Oreck Commercial XL2100RHS Review: A Lightweight Deep Cleaning Upright Vacuum

I’m sure you’ve heard claims of some cordless vacuum brands that claim their products can deep clean carpet. These claims are false.

The truth is non of these brands has the power or agitation to deep clean (yet).

Now here’s your chance to buy a commercial grade vacuum at the price of a consumer grade cleaner.

The best part is it only weighs just 8 pounds.

The Oreck Commercial XL2100RHS is a commercial upright vacuum for commercial use.

If commercial establishments can confidently use this, you better believe that this machine can deep clean your carpets as well.

And unlike other uprights that weigh 15 pounds and up, this one only weighs 8 pounds.

It does not have any hose or attachments to clean above floors. But cleaning power is so good that consumers don’t mind that limitation. Another bonus is the price. You can buy this for less than $160 in Amazon which is hundreds less than a Dyson.

A quick look at the features

  • Weighs only 8 pounds
  • Low profile design will help it reach deeper under furniture
  • Uses a bagged system
  • Has side brushes to improve edge cleaning
  • 35 foot power cord (no cord rewind)
  • Hand controls for easy access
  • 1 year warranty

Pros

  • Strong suction and brush roll (6,500rpm)
  • Great for deep cleaning low to deep pile carpet
  • Lightweight
  • Side brushes work well on baseboards and edges
  • Bagged system makes disposal less messy
  • Not very expensive for a pro-grade cleaner
  • Long power cord

Cons

  • Short warranty
  • You’ll need to replace the belt every 6 months
  • Since this is a bagged system you’ll need to spend extra on the bags
  • No headlights
  • No swivel steering
  • Not capable of above the floor cleaning

What to expect from the Oreck Commercial XL2100RHS?

Features

Looking at the design, this tool does one thing and one thing along – deep clean carpet.

Everything about this upright vacuum from the beater bar to the lightweight design leans toward optimal carpet cleaning.

It uses a bagged system and if you’re worried about the cost of bags, it really isn’t expensive.

A pack of 25 will cost just under $20 so that’s less than $1 per bag – pretty good deal if you ask me.

Remember that if your home has a lot of carpet, allergens tend to get trapped inside.

And if you’re using a bagless vacuum emptying can be messy.

So this system is really great if you have asthma and want to avoid allergen exposure when emptying out the vacuum.

One important thing to note here is this does not have any brush roll on/off so using this on hardwood isn’t advisable because of the speed it rotates – 6,500 rpm. This is best used on carpet only.

Bare Floor Performance

Unfortunately, this upright vacuum isn’t suitable on bare floor because there is no brush roll on/off feature.

Since the bristles on the brush are stiff, there’s a high risk of it scratching hardwood. If you need something for suchplease check our recommendations for hardwood surfaces.

You can also check the V6 Fluffy, Dyson’s solution for vacuuming bare floor surfaces. It comes with their soft roller cleaning head that works great on large and small debris alike.

Carpet Performance

If you have wall to wall carpeting this is the upright you want to keep your carpets free from allergens, sand and all that grime that damage can it in the long run.

The motorized brush  has spiff bristles and spins at 6,500 rpm. It will dig deep into carpet strands and dislodge dirt – great for deep cleaning.

Since it weighs only 8 pounds, you won’t have any trouble moving this around. If there is one downside, it’s the lack of swivel steering.

You won’t be able to use this on stairs because of the bulk of the floor tool and it does not have a hose + mini motorized tool attachment needed to clean carpeted stairs.

Upholstery Performance

This is strictly a floor cleaner. You can’t use this to clean upholstery.

Pet Hair Removal

On most carpet surfaces (except for the stairs) this is perfectly capable of deep cleaning pet hair.

Attachments and Accessories

This upright vacuum does not come with any hose or accessories. So don’t expect this to clean stairs or upholstery. It is purely a carpet cleaning vacuum.

Cord Length

This has 35 foot power cord but no cord rewind. If this isn’t long enough for you have a look at the Oreck U2000R-1, it has a 40 foot power cord. Both these vacuums have the same features so expect the same performance.

Filter Clean up

This machine is a bagged vacuum cleaner so there are no filters to clean up but you’ll need to change the bags once it is full.

Product Specifications

FeatureOreck Commercial XL2100RHS
AttachmentsNone
Cord Length35 feet
Auto Cord Rewind
No
Motorized brush
Yes
Brush on/off switch
No
Swivel
No
Headlight
No
Filter clogged indicator
No
Full bin indicator
No
Bagless
No
Multi-surface
Yes
Self propelled
No
Net weight8 pounds
Shipping weight13.2 pounds
Hose lengthNo hose
Cleaning Path12"
Dirt capacityN/A
Filter typeNone - uses a bagged filter
PowerN/A
Voltage120 volts
Manufactured inN/A
Warranty1 year commercial warranty

See it in Action

So far I cannot find any YouTube vidoes featuring this vacuum.

Customer Reviews

Consumers say that this upright is a workhorse and very lightweight.

These two words pretty much sums up what to expect from this upright. It isn’t the prettiest or the most versatile but it will clean your carpet. If you need something that’ll rid gunk, soil, grime, allergens, dust, etc. on carpet, this will do the job.

This would make a great option if you’re looking for something to deep clean carpet prior to using a carpet cleaner.

Pretty much everyone who left a review said that this machine had very good suction and it was lightweight.

Great for old folks because it is lightweight

One consumer even bought one for his grandma who insists on doing the vacuuming herself and this one is great for her because it was lightweight.

Take note that this machine is noisy and it can scare the kids. The lack of a brush roll on/off switch means this would be difficult to use on hard surfaces because the motorized brush will have a tendency to throw larger chunks of debris around and it can scratch hardwood surfaces.

It does not have a hose or any other attachments you can’t use this above the floor.

While some consumers say it is easy to push on carpet others say it isn’t so the reviews here are mixed. Some consumers say that it will struggle on really shag carpet.

Still usable on bare floor

Others say it did well on their hardwood and tiled flooring which is surprising for me because you can’t turn off the brush roll.

Overall a majority of consumers loved how this vacuum performed, particularly suction power. It is noisy so if you have kids around you this product may not suit your needs.

It only has one speed and has no brush roll on/off so this isn’t the product you want if you have expensive bare flooring.

Some older folks (above 70) bought this because it was lightweight and they were able to do the vacuuming chore themselves because this was lightweight.

Where can I buy this?

You can buy Oreck Commercial XL from Amazon for less than $160. And it’ll be eligible to their 2-day free shipping if you join Prime.

To wrap up

This vacuum would be great for people looking for a deep cleaning machine that will clean their carpets thoroughly. Since this machine deep cleans, it is a great tool to have when your home has wall to wall carpeting.

It has the ability to cover a lot of ground thanks to the 35 foot power cord though it does not have any cord rewind. But notice that this only weighs 8 pounds. If Oreck had added a cord rewind it’ll add at least 5 to 6 pounds to the weight and probably shorted the cord by around 5 to 10 feet so there is a trade-off when you want an extra feature.

It costs less than $160 so this is a great deal for people looking for an affordable deep cleaning machine but can’t afford a Dyson upright.

Take note that this upright does not have the above the floor cleaning features other uprights like the Shark Navigator has. But for what it does, it does it extremely well and it’ll last for years.

If you have shag carpet, you may want to consider something more powerful, other than that this cleaner should be able to do its job and deep clean carpet.

Recommended Reading