Disappearing Cotton Eco Cycles?

[henene4]

Boiling Mieles

Actually had an encounter with a boiling Miele causing issue due to an NTC fault.

In the old student accomodation where I lived after I first moved out we had an old Miele Professional (non FU model).

I came back one day and the dispenser Front was warped.
Washed a boilwash that week and after an hour I came down and checked and it was in heating error (washing flashed) and aborted...

 

[logixx]

Didn't that happen during the endurance test by our consumer magazine as well? One of the three samples they had in their labs had an NTC fault and also started boiling.

 

[rolls_rapide]

I have memories of the likes of the Hoover 'New Wave' user manual (pictures 1&2) stating that they reduced the 95°C programme to something like 85°C, to save energy but still give a good wash. I think that is quite reasonable.

With the Panasonic, the 90°C programme is actually only 80°C. With the 'Speed' option, around 70°C.

The 60° programme reaches around 62°; with Speed option, 50°C.

The 'Quick 50 Mins' wash only gets up to about 28°. But if you manually fill it with hot tap water, it can indeed achieve 60°. It's a pity they didn't just lengthen the time to one hour.

With Mum's new Bosch, the Cottons 60°C does seem to achieve that temperature - even with the 1 hour 'speed' option activated.

 

[mrboilwash]

Hi Rolls
Find it interesting that the whites cycle was recommended for "articles that are white or color-fast to boiling"

Always thought boiling colors was more of a German thing in the past.
We even had the brand name "Indranthen" for boil-proof colors on many articles but it seems to have disappeared somewhere in the 70s. It was kind of a guarantee that for instance a black and white striped towel wouldn`t ruin the rest of you whites. Funny there is hardly any information on the web today, no way of telling if it was a BASF or Bayer brand.

Can you tell me in what time frame these New Waves were build?

 

[washerguy02]

Newwave time frame

Mrboilwash - the Hoover Newwaves were built between 1993 and 1997/98

 

[launderess]

" Bosch 'Night Wash Option' "

Bumping up old thread to explain "night wash".

Now have AEG/Electrolux toplader up and running can explain.

AEG says these washers have "silent system", which is true, one can barely hear the thing running. Since my washer is MOL it doesn't offer "night wash", but manual explains...

Night wash omits final spin and IIRC all intermittent as well (after rinses). When one awakes next day or whatever machine must be set to "spin" or "pump" to remove water/extract wash.

It is the spinning which makes some noise on this washer, nothing like the older Miele, but never the less in often close confines of many European homes you'd hear this AEG washer spinning say if placed in a flat.

Not spinning also eliminates any vibrations that might cause noise as well.

Night settings are big for European dishwashers and washing machines as many areas offer cheaper electric rates over night (presumably because demand is less).

On this side of pond with rapid roll out out of smart meters some electric companies are offering incentives for people to use power overnight IIRC. Still it's nothing like what one sees overseas.

 

[henene4]

Honestly

Have never seen anyone actually use night electricity offerings.

The required meters are rare in most rented spaces and in most cases if you choose a night tarif, the day time electricity gets more expensive to the point that people just don't bother.
Especially with weekends often being set as peak thus high price time zones.

For the most part, night cycles are just used if you run a cycle and don't want to be disturbed though honestly, I just set a time delay so that when it starts I am already sound asleep.

 

[launderess]

Energy Savings

While my older AEG OKO-Lavamat has "energy savings" cycle (washes for longer period using less water, but still reaches 140F), it does not have "40-60 mix".

Meanwhile the Electrolux/AEG toplader has the aforementioned "energy saving" cycle (and it does same thing going by consumption tables listed in manual), the 40-60 Mix is another beast entirely.

Theory seems to be washing both man-made and natural fiber textiles in same wash where former would get 104F and other 140F. Machine is programmed with various parameters to heat water only to 104F, but deliver same results on cottons/linens as if they were washed at 140F. Cycle runs a whopping three and nearly one half hours (same as energy savings), so haven't bothered yet because just don't have that kind of time for one wash load.

Interestingly AEG/Electrolux removed 50C/120F temp (my older OK0-Lavamat has it). That lower end of "hot" water range is perfectly fine for synthetics long as one uses cool down rinse cycles. This is something both my AEG washers will do if either "Sensitive" (Oko-Lavamat) or "Rinse Pluse" (AEG toplader) is selected.

 

[launderess]

We even had the brand name "Indranthen" for boil-pro

This may or may not be related but as one who sews/does needlework am up on vintage threads and yards long advertising as being "boil proof". Have various old spools of thread where labels clearly state such.

This would make sense as color began to to seep into not just woven fabrics, but threads used for sewing. Embroidery yard/threads long came in colors, and most were not color fast. Once in an dumb move hand washed a rather grimy bit of needlepoint. Thing survived a quick cold hand wash, but when hung up to dry could actually see colors draining from yarns/threads.

Since well into 1980's much white and light color textiles were often boil washed, threads would have to be made stable (as in little to no shrinking), and fast colors to high temperature washing.

By 1990's or so manufacturing processes had improved to point nearly all threads used for sewing were stable to high temperature washing, so "boil wash" bit was sort of redundant. Then you have fact since energy crisis of 1970's wash temperatures on both sides of Atlantic have gradually but steadily decreased.

While boil washing was once a routine part of wash day, it isn't so much any longer. Hot water might be 140F or 120F nowadays with 104F or even 80F becoming far too common.

Finally trade and consumer laws caught up with textile makers. They now had to provide care labels on things, and if consumer followed them to letter and something went wrong it fell on maker. Running colors on all sorts of textiles from garments to linens soon became not acceptable, and makers leery of facing liability stepped up pressure on yarn/thread makers to produce stable products.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Night-time electricity tariffs

I've lived in a few places with 'Economy 7' (also known as 'white meter' in general parlance). Basically an electro-mechanical clock clunked over to record the cheaper rates at 11:30pm-12:30am (yes, 1 whole hour), then back again to normal rate for the next hour. Then 1:30am-7:30am was cheap rate again.

The good thing was that the power sockets were also on the cheap rate, so you could run the dishwasher, washing machine and the tumble dryer on the cheaper rate too. Usually by setting the delay start timer on the appliance, or by using a timeswitch adapter.

The heating in the flats were electric storage heaters (Creda, Dimplex). And the water heater was an immersion element type.

There was another type of cheap tariff electricity which replaced the Economy 7 version, called 'Total Heating with Total Control' - but it was a total con.

In this version, only the storage heaters, immersion heater, and electric fire were on the cheap rate. The power sockets were on the normal dearer rate, and the storage heaters had booster convector heaters built in to them too - which were wired into the normal dearer mains.