"My Oreck isn't working like it use to."

"It's just not picking up"

CHANGE THE BELT!

Most of time, (about 65%) if your Oreck upright isn't picking up, it's the belt. As its only a  glorified rubber band it is prone to break and stretch. Think of it as a cheap fuse for your vacuum motor. I recomend changing the belt at least once a year.

Quick check: Turn the vac on and twist the vac around (around not upside down) so you can see the brush roll. If its not turning, the belt is broken. (cause the belt turns the brush roll..got it?) If its turning, gently place your shoe (no bare feet please) against the brush roll, if it stops turning the belt is stretched and needs to be replaced. If it tries to clean your shoe..the belts fine.

Which leads us to the inevitable:

How to Change A Belt on a Oreck Upright:

Step 1:

UNPLUG THE ORECK VACUUM CLEANER. Doh!

Step 2:
Turn your Oreck vacuum upside down.Take the spare belt out of the base. Don't have a spare belt? Go onto eBay and Buy Belts from Ollie!

Step 3:
Flip the Oreck back rightside up. If you are facing the vacuum, locate on the right side of the housing is a side access panel held on with one philips screw. (No access panel? See below) Remove the screw.
Place the screwdriver in the hole that the screw was in and slide the access door forward. Lo and behold, a broken belt. If not broken just cut the belt off. (I use wire cutters)

No Access Panel?

Remove the bottom plate from the vacuum cleaner by taking out the five screws. (some really old models only have 4). 

Step 4:

Place the vacuum belt around the motor shaft first. Then roll it onto the brush roll pulley. Give it a extra few turns to make sure its seated correctly. See my guide for Brush roll problems if the brush roll is hard to turn.

Step 5:

Put it back together and vacuum the floors.