Program Name: Clean for the Cure®
Benefit to Komen for the Cure: $50 per Oreck XL Ultra Upright and $70 for each XL 21 Vacuum Cleaner
Suggested Retail: $549 for the Oreck XL Ultra Upright; $799 for the XL 21 Vacuum Cleaner
2007 Guaranteed Donation: $500,000 minimum guaranteed donation
2006 Contribution: more than $700,000
How many vacuums have you owned in the past ten years? What did you pay for each of them, how long did they last and how efficient were they after, say a year? How did they each smell after the first five uses?
There’s a lesson in how to purchase tools to keep home environments healthy and pleasant. You’ve heard the cliché, “more isn’t always better”? Food for thought – better is better. Some manufacturers produce vacuums that last and clean well for years, effectively filtering some allergens and other irritants from the air passing through them. From first-hand experience, the fact is this – they are expensive compared to bargain cleaners at discount stores.
But the cost, considered over an average ten year life span for say, an Oreck product or a Miele cleaner, is actually less than buying seven or eight cheap vacs. The two quality brands cost around $500 for a high performing machine. Buy the $100 low-end every couple of years at your local mega-mart, and you’ll spend $1000 over ten years.
Oreck is partnered with the Susan Komen Foundation, a non-profit that should be of interest to every woman. They work to find a cure for breast cancer. So, focusing on Oreck makes some sense. They offer the XL Ultra, trimmed in pink, as part of Komen’s Clean for the Cure program. It comes with a corded, semi portable quick cleanup machine.
Both machines, as you would expect from Oreck, are light weight and easy to handle. The company claims new technology that prevents odors and filters very efficiently. Using the machines, you’ll notice a distinct difference in the smell produced, or rather, not produced. I’m pretty impressed with the power, the lack of odor, and the ease of use.
Not all Oreck products are top notch. For instance, their cordless dust picker-upper type(like a dust-buster…) is ridiculously expensive, useless and annoying. It’s clumsy. It doesn’t hold a charge - doesn’t clean well. But the two featured in this campaign will make you much happier, even though the bright pink trim might be off-putting. Considering the message behind that color, we can deal with the garish pink.
If you’re in the market for a vacuum, you might investigate this Oreck. The prototype gets good consumer reviews. You have to have a vacuum. All women need be concerned with breast cancer and its devastating implications.
The mission of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is, “to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures.” They are the definitive organization to support such a mission. If you aren’t in the market for a vacuum, you’d do well to investigate Komen for the Cure.
