the failure of a Dyson DC07 on wool carpeting. 

I would think that deep shag and berber carpeting would have special challenges different from medium pile carpeting.  

Severus wrote:

Low pile carpeting, especially that with an evenly cut pile should be relatively easy to clean with just about anything save for situations where sizable abundances of pet hair accumulate.  A` vacuum that's fast and effective on deep pile may not necessarily be overkill.  (Overkill is more often an issue of how much you put yourself out on a limb for pricewise.)  If the vacuum also serves well for other cleaning tasks around the house then it's a solid asset.

As for Oreck, you must always consider the households it may serve in.  That matter, as with any other vacuum type or brand, is always varied. Rug cleaning needs are definitely different household to household and are magnified more by way of neglect than machinery.

Keeping deep pile carpet clean and looking good is more likely a real issue if -- it bears a lot of traffic and the owner is not fond of vacuuming.  I honestly believe that if you vacuum frequently, daily or several times a week, your chances of getting up destructive grit, etc., before it's worked all the way down into the rug are good.  Think of it this way, what would your hair look like if instead of combing or brushing it everyday, you opted to tend to it once a week OR every two weeks. Naturally, the longer you overlooked it, the longer it would take to get it in proper order.  Frequent vacuumers have a lot less to worry over in regard to depth of clean or the look of their carpeting.

Oreck is not my favorite machine nor the one I might suggest for someone whose moved into an environment where a "ravaged" rug cannot be replaced but it does serve a purpose and, used properly, may be as valid a buy as any Hoover depending upon the user's likes and frequency of use.  Really ratty appearing rugs can experience improvement with regular thorough professional cleaning where possible and vacuuming often as needed as opposed to when you feel like it.  Been there, done that and with the vacuum I had but not the vacuum I liked.

Venson

Severus wrote:

I have to come down on the same side as Venson WRT this statement.  Depends on the amount of low pile carpet to clean and how often you vacuum.  HOOVER WT may be just what the vacuum doctor ordered if you have 1500-2000 plus sq foot of low pile carpet and vacuum 1 or 2 a week.  On the other hand an ORECK is the best fit for 400 sq foot of high thick woven wool white carpet vacuumed daily.  Especially if the user for the latter is an older man/woman.

Carmine D.

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Just for the sake of argument, I think I will disagree.   If it's true that almost any vacuum will clean low pile carpeting, would you really want to use a vacuum that has a very aggressive brush roll?   There are certainly a lot of Kenmores, Panasonics, and European brands with softer brushes.     Just because the Windtunnel is optimal for medium pile carpeting, is it really optimal for low level carpeting? 

For all that I'm not a fan of Oreck I must say Ive found them to be great for deep thick carpeting. The wooden brush rolls and thick bushy bristles are perfect for deep carpeting. Sebo's X suffers with high pile deep thick carpeting though - the sensor gets confused and can't lift the floor head high enough. For low carpet though Sebo's X models are brilliant. I've found the most aggressive brush rolls to be Dyson uprights.

Severus wrote:

Not completely true to mw SEVERUS.  An excellent example to me is the latest HOOVER lightweight bagged upright.  It is higher up off the carpet than the ORECK due to the larger wheels.  Does ok but not nearly as well IMHO as an ORECK.  Can't adjust the height on either the ORECK and/or HOOVER lightweight.  But the height can be adjusted on a HOOVER WT and/or HOOVER TEMPO for low pile carpet.  I certainly would not want to use a 12 inch cleaning swath on an ORECK and/or HOOVER lightweight for 1500-2000 plus sq feet of low pile carpet.  Takes too long.  I would use the 15 inch plus cleaning swath on a TEMPO or WT in a heart beat on this area of low pile carpeting. 

Carmine D.

Severus wrote:

Aggressive is a broad term.  Not forgetting that new carpeting usually gives up lots of loose fibers, as long as a brushroll with firm tufts of bristles does not pull up, cut or unravel carpet fibers all should be fine. A decent vacuum cleaner is designed to manage all standard pile heights.  There's no sense or practicality in making or buying a machine that works well with only one carpet type.  As well, there's no sense in producing modern carpeting that hasn't the strength to bear regular vacuuming.

If a vacuum is good on medium and high pile, then one might hope it will be all the more thorough and quick on low pile and cut your work time.

Performance on low pile as it is easy to clean to my knowledge has never been used as an example in selling.  You can't push the "deep clean" hype with it.  That has more to do with our secret longing to live like rich folks.  Thus, in the name of comfort, we're more prone go for harder to clean thick pile of affordable man-made fiber.

The larger part of the world hasn't a clue as to which machines have aggressive brushrolls.  The persons to who that may be of real concern would probably be museum curators or purveyors of antique carpeting.  Any kind of carpet requring a careful preservation regemin should be be cleaned using a straight suction rug nozzle (note that I said nothing about using your upright with the brushroll off) if there is the slightest question or concern regarding damage from vacuuming.  If there was a substantial amount of public demand for different grade brushrolls or an appreciable amount of complaint about unnecessary rug wear, I'm sure the option would be offered.

Venson

Severus wrote:

I agree to a point....although most do well on low carpet , some do far better and are eisier to use. The orecks we use do well in the offices and cubicals..small courtrooms and kitchenetts/brk rooms. short hallways ect....easy to use and small to fit in those tight spots/areas.

On the larger areas where their is far more surface area to cover we use...panasonics, riccars, tempos, sanit comm..ect ...works out very well among the diverse cleaning staff we have....all are happy [at the moment].

My view is this...an aggressive roller can be ajusted to the situation....or most. better to have more than you need in case you need it than to not have enough when needed.

turtle

The man at Oreck said that the shag/Frize type carpeting was very hard on the vacuum and the belts because the loser strands on this type of carpeting would wrap around the brush roll and put a strain on the motor and belt.    This was the main reason they didn't recommend Oreck for this type of carpeting.

Just wrote:

As a rule of thumb, I opine that any vacuum, full size and/or lightweight, that does not have a rug height adjustment and instead calls itself self adjusting, like ORECK and dyson to mention 2 off the top of my head, would not fare well on these types of carpets.  To the credit of ORECK in both oral sales pitches like this one and written literature, it specifically disqualifies itslef on high shag carpets.  Of course, there is nothing to lose with the ORECK's 30 day in home no obligation free trial.

Carmine D.