While vacuuming not be at the top of everyone’s list of chores, most of us have to do it, and I’m always interested in anything that claims to make the job easier. I tried the Oreck Magnesium RS vacuum cleaner on behalf of Home Gems. Here’s how I got on.
Who are Oreck?
The brand name might be new to you. Originally an American brand, they pioneered more lightweight vacuums in the 60s and which were originally intended for the commercial market. Demand for this new, lightweight cleaner soon started to grow among the domestic market, though.
Now part of the Vax group, Oreck is marketed as a durable, premium product and the Magnesium RS has a 6 year warranty and an energy ‘A’ rating.
This is what arrived – front of box…..
….and back of box
The Magnesium RS vacuum
I tested the Magnesium RS, RRP £299 now on offer at £249, sold as the lighted bagged vacuum cleaner in the UK. Features include ultra lightweight design (less than 4 kg), can be wall mounted for storage, manoeuvrable slim swivel, low profile design and self seal system so that no dirt escapes when you’re changing the bag.
What I thought
This was the contents of the box – there’s an attachment for hard floors, and a handle that can be removed for storage
As the owner of a long haired dog, whose mission in life is to carpet my house entirely in hair, I’m always up for trying a vacuum cleaner. My current cleaner is a Dyson, which does a good job but has a couple of downsides. I was interested to see how this would compare.
First of all, it is very lightweight. I could lift it easily with one hand, and it didn’t put any pressure on my back at all. For this reason, I think it would be a good choice for older people and anyone with mobility problems.
It was also very manoeuvrable – I could change direction with a flick of my wrist, and again there was no pressure on joints or arms. The suction was very powerful, and it did a great job on the dreaded dog hairs.
The bits I liked
A light on the front helps you to be aware of where you’re cleaning
There’s a lot to love about this cleaner. It does an excellent job, and there’s a very good length of cable on it, meaning I could vacuum the whole of my long sitting room without having to change plug sockets (one of the downsides of my Dyson).
I loved the two speed settings – very useful for me, as I have a lot of hard floors with rugs. Switching the cleaner to the lower speed meant I could move straight from a carpeted area, across a hard floor and onto the rug without stopping, which was great from a time point of view.
Two speed switch
I also liked the light on the front of the machine – a bit gimmicky maybe, but it actually helped me be aware of where the front was so there was less chance of catching the furniture.
Energy rating card and instruction book
Replacement bags are on the expensive side, and start at £12.99 for a pack of three. I’ve now been using the cleaner every day for about a fortnight, and the bag is around 1/4 full, so I’d work on changing it every 8 weeks or so.
If you don’t have a dog, you’ll probably get away with much longer! The capacity of my Dyson is tiny, and I have to empty the cylinder every two rooms, so not having to stop and do that was a benefit.
The other bits
The Oreck Magnesium RS
Really, I haven’t got much in the way of quibbles. This is an upright-only machine, so there’s no separate attachment for cleaning stairs. As it’s so light, I was able to use it give the stairs a quick once over anyway, but I’d have to change back to another machine to do them properly.
Also, the ultra-light weight seemed to make it a bit unstable when it wasn’t being used, but not to the point of falling over. Although the instructions said there was a battery in the handle, I have no idea what this is for – I expect I’ll find out at some point!
Oreck are obviously proud of their heritage and the vacuum was labelled ‘bagged filtration since 1963’ which I thought was a bit odd – after all, bagged filtration now seems an outdated method.
Overall
I really liked this vacuum cleaner. At £299, I thought it was on the expensive side and the cost of the bags is a factor, but I think you’re paying for quality and there’s a long warranty on it. This was my first experience of Oreck products, and I was impressed.
Reviewed by Sara Walker
