Vacuum Cleaner Showdown: Oreck vs. Dyson Comparison Review

Ladies and gentlemen, this may be the ultimate battle between vacuum cleaner technologies. This is shaping up to be the thriller in the living room. First, let's take a look at our contenders: the Oreck Classic XL and the Dyson DC07 Animal Vacuum Cleaner. Weighing in at a featherweight 8 pounds, the Oreck Classic XL (Extended Life) is surprisingly lean. This taut little vacuum is completely without pretense. Even the on-off switch is just a simple rocker switch. The Oreck doesn't come with any attachments. Descended from industrial vacuums, the Oreck Classic XL vacuum is completely dedicated to vacuuming floors, carpets and rugs. If you want to vacuum other things, you can get an Oreck handheld vacuum. Sometimes the Oreck and Oreck handheld vacuum are packaged together. The Oreck collects dirt and debris in a traditional bag.

Now, let's look at our other contender the Dyson DC07 Animal Vacuum Cleaner. This is a brawny 18.5 pound bagless vacuum that collects dirt in a sizable transparent chamber. The Dyson's claim to fame is that it uses a "Root Cyclone" action to generate forces of up to 150,000g's to suck up all the dirt. The Dyson has a handle that detaches and becomes a hose which can be topped with a stair tool, a large brush or crevice blade attachment. The attachments snap right into recesses on the sides and back of the machine. The Dyson also comes with a low-reach floor tool attachment that has an agitator attachment. We also used a Dyson DC14 Animal Vacuum Cleaner for our tests. This vacuum cleaner is functionally the same as the DC07, but has a slightly improved ergonomics for emptying the canister.

This is a just simple head-to-head vacuum cleaner battle. Our arena is an 8 1/2 foot by 10 foot rectangular Oriental Rug. Living room furniture has been removed to prepare the battlefield and we are left with a terribly dirty rug. The rug contains dust, dirt, dog hair, loose threads, and small pieces of fuzz from dog toys that have been gutted by somewhat less than ferocious canines. Premium vacuums from Oreck and Dyson should be able to make short work of the mess.

The first round test is for the Oreck XL and the Dyson DC07 to each make just one pass down the length of the carpet. The passes are made side-by-side on equally dirty strips of the rug. First out is the Oreck XL, it moves quickly down the edge of the rug leaving it visibly cleaner. It picked up a small thumb nail sized fuzz ball without any issue, but left one very small streak of dirt that was visible upon close examination of the rug. The Oreck XL is lightweight and easy to push, but tends to torque-steer to the right a little as it is pushed across the rug. Next up, is the Dyson DC07 Animal with a lifetime HEPA filter. The big vacuum looks is poised to make short work of the Oreck. It will vacuum a stripe of rug adjacent to the Oreck XL's initial pass. The Dyson DC07 Animal roars to life and goes easily down the rug. But, instead of picking up the fuzz ball, the Dyson pushes it ahead with the low front acting like the cowcatcher on an old steam locomotive. The Dyson DC07 simply pushes the fuzz ball off of the rug. Close examination shows that it also left some patches of visible dirt. After one pass, the Oreck XL strip looks clean and a lot better than the Dyson vacuum cleaner's strip.

The second round test is for each vacuum to clean a quadrant of the rug. The lightweight Oreck XL again goes first. Oreck picks up surface material, threads, and surface dirt easily and making a second pass on particularly dirty areas is not a problem with the lightweight. The little Oreck Classic XL lands a heck of a punch in this comparison test. But, the Dyson DC07 Animal is not done yet. It attacks its quadrant of rug with a vengeance. However, the Dyson DC07 again pushes fuzzes ahead and leaves little threads behind on the first pass over an area. Puzzled, I examine the vacuum and the way that I push it. I discover that, when the Dyson DC07's handle is extended more than 30-degrees from vertical, the vacuum begins to lose suction. Simply put, the rear wheels of Dyson seem to act like a fulcrum (pivot point) and the handle acts like a lever to lift the agitator brushes up off of the rug when vacuuming quickly and pushing the vacuum far ahead of the user. With four small dispersed wheels keeping the Oreck's body flush to the floor, the Oreck Classic XL is simply not as free-wheeling and does not have the same problem.

In an usual move, the referees allow the substitution of a Dyson DC14 Animal for the older DC07 model. Paying attention to how far ahead of me I allow the Dyson DC14 to extend, I find that the Dyson DC14 does a better job and lots of deeply seated dirt begins to fill the canister. In this unusual tag team maneuver, Dyson has started to redeem itself. While some fuzzes and strings still take a couple of passes, the Dyson DC14 seems to be doing a good job on the deeply embedded dirt and animal hairs.

With the vacuuming complete, I stop and ask our panel of judges. The consensus is that the Oreck XL is a better vacuum cleaner for surface dirt, fuzz, and strings. At 8 pounds, some of the judges really appreciate the light weight of the Oreck XL and find it easier to take up and down the stairs. While the exterior design of the Oreck is not as fashionable as the award winning Dyson design, the little Oreck is rugged and makes the room look clean. Still, the judges are really impressed by the amount of deep dirt and dust that the Dyson DC14 has sucked out of the rug. Overall, however, the American-made Oreck Classic XL wins our short vacuum cleaner showdown.