PROFESSIONAL TRADITION® Upright SL635B

The best cleaning machines out there are going to be bagged. There's no getting around that.  Now in terms of carpet cleaning ability for the price I think the best you can do is a sanitaire tradition. the SL635B would be the model I look at.  There are a few caveats to it.  It's a basic carpet cleaning vacuum there are no onboard tools. You will need to make sure you have it adjusted properly for your carpet via the dial. And lastly make sure not to pick up any metallic objects as you can damage the fan.  All that said it's a basic workhorse of a machine with simple maintenance change the bag and the belt when needed. 

If you are using Oreck XLs, I'm assuming you don't need any hose or tools, just a vacuum for carpets. I don't think any of the more durable vacuums will tolerate that kind of abuse regularly, so maybe go for cheap and as durable as you can get. I'm thinking of the [Sanitaire Tradition Professional SL635B](https://www.sanitairecommercial.com/collections/upright-vacuums/products/professional-tradition%C2%AE-upright-sl635b) $139. This is an old-school Eureka F&G/Sanitaire Tradition upright vacuum. Just like the Oreck the Sanitaire only vacuums carpets. But the Sanitaire Tradition uses a larger more durable fan and very simple motor. There's a recline lever and an on/off switch. There's a height adjustment knob but you'll only use them on low pile. This is the cheapest model and it's pretty lightweight. There are nicer ones with chrome and an easier bag dock, but let see if it can last longer than an Oreck first. It should last longer because it's more durable overall than an Oreck, but I'd try 1-2 before buying a whole fleet. It's easier to change the belt than an Oreck, no tools required, and you'll need plenty of belts because they need to be replaced regularly, but they're cheap. F&G bags aren't my favorite because there's a metal stretch band at the bottom, but again I'd see if this machine would work for you before paying more for one of the nicer versions like the SC888N $291 (chrome hood, longer cord, easier-to-change ST bags). The [Sanitaire Professional SL4110A](https://www.sanitairecommercial.com/collections/upright-vacuums/products/professional-upright-with-tools-sl4110a) $119 is another cheap commercial vacuum. It's more like most regular bagged uprights with a hose and tools. It's simple to use and cheap to replace. It's lightweight for a regular upright and easy to change the bags. Changing the belt requires a screwdriver. What do you think?

The Oreck Commercial XL is ok. It's lightweight and good on low to medium carpets. Like you said no hose and no tools. They do last a long time but the Commercial XL has the old bag dock, so you'll need to install one of the new bag docks so it can use the hepa. I'd choose the Karcher Ranger over the Oreck Commercial XL. You can find the Ranger for $199-212. The Ranger has carpet height adjustment. You won't need to change any bag dock and it has a lifetime belt. The Ranger is made by Sebo and it will have the best reliability among these options. I'd also choose the Sanitaire Professional Tradition SL635B $159 over the Oreck Commerical XL. The Sanitaire has carpet height adjustment. There are F&G Hepa bags available. You can get to the belt and brushroll without any tools. If you are willing to trade a little reliability for features I'd highly consider the Sanitaire Professional SL4110A $159. It's a traditional upright vacuum. It has carpet height adjustment. Generic hepa bags are available. What sets it apart from the Oreck is it has a hose and tools. I'd choose either the Karcher Ranger or either of the Sanitaires over the Oreck. What do you think?

What specific vacuum model did you buy? Shag carpets are harder to clean because the long shags(?) or tassels can jam up the brushroll. You need a vacuum with a high range of carpet height adjustment. The recommendation of a used Kirby is actually quite a good one. Good condition used Kirbys can be easily found from $50-100. They're heavy but they last forever. They have a huge range of height adjustment and they were vacuuming shag carpets when shag was invented. Other old school direct air or dirty air vacuums with carpet height adjustment will also work like the Eureka F&G uprights, Hoover Convertible, and Sanitaire Tradition to name a few. If you like used vintage vacuums this is a good excuse to check them out. The Kirby and Sanitaire are still sold brand new. Of these vacuums Kirbys have the longest lasting belts, each belt should last 4-6 months each and they're really cheap to replace like $2 a piece. The Eureka, Hoover, and Sanitaire belts need to be replaced more often but they're even cheaper around $1 each.

I use a Sanitaire upright for the heavey extraction of fur ,dirt,and dander. And my Sebo D4 Premium for the fine dust vacuuming. The filtration on the Sebo is just amazing. But it would overwelm my machine with tasking it to do the the heavy lifting+ expecting it to filter that much fur.

I'm just going to add Clarke and Sanitaire to your list for the commercial options. Windsor is also a good choice, because they are often rebranded Sebo's at half the price. Orek is a good buy if you want something lightweight. My mom's XL has been going for 28 years now without needing repair. It's very easy to do stairs with, except it has no hoses or attachments for nooks ans crannies. Shop vacs (and rigid) are also built like tanks. You can use those for nooks and crannies as well as cleaning up liquids and larger chunks that would kill typical vacuums. They are cheap too. The only thing is you have to set them up for their purpose. You can dual filter with a bag and a HEPA filter to get just as precise cleaning as you get on a house vacuum, despite what some people say, but you need to take those off for liquids and use the sponge filter instead.

As a restaurant owner and a vacuum store owner. Get a Sanitaire or a Titan commercial. Need one that has a clutch so you don’t burn your motor when someone clogs the brush roll.

Well you’re going to have the same sort of problems with Shark, they’re worse. Mine wasn’t even meant to have the brushroll removed and cleaned, found that out the hard way. That’s basic maintenance for a vacuum, especially when you have pets and humans with long hair. Shark wanted me to buy a whole new powerhead, lol. Good thing my dad and I are handy and jerry-rigged the Shark back together. My mom bought two Dysons. A (I think) DC40 then one of the pet ones with a ball. They were both crap too. The switched kept going out, luckily our vacuum shop doesn’t gouge people on repairs. I took my commercial Sanitaire (not suggesting this beast to average consumers), but the amount of sand it pulled out of her carpet was fascinating. So the Dysons were just sweeping the surface of her carpet. I’m sure the people here will recommend either a Miele or a Sebo. Other good vacuums exist too. I mainly collect and repair older vacuums as a hobby. So I’m not the one to ask. I do know bagged is better and cleaner than bagless, and direct air cleans deeper than a bypass machine. Air flow is what cleans, not suction.

I like it on my bad arthritis days when my hands hurt, because the bulk of the weight is on the floor. Actually, the most annoying vacuum I used when my hands hurt was my boyfriend’s Shark stick vacuum, because all of the weight’s up at the top of the vacuum where you’re always holding it up. It went everywhere my canister’s powerhead does, but for a small vacuum, gives me more fatigue, because the ergonomics weren’t thought through. Same reason I can push around my heavy commercial Sanitaire. Carrying it is a beast, but using it, the motor and bulk of the weight are on the floor instead of resting on my hands and wrists.

They clog, are awful to work on, the plastic goes brittle, they don’t deep clean. I got a $150 commercial Sanitaire, and it pulled so much imbedded sand out of my carpet that two Dysons had left behind. They sweep the surface, they don’t deep clean. Sand in carpet is like microscopic glass, it will shred the carpet fibers over time.

Commercial Sanitaire. Same model we had growing up 40 years ago. We had ours for like 20 years, originally bought used, and if I had a clue I'd probably had repaired it and still would have it. Very repairable. Very strong. Look into it.