Euro Washer and Dryers. Which Brand do you like?

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Hi Toggs, you`re not afraid of courting controvesy are we!!!...lol

My list would be :

Maytag Asko - What I use, does the job, and its niche, dont know anyone else with one...
Miele, quality and reliability with a family philosophy
AEG, latest jetstream machines quite something
Gorenje, sexy kit with fastest 2000 rpm on market
Siemens, pulls no punches, clean lines
Electrolux Zanussi, reliable & proven
Whirlpool, from Philips Euro roots, proven reliable brand

Hoovermatic makes a very interesting point, loads of people I know use Servis, Beko, Indesit, Tricity and get perfect results from them , the question is "Reliability" a Trabant car will get you from A to B just like a Rolls-Royce or Merceded etc...just a question of luxuary, comfort & reliability....whatever rocks you drum...

Same with washers, you put your clothes in a Beko or Miele select the prog and voila" Out comes Clothes, Washed Rinsed & Spun dry....Nothing more or less,

Just for clarification the Asko does as much as the Miele and other German machines, it DOES have different & variable wash rythms and water levels as well as a host of other goodies.....

The Danger we have here is that people are almost turned OFF by the "Miele Mantra" like hello people, its just a washer, a very good one at that with a philosophy and history second to non...

Chocolate pound cake Steve!!!
 
Same with washers, you put your clothes in a Beko or Miele select the prog and voila" Out comes Clothes, Washed Rinsed & Spun dry....Nothing more or less

True to a point... but my nana's Hotpoint and our old Bosch seemed to miss out the rinsing step with water economising :-P

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a Miele just because I'm a snob and feel better than everyone else and can look down my nose at people because I have one - in fact I couldn't really care less what washer anybody else had, I just bought the Miele because from my research they seemed to be the best product that money could buy and I've wanted one for a few years now, and is one of my favourite brands along with AEG, Zanussi and Hoover. And I would happily recommend it to people who were buying a new washer today and could afford it, and that it is better mainly in quality than other washers; although the quality aspect is what really sells it for me as Miele is one of the last manufacturers out there devoted to knocking out quality, long lasting products rather than disposable washers.

I do agree that you can get good machines for cheaper that will do the same - but in my personal experience the cheaper machines don't seem to perform as well, usually in the rinsing department as well as reliability, and it's worth it in the long run spending slightly more and getting a better brand with better reliability & performance. Of course, that can also backfire - my mum bought a Bosch 3 years ago and it's already been taken out of service, awaiting replacement tomorrow actually of a £300 Zanussi which was on sale at Currys. In fact my mum and dad were harpering on about getting a Miele, but knowing their financial situation at the moment I managed to talk them out of spending more money than necessary, and foudn the Zanussi for them which was IMO extremely good value for money - and has all the features of a Miele and more for half the price. Perhaps it'll last 10 years instead of 15 or 20, but for £300 you can't really go wrong.

But to the point - I think any of the brands suggested will do you good. And it's also worth remembering about horror stories that I mentioned about Asko's, that they tend to be exaggerated on the internet and that in the whole scheme of things there is a larger proportion of happy owners who wouldn't trade them for the world.

In conclusion - washers are washers, and whether it's a cheap ass Servis or a top of the line V-Zug, I love them all as much as each either as they have their own characteristics, some good and some bad - hell, there's even one or two slight niggles on my Miele that piss me off!

Jon
 
niggle

My Scottish relations use the term to refer to a minor or trivial (from my perspective, not their's) problem or issue or concern.
My "niggle" about my last Miele washer was its tendency to build up dirt around the yellow door release. That was its only flaw, but it bugged the hell out of me.
It is hard to know which modern machines are worth it or not.
Certainly, anyone who reads our forums knows how I feel about Whirlpool/Bauknecht. Yet, if I were asked to recommend a washer to someone who was not able to service it themselves and lived somewhere in the country where the only local service was Whirlpool...then I would say buy Whirlpool! Get the extended warranty by all means, but buy one.
A true, dyed-in-the-wool snob is not hard to find - just ask your relatives to any holiday dinner. Half my family is "proud to be American" the other half "stolz, deutscher zu sein" and the other half still grumbles about the Clearances (the Scottish Highlands were, oh never mind. If you don't know, trust me - you don't want to. Not the best or brightest moment for England...and from the way my relations natter on, you'd think it happened this morning.) Instead of enjoying the moment, a real snob concentrates on making himself (most snobs I know are men, feel free to make that a her- if you must) and everyone else miserable. Back when I had money to burn (long time ago) I would buy any car but a black BMW cabriolet...anyone living in Europe can guess why. Or Allessi anything...
I was raised to worry about getting the best quality for my money and not to care what the neighbours thought. Now that I live in Munich, a truly lovely city but one just crawling with the got-rich-quick set (schiki-micki) it does get trying at times...
 
Keven has it right - a "niggle" is a minor annoyance, but something that can be easily lived with. The niggles I have with my Miele, are that the conditioner dispenser is too narrow so sometimes I end up pouring conditioner on the floor or in the adjacent dispenser compartment, and also if you open the door, pause the machine, or there is a power-cut mid-cycle it will automatically go to the longest washing time when it restarts.

Jon
 
oh, Jon,

I'd forgotten that one. Thanks (not) for reminding me. I spent more time on my knees cleaning up fabric softener dribble under that durn machine than...
Well, yup - that is a gen-u-ine niggle.
Oh, and that annoying noise (like it is being strangled) the Mieles make when they pump the water out. We all know they have good seals...but that is just plain silly.
Got another "niggle" in an e-mail five minutes ago: One of my Italian cousins wanted to know why they weren't half the family. Ok: Yup, after the Scots glare the "Sassenachs" down, the Germans huff that they are having right about, well, basically everything, and the Americans defend every decision George #43 ever made the Italians point out how much better everything tasted back in the old-country.
Snobbery: When you have nothing to be proud of in your behaviour, you latch onto something external (or your family history) and say that makes you better than everyone else...
 
Of course... I now know to actually use the cap for measuring like you should rather than just pouring it all in to the max level... doing that has also stopped mother moaning at me for going through a 3 litre bottle of Comfort in no time at all!

The pump on my Miele isn't too bad - certainly not as annoying as the continuous buzzing/humming on my AEG coming from the recirculating pump, and I think the Miele pump noise isn't as annoying as the "shoop-ee-shoop-ee" noises some cheaper pumps make (such as the one on our former Bosch). As much as I like that shoop-ee sound, it really does get on my nerves at times!

Best be off - off to Curry's now to pick up my mum's new Zanussi!

Jon
 
brand snobbery

Hello Jon ,&Panthera,
You got my name right Jon,Yes I had the Bosch which like yours lasted only 3 years with just everyday use.
I suppose if Bosch made 250 washers, 249 could be fine I just happened to get the one lemon out of the batch,it is just that when one spends a lot of hard earned money($1,000.)Aus dollars one expects that a machine would last many years, but alas it was not meant to be.
You guys mentioned brand snobbery and such, well I dare say the situation here in Oz is pretty much the same ,you see my friends and neighbours were totally horrified that I bought a Haier Twintub and not the locally made(but foreign owned) Simpson,Hoover or Westinghouse Top Loader,you see these brands are pretty much what the majority of Aussies own,especially Hoover and Simpson.
They tend to be of the view that because Haier is made in China that it is basically rubbish which will break down in no time at all,(which I am happy to report is not the case),indeed a couple of months ago one of my neighbours had a major breakdown with their HooverT.L.(so much for local stuff hey!) when we offered to do their laundry in the T.T. when we were told "No thanks that thing would not wash or clean properly anyway!!",to which I replied somewhat curtly "Then go bend over your bloody bathtub then see if I care."
You see snobbery is not just confined to your part of the world.
Cheers.
Steve.
 
Mine is bigger than yours.

Brand snobbery.

Just so we are clear on this issue........

ANYONE in a SUV (of any brand) or a snobbish foreign car (BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Rolls-royce, Bentley) may not EVER break any traffic regualtions and/or pull any elitisim with me.

Example: No turn signal? You may not cut me off, or changes lanes into mine. On the cell-phone(mobile)which is illegal in this state without a hands-free headset? DOUBLE WHAMMY.
On the phone in a fancy car, in the left lane doing 30 mph when the speed linit is 75 mph? (60 km/h and 120 km/h)? I will come in front of you and slow down till you have to move to the right where you belong.

Viscious no. I just can't stand selfishness and self-centeredness. [But who is going to correct me? LOL]

Ditto appliances. No honey, your million dollar set of appliances does not impress me if you order take-out (take-away) and your wash is dirty.

One good house fire and you are wiped out, and your material possessions are gone. One good car crash and your looks and health are gone. Work on the inside. It does shine through.

OH MY, BITTER IN AISLE ONE. LOL
Thanks for letting me vent. TE HE HE HE HE

We now return to the theme of this thread and our regulary scheduled programme.....
 
Word is something "big" is coming down the pike from Mile for the USA market. Neihter my Miele dealer nor anyone else will say what, but several rumors abound.

One is that Miele is going to introduce a 120v washer for the US market, the other is a larger capacity Miele unit which could be based upon their smallest commercial units.

Miele offered dual 120v/220v powered washers previously in the US, so it is not too far fetched to see them again. What is clear Miele units, while great will never command more than a niche in the United States market due to their perceived small size and special electrical requirements. Yes i KNOW one can fit quite allot of laundry in both the 5kg and 6kg units, but to many Americans perception on the selling floor is what closes the deal, and when compared to other "small" units like those sold by GE or the Electrolux machines, the Miele is small. Also KNOW that supposedly all homes have 220v connections in the laundry for dryers, but as many times as people say this , it is not true. There are many, many homes, apartments, condos, etc which do not have 220v power and persons looking for laundry appliances either cannot or will not go through with the required electrical work needed to use Miele laundry appliances.

Think with the decreased emphasis on "boil" washes, a 120v washer with at least a 1500 watt heater would be fine for most purposes. My Miele W770 is hooked up to 120v/20amp service (it is one of the early dual power units), and will heat tap cold water to 140F, quite quickly. Can achive faster heating or temps in excess of 160F to 200F by either using a hot or warm water fill, or resetting the mechanical timer back to the heating portion of the wash cycle for longer heating.

Saw the the Miele listed on eBay, if anyone is considering bididng, make sure the owner still has the shipping braces, as the unit cannot be moved without them. Am told many Miele installers take the braces away with them, and replacing them is very dear.

Launderess
 
Often-times, those with gas dryers don't have a 220v connection, either.

Many builders include such an electircal connecion for an electric dryer, and charge you EXTRA for a gas hook-up. In this case you'd have both.
 
never move a Miele without the braces. ever

I sold and delivered a billion washers in the late '80's here in Germany. We always took care to install the braces the exact way the manufacturers specified - and to remove then correctly, too. These machines are radically different from US toploaders. German engineers assume that their customers will move the machines braced so put lots of easily breakable 'thingies' in the path of destruction when the machines are tipped off their normal plane.
At the very least you risk a shattered cement block in the machine...and that is no fun to replace.
If the idiot service in-duh-vi-du-als took the braces with them, you can almost always make do just as well with bolts and washers...assuming you can find metric threading...
 
Question I have is, does anyone make a front loader with mechanical controls now, or is it all computerized?

Also does anyone recall the topic header for the topic where someone spelled out how to hack the water level control in the Danby FL? I'm also thinking of a couple of other hacks I'd like to try on one of those.

Re. snobs: Sometimes they're difficult to figure out, but once you do, you can have some extra-special fun messing with them. For example....

"Sounds like you really have a taste for doing things in a big way. So, uh, how much debt are you carrying right now, aside from your mortgage?"

"Oh, well, about $65,000, the car is halfway paid off, the rest is credit cards, why do you ask?"

"Me, about $5,000, and the ol' Chevy has been paid off for a couple of years now. Eighty thousand miles and no major repairs. So, with all that debt, how do you manage to sleep at night?"

I'm with Toggle: be a good person, treat people with kindness, enjoy the stuff you have for its own sake, and value your family & friends (and your freedom!) above all.
 
Ahem Keven...

Miele's don't have cement blocks. Their counterweights are made of cast iron. In case you want to move a frontloader and you don't have the shipping bolts anymore and you can't find replacements either you pack the drum really full with blankets and towels until it's hard to close the door. It's not perfect, but it will at least help a little to prevent the drum from moving around.
 

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