Is your office a little too dusty? Are you trying to control pet hair and dander? Would you rather give up space on your table than your floor?
The Oreck Air Purifier Tabletop XL Professional may meet your needs. We’ve composed a thorough review of this product’s features and performance standards.
- Low-Profile Tabletop Design 3 Year Limited Warranty No UV lamp California Air Resources Board Certified
Quirks and Shortcomings
- Design – Looks like an old laminator or printer
- Sized for very, very small rooms (80 Square Feet)
- Questionable build quality
- No HEPA filtration
XL Professional Specifications
| Coverage | 80 Square Feet |
|---|---|
| Filter | 6 Stage Truman Filter |
| Ionizer | No |
| UV-C Lamp | No |
| Footprint | 16.6" x 12" |
| Height | 5.7" |
| Noise (Low) | Not Tested |
| CADR | 52 |
| Energy Consumption | 85 Watts |
| Intake Style | Front |
| Clean Air Outlet | Top |
| Warranty | 3 Year Limited |
| Smart Features | None |
| Filter Life | Washable |
The Filters
Oreck’s website and materials say that the purifier has “six stage filtration.” It does not mention what any of those stages are, but as far as we’re aware it falls into the washable filter category.
The major filters can be cleaned with soap and water, which means they never need to be replaced.
Features
Sound is a major concern with any purifier. Especially one that sits on a table in a very small room. Oreck touts this machine’s “Silence Technology” which promises to keep the noise down. Does it work? Perhaps but we’re not going to allocate any of our purifier budget to test this model in person.
This machine does offer a “Check Collector Cell light” to alert you when it’s time to clean the filter. It’s a fairly common feature across many purifier brands. But, it is a very nice feature to have.
The purifier also features a nightlight and a fragrance cartridge. Which some may find useful, but for most purification is the sole priority of buying an air purifier. You can always pick up a nightlight and an air freshener for next to nothing at a grocery store.
The control panel is very simple and easy to access. It’s positioned on the bottom right corner of the front panel, so no matter how you position the device, it’s easy to reach. The vent at the top of the purifier also has a rolling control to help users angle the airflow. This feature might be particularly useful for those using this as a desktop workroom purifier.
Best Applications and Uses
This is a tough one to nail down. If we had to choose some applications its basically in a small room on a table… maybe a small home office or craft room. However, there are other purifiers that are better table top machines. And there are a ton of purifiers for a similar (or lower) price that do a better job of filtering air.
If you really like Oreck products, have a small room and a big budget… this might be the purifier for you. But, if you’re concerned with performance, price, and build quality we recommend looking elsewhere.
How Does it Compare to Other Purifiers
The Oreck XL sits at a price point where nearly every competitor provides better performance – across the board. From room size to, CADR, to filtration effectiveness pretty much every purifier on the market performs as well or better than this unit.
In the looks department we’d rate it as average or below. Appearance is subjective, but in our opinion this purifier always looked dated and cumbersome.
Value and Performance
This product can only handle small rooms. Its maximum range is limited to an office, kitchen, or small bedroom. However, it can be left running continuously for clean air, and the purifier only uses as much energy as an 85 watt light bulb. Three different speeds allow users to adjust the purifier to handle not only different levels of air pollution, but also to meet preferred energy consumption standards.
In many reviews noise stands out as a major issue. Although some claim that they enjoy the white noise of the high mode, others found the sound annoying. There are also reports of a strange crackling sound after extended use. And a number of consumer reviews reveal that the machine is highly sensitive to moisture, large particles, and even cold air. Frequent cleanings and resets appear to be the only solution.
Oreck Products
Consumers typically know the Oreck name. But, it’s not purifiers that boosted Oreck into our vocabulary, it was a heavily marketed upright vacuum. Oreck built… and continues to build its brand on the back of a line of vacuum cleaners. These products tend to under perform in reviews and are more or less an acceptable or “okay” product.
It is worth noting that Oreck filed for bankruptcy back in 2013 which ended an impressive 50 year run. The company was then picked up by TTI a global distribution company owned by Berkshire Hathaway. TTI’s profile includes companies like Ryobi, Hoover, and Dirt Devil.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve ready any part of the review our opinion on this purifier is hopefully crystal clear. If it were our money, our home, and our decision to buy or not buy… it would be a hard pass.
Although it’s small, this tabletop product allegedly includes six stages of filtration. A pre-filter catches the largest particles, shielding all the following filters. This theoretically prolongs the product’s life and helps the other filters function better longer. Stages two and three, immediately behind the pre-filter, charge and catch slightly smaller particles with the aid of a Truman Cell.
Stage four is optional. It consists of an Odor Absorber Plus filter, which catches volatile organic compounds that create odors. This filter is designed for people looking to reduce kitchen, pet, or smoking smells. We don’t think it can be very effective considering how small it is. Especially since it’s sized for such tiny spaces.
