Review of Oreck Orbiter 550

The Oreck Orbiter 550 is a multi-purpose machine that is intended for commercial use. It can scrub, strip, wax, buff, sand, refinish, and clean any floor surface. The Orbiter is safe for use on marble, vinyl, wood, and carpet flooring. On carpeting, the Orbiter loosens embedded soil in the carpet for vacuuming.

The Orbiter has an upright design, with finger tip controls located on the handle.

The Orbiter is priced from $440, and comes with a 1 year warranty. The unit weighs about 24 lbs.

Oreck Orbiter 550 Features

• 13 inch path
• Use on any floor surface
• Finger tip on/off switch
• Unique orbital action

13 inch Cleaning Path

The Oreck Orbiter features a large, 13 inch cleaning path. The large path means less cleaning time needed since the Orbiter covers a lot of surface area in just one sweep.

Use on Any Floor Surface

The Orbiter 550 is manufactured for use on many different flooring types, and there are a number of different accessories available for purchase to compliment all flooring types. There are 60 grit, 80 grit and 100 grit sand screens available to allow for sanding and refinishing wood floors.

There are terry cloth bonnets for gentle cleaning and lamb’s wool bonnets for polishing and shining. There are 3 color coded pads that have specific scrubbing applications. There is also a marble pad designed specifically for cleaning and restoring marble.

The Orbiter 550 also has a number of brushes available that are designed to get into the grooves of uneven flooring surfaces. The brushes are also color coded, black is the softest, for safe use on carpets, and orange is the hardest, for use on tough stains, and hard flooring such as concrete.

Fingertip On/Off Switch

The Orbiter has a “t” style handle bar, with the on/off switch located on the handle. This means the unit is incredible easy to turn on, one bump with your finger, and you are ready to go.

Unique Orbital Action

The Oreck’s unique orbital action provides oscillating cleaning and buffing power that reaches all areas of the floor, right to the baseboards. The Oreck Orbiter is powered by a ¾ hp motor. The orbital action means no undesirable swirl marks, no brush marks, or gouges are caused.

Oreck Orbiter 550 Recommendations

Pros:

This is a well built machine, built by an American company. Oreck says “Try any product risk free for 30 days in your own home, on your toughest cleaning areas. If you don’t love it, you don’t keep it”.

It is a precision machine suitable for many different flooring types, and multiple purposes.

Cons:

Vacuuming and or sweeping are required before you can use the Orbiter.

Some scrubbing by hand may be required in corners and around door jambs.

Some splashing may occur on walls when scrubbing with the Orbiter – thus creating another project. Walls may need some touch up cleaning.

It seems a little complicated. There are a number bonnets, pads and brushes. The right accessory must be used with the right flooring so that the flooring is not damaged. It seems you’d have to be very careful, and be very familiar with the accessories, so that you didn’t use the wrong one.

Accessories, especially brushes, should be removed prior to storing the Orbiter. Otherwise the weight of the machine could damage and distort the bristles.