Bought a new laundry pair

[henene4]

I sold my VZugs last week.
The washer is still extraordinary.
But the dryer just wasn't up to the same standard - not bad by any means, just no match for such an amazing washer.
Main complaint was noise. If you ever heard a compact Whirlpool made dryer with the inverter motor - the VZug used the exact same motor I would bet. And while it wasn't loud, that particular noise is quite permiating. Given I live on less than 300sqft in a studio apartment, I hear everything, even with the bathroom door closed.

So, I bought this Siemens pair.
Main reason? The dryer.
I FINALLY actually own a modern TwinPower-type design. And it's really as quiet as advertised.

The washer is 10kg (70l drum) iDos model.
My ex bought a used Miele with TwinDos and that really showed me the comfort of having that option back then.
Further, that's the only way to get the AquaSensor for rinsing which was one if the amazing features on the VZug.


I only had them for a few hours and am currently doing my second load.
I'll do more laundry over the weekend (got a bunch of stuff to do) and will probably give a review with separate threads for each of them a bit down the road.

If you got any questions, just let me know here!

 

[foraloysius]

Very nice set. Does the washing machine have temperature settings between 60 and 90 degrees?

 

[lavamat_jon]

Congratulations! That set looks really smart.

We’ve had the same washer for a couple of years now and for the most part I’m pleased with the functionality. It rinses and spins very well, I haven’t yet used a machine which rivals the spin performance. I find that most things can be washed between the cottons variospeed and mixed programmes. Even heavily soiled whites come out spotless from cottons variospeed and a decent detergent.

The only criticism I have is the lack of an anti crease at the end of the cycle (it just stops once it’s slowed down), and I feel the suspension could be better. You can workaround the lack of anti crease by activating the silent option in the app which then will do a 10 min anti crease phase. I would also prefer if it used the jet on the rinses - but that is just me being fussy.

How is the dryer for drying times with the new system? Is the dryer still made in Poland? Also would be curious to see how the reversing patterns are.

Look forward to hearing more about these.

Jon

 

[mrb627]

Nice looking set!

 

[logixx]

The only criticism I have is the lack of an anti crease at the end of the cycle. You can workaround the lack of anti crease by activating the silent option. I would also prefer if it used the jet on the rinses.

I'll have to try the silent option, although mine does a very brief anti-crease at the end.

I, too, would like to see some jet action during the rinses, especially since my Bosch does distribution rinses on all of the Cotton cycles (normal, speed, mini load). As is, only the final rinse on Easy Care gets the jet.

 

[logixx]

@lavamat_jon Indeed, the silent option added an 8-minute tumble at the end.

 

[henene4]

@foraloysius It does. For what ever reason, Hygiene does no longer go over 60°C.
The Cottons and Towels cycle allow for 70° and 80°.
Given these machines have a "service ceiling" somewhere around 82-84°, 90 probably does not make a huge difference.
I think Hotpoints/Whirlpools offer 70° and 90° for the exact reason they only heat to about ~80° anyway - like VZug does now.


@lavamat_jon Yes, the dryer is made in Poland.
I only dried 2 things so far.
First was a the blanket I used for reversing the dryer door hinge. Spun at 1200rpm, the easy care cycle as typical failed to properly sense the moisture and only ran about 40min. I redried it for an hour on timed which did take it 99% there.

Next, more proper, test was the darks loaded I needed done since that had some of the shorts I work out in in it and I'll go to the gym today
That load consisted of 7 pairs of sweat pants, 3 hoodies, 1 pair of jeans and 6 pairs of shorts - the washer sensed that as a full load.
I used the downloaded Jeans cycle that is supposed to be for 4kg and gives a starting time of 3:30h. It finished in just under 3h even though it ran the compressor at the same low speed as timed dry or easy care did, using just about 0,75kWh.

I will try to dry a load on the Speed setting this weekend to see how much it affects both energy usage and drying time.
But at 3h for such a large load out of the matching washer, I really don't think it will ever take much more than that...



@logixx

Both cycles I tried so far - Super 30 30° and the default Cottons 30° did not use the jet in rinsing what so ever.
The Cottons cycle did surprisingly slow tumbles throughout all rinses. Nothing fancy.
Only interesting thing was it cut 5min in the first rinse and 3min in the second rinse, both times right before going into drain, I guess due to AquaSensor readings?

Rinsing was stellar and fabric softener smell was surprisingly decent for what that softener was.

 

[glenfieldmathk1]

Hey, welcome to Siemens Club!
I joined last month too - purchased a stainless steel WiFi connected IQ500. I moved into my first home.
Mine too has the iDos.. wasn’t really a fan before, but actually iDos works better than expected!
Compared to my (now parents) Bosch Home Pro with 4D.. I quite like not having 4D as this thing does better wash action - especially on cottons (does Miele type rhythms)..
Disappointing to read the 4D models still don’t do the distribution or jet rinsing.. as mine does do the spin rinsing (without the jet!).
Popped a few videos on YouTube- will do a few more as time allows.

I look forward to hearing how the dryer does.. is the inside glass in the dryer plastic or proper glass?

 

[rolls_rapide]

I too have a Siemens IQ700 WG56B2A1GB, about a year and a half old now.

The Panasonic (Gorenje made), packed in - the drum bearings went. Since it was a sealed tub, I tried to source the tub complete, and was helpfully told it was obsolete! So, decided to go with a manufacturer who seems to be reasonably up to snuff regarding spares.


The Siemens does wash well, and spins very effectively. I-dose seems effective - even with a gloopy gel, such as Ariel Gel.

There are a few things I detest about the machine though. Half-witted programming seems to be the number one irritation.

On start up, it takes 40 seconds to boot itself up. Far too long. In my opinion, it should take no more than five seconds.

The drum illumination light... On start-up (mentioned above) after the 40 second delay, the lamp comes on for 10 seconds - then turns itself off! What's that all about?! If you're attempting to load laundry, to check what you're loading, surely a minute or two of drum lamp activity wouldn't break the bank?

The Wool programme. This is gentle... perhaps too gentle. During the rinses, sometimes there is no rollover of the garments. And, the rinse fills up to its level, with no agitation, and drains immediately!

I-dose on the Wool programme. If you imagine you can fill the auto-dispenser to dispense detergent for woollens, you are mistaken. You have to manually dose wool detergent via the powder compartment (or in the drum, directly).

The Silk programme has been incorporated into the Delicates/Silk programme. What's wrong with that you say? This programme allows auto-dosing. It is not inconceivable that a heavy duty bio liquid detergent with protease enzymes could accidentally be applied to silk garments. Result destroyed silks. If it was me, I'd have incorporated wool and silk on the same programme, then there'd be less chance of mistakes.

The sump filter access. They should have incorporated a drainage chute or shield. As it stands, the excess water contained in the filter itself (after you've drained via the tube), the water can spill down behind the front shell of the machine.

 

[lavamat_jon]

I too have a Siemens IQ700 WG56B2A1GB, about a year and a half old now.

The Panasonic (Gorenje made), packed in - the drum bearings went. Since it was a sealed tub, I tried to source the tub complete, and was helpfully told it was obsolete! So, decided to go with a manufacturer who seems to be reasonably up to snuff regarding spares.


The Siemens does wash well, and spins very effectively. I-dose seems effective - even with a gloopy gel, such as Ariel Gel.

There are a few things I detest about the machine though. Half-witted programming seems to be the number one irritation.

On start up, it takes 40 seconds to boot itself up. Far too long. In my opinion, it should take no more than five seconds.

The drum illumination light... On start-up (mentioned above) after the 40 second delay, the lamp comes on for 10 seconds - then turns itself off! What's that all about?! If you're attempting to load laundry, to check what you're loading, surely a minute or two of drum lamp activity wouldn't break the bank?

The Wool programme. This is gentle... perhaps too gentle. During the rinses, sometimes there is no rollover of the garments. And, the rinse fills up to its level, with no agitation, and drains immediately!

I-dose on the Wool programme. If you imagine you can fill the auto-dispenser to dispense detergent for woollens, you are mistaken. You have to manually dose wool detergent via the powder compartment (or in the drum, directly).

The Silk programme has been incorporated into the Delicates/Silk programme. What's wrong with that you say? This programme allows auto-dosing. It is not inconceivable that a heavy duty bio liquid detergent with protease enzymes could accidentally be applied to silk garments. Result destroyed silks. If it was me, I'd have incorporated wool and silk on the same programme, then there'd be less chance of mistakes.

The sump filter access. They should have incorporated a drainage chute or shield. As it stands, the excess water contained in the filter itself (after you've drained via the tube), the water can spill down behind the front shell of the machine.

Have you updated the machine? When ours was new in 2023 it has the lag when turning on, as well as between the spin finishing and the cycle ending and unlocking. We soon received a software update that eliminated that, and it boots up within seconds.

The drum light is a little annoying - I easily get around it by closing the door while the turning it on then opening it - it’ll stay on a for a few minutes then.

The only other real annoyance I have programming wise is that the cottons wash action is reduced when you select extra rinse even without water plus. However this is just me being particularly fussy more than anything, as it still washes spotlessly.

I agree somewhat with the wool programme, though it is better than the Miele W1 which only tumbles 3 or 4 times in total during the wash cycle.

Jon

 

[lavamat_jon]

@foraloysius It does. For what ever reason, Hygiene does no longer go over 60°C.
The Cottons and Towels cycle allow for 70° and 80°.
Given these machines have a "service ceiling" somewhere around 82-84°, 90 probably does not make a huge difference.
I think Hotpoints/Whirlpools offer 70° and 90° for the exact reason they only heat to about ~80° anyway - like VZug does now.


@lavamat_jon Yes, the dryer is made in Poland.
I only dried 2 things so far.
First was a the blanket I used for reversing the dryer door hinge. Spun at 1200rpm, the easy care cycle as typical failed to properly sense the moisture and only ran about 40min. I redried it for an hour on timed which did take it 99% there.

Next, more proper, test was the darks loaded I needed done since that had some of the shorts I work out in in it and I'll go to the gym today
That load consisted of 7 pairs of sweat pants, 3 hoodies, 1 pair of jeans and 6 pairs of shorts - the washer sensed that as a full load.
I used the downloaded Jeans cycle that is supposed to be for 4kg and gives a starting time of 3:30h. It finished in just under 3h even though it ran the compressor at the same low speed as timed dry or easy care did, using just about 0,75kWh.

I will try to dry a load on the Speed setting this weekend to see how much it affects both energy usage and drying time.
But at 3h for such a large load out of the matching washer, I really don't think it will ever take much more than that...



@logixx

Both cycles I tried so far - Super 30 30° and the default Cottons 30° did not use the jet in rinsing what so ever.
The Cottons cycle did surprisingly slow tumbles throughout all rinses. Nothing fancy.
Only interesting thing was it cut 5min in the first rinse and 3min in the second rinse, both times right before going into drain, I guess due to AquaSensor readings?

Rinsing was stellar and fabric softener smell was surprisingly decent for what that softener was.

The turbidity sensor takes readings at the end of the first and second rinse. Before the app update it used to show “Rinsing with Hydrosensor” during the rinses that it was active in; since the last update it now just shows as “Rinsing” for all the intermediate rinses in the app, and “Rinsing with softener” for the final rinse.

Drying times don’t seem too bad, especially for that the given load. One thing I have always liked our T1 for is the drying times, so would be interested to see how the new Siemens is with speed perfect once you’ve tested it.

Hope you’re enjoying the new set

Jon

 

[rolls_rapide]

No, I've not updated it. Does it require a smartphone to access the software update?

 

[lavamat_jon]

No, I've not updated it. Does it require a smartphone to access the software update?

If you download the HomeConnect app on your phone or tablet, and connect it to WiFi it should ping through updates - especially if it’s not been connected before .

I have had about 4 or 5 software updates since the machine has been installed.

 

[rolls_rapide]

That rather explains it... It's a pity BSH couldn't copy the way software updates are applied to televisions and set-top boxes... apps on phones not required.

 

[lavamat_jon]

That rather explains it... It's a pity BSH couldn't copy the way software updates are applied to televisions and set-top boxes... apps on phones not required.

You could always borrow a friends smartphone if you don’t have one to connect it to your WiFi through the app. Once it’s connected to WiFi you won’t need your phone to update as it will also prompt you at the control panel, provided it’s got the internet connection.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Ah, right - thank you for the info! I'll maybe have a tinker with it later - it's busy washing just now. I actually don't like using my phone for apps.

Is it one of those software types, where conventional PC computers/laptops are excluded from accessing the updates?

 

[lavamat_jon]

Ah, right - thank you for the info! I'll maybe have a tinker with it later - it's busy washing just now. I actually don't like using my phone for apps.

Is it one of those software types, where conventional PC computers/laptops are excluded from accessing the updates?

I’m honestly not sure if there is a desktop app for it - I don’t have a computer so can’t say yes or no for certain, just my iPhone and an iPad.

Just looking at the manual and the update does need to be done through the app (though I’m sure mine has displayed upD on the display before), my previous IQ700 and my W1/T1 set allows you to update on the machine itself.

TBH the app is quite useful, you can access several extra options which aren’t on the panel such as less ironing & variable extra rinses. You can also save a favourite to the machine. For example, so I don’t have to go on the phone everytime I want to use the less ironing option set up a “less ironing” (mixed fabrics, water plus, less ironing) cycle to the favourite button on the machine .