Heated Pre-Wash on My Vintage Miele W1070 - Who Knew

[launderess]

Had several loads of linens to launder yesterday including some tablecloths with the usual food/drink stains. As anyone who owns a European front loader knows, cycles can be rather long so thought would use the pre-wash function of my Miele W1070 when doing linens. This way could allow the washer to fill with hot water from the taps instead of cold and get to the target uber wash temp faster, as one needed to kick things up a notch to surely shift the food/drink stains without pre-spotting.

Any who, loaded the machine up with aforementioned soiled tablecloths, and put detergent along with oxygen bleach (main wash only)into the proper compartments, then set the controls.

For those that are not familiar with Miele washers, mine has two types of pre-washes. One is part of the normal cycle for
cottons, permanent press, and delicates where the machine will do a pre-wash, drain then advance to the main wash. Tumble rhythm is the same as for main wash cycles. The other is called "Extended Pre-Wash" which is really a soak cycle as the machine uses gobs of water (about 10 or so gallons), but only tumbles half way about every 30 seconds or so.

On the later one new the machine heated water as it is designed to shift stains from badly soiled linens and nursery items. The manual for my machine states that the wash action is kept gentle because of the enzymes used in pre-soaking products (which are recommended for this cycle), will do the cleaning.

For the main pre-wash one assumed the machine did not heat water, and therefore left the temp dail set to the desired setting for the main wash cycle. Well imagine my surprise as the washer began to drain the pre-wash water and it was quite warm. Checking the washer's thermostat (ok, moving the temp knob down until the thermostat clicks), found the water was about 110F. Dial was set to 160F, so one wonders if the cycle was longer would the machine have kept heating until it reached the selected temperature. Know the incoming water was cold as I checked before starting the cycle, and used my fingers to feel the water as it entered the dispenser drawer.

Guess from now on will have to leave the temp knob set to naught for the pre-wash and change things when the main wash cycle starts. Miele, yet again you amaze me.

Not too shabby for a machine built "back in the day".

L.

 

[vivalalavatrice]

Ciclo Biologico

that's how it was called the 2-prewashes-cycle here on late 70s Indesit...
In that era was quite common on washing machine to have "biologic" cycle...

PREWASH
Generally is performed before the main cycle, commonly the whitest-whites cycle (onto Euro electromechanical machine with numbered cycles is the "1" with letterd cycles is "A"). It may stop holidng water (so you can use alone to advancing then the knob to another cycle as 3 or C, or is automatically followed by 2-B wich generally is the logest cycle (90°C, 2 or more hours); this prewash is generally WARM (40-45°C) and you need it to remove solid soil as sand or hairs...it starts cold and increase the temperature agitating to remove the strongest soil...(or it fill soon warm) is used whne the soil would be so hard to solve in oly one load of water in the main cycle because the water will be satured as soon as the cycle start so taht the clothes hardly would get good cleaned.

BIO-PREWASH
This is BEFORE the prewash generally and it should be COLD with lowest agitation; this step takes the advatage of the chemical action of the detergent to remove stains while the following step (the prewash) takes the advantage of the mechanical action with more agitation to remove hardest soil...

So the cycle should procedes like that:

BIO-Prewash:
- COLD
- LOW AGITATION
- Chemical Action
Stain are solved in the solution during the soak

PREWASH:
- WARM (40-45°C)
- NORMAL AGITATION
- Mechanical Action
Hardest soil and eventually stains left have been taken out during ghe agitation

MAIN WASH:
- HOT (90-95°C)
- VIGOUROUS AGITATION
- Both chem-mech actions...the cycle perform for at least 1h30min.

Then 3-5 rinses...spins...rinses.spins......END!Time to linedry!

Now I don't know any other machine performing cycle like that (apart form that long cycle called "night cycle", that are long cause to the rinses without spins and not for wash and prewash duration)

BIO-CYCLE virtyally goes as you washed by hand...you'd try to remove stains in cold water with soap (BIO-Prewash)...then you woul wash first with few soap (PRE-Wash)...and looking to the items still dirt...you'd perform another "scrubb" with a bit of soap more (WASH)...then you'd rinse all!

GOOD BYE
Diomede

 

[launderess]

Yes, washing machines of that era (including my Miele), began to take note of the "new" enzyme products (mainly pre-soaks and detergent boosters), that were coming onto the market.

Today most all but the lowest tier detergents contain enzymes, so long pre-soaks and or pre-washes are not required. Indeed if one is starting the wash with cold or warm water, and letting the unit heat to hot (if required for bleaching), then there really isn't a need for pre-washing in all but the most extreme cases. Miele tells of this in why they stopped making the pre-wash cycle default in the normal cycles for cottons, permanent press and delicates, but rather now a separate "add on" cycle.

L.

 

[cbosch]

Request

could you post a picture of your vintage miele Laundress ( is our washer a european model or an american moel??)

Thanks

 

[launderess]

All Miele washing machines are made in Europe, so not sure about your question.

 

[lavamat78800]

Well, all Miele washers are produced in Germany but Miele dryers are produced in Czech.

 

[foraloysius]

Launderess,

I don't know about the newer Mieles, but the older ones always had a heated prewash. I never measured the temperature of the outcoming water, but mine heats the water only to a lukewarm temperature, could be 30*C or a bit higher. My AEG has a cold prewash (and a separate soak cycle that is heated).

I love your machine, it's a very versatile one. My mother had an older Miele, a W423. That one also was a three controls model, Miele changed some settings on the cycle selector a few times. My mother's had two settings for cottons and for permanent press, more and less tumbling during the heating part of the cycle. Later Miele the second settings of both cycles were for cycles without prewash and other models had shorter whites and permanent press cycles. What does your Miele have for options on the cycle selector?

Louis

 

[eddy1210]

there's a W1070

on Craigslist right now in Vancouver! Asking $375 which is a steal, but I just got a Miele so I will have to pass. I'm interested like Louis in the cycle selector which is even shown in his ad... we need a close-up

 

[SactoTeddyBear]

Re: Item on top:

Hi! Launderess, I'm cuious to know that the item on the Top/Center/Front in the Pix of your Miele is? It looks like another Dispenser, similar to the Bendix Detergent opening, or is it your Owners Manuel on the Top/Center/Front?

Thank you, enjoy your new findings of Miele Laundry Cleaning, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...

 

[launderess]

Will see what I can do about posting a close up snap of the control panel. Maybe awhile as do not have a digital camera handy.

Steve, no that isn't another dispenser port, just the owner's manual.

As for the Miele 1070 up North, you'd be surprised how many of these units, and their glass window door brothers, 1065 are still out there. When ever I speak with a Miele tech/repair person they say calls come in all the time for parts and such for these models. Customers just love them and the units simply cannot be killed. True work horses they are, and since they are mechanically timed (with electronics), not much really can go wrong. Well taken care of such washers can last 20 or more years, and have done so happily chugging along.

L.

 

[hooverzanmiele]

Servis Sapphire & Servis Quartz

VivaLaLavatrice,

I have 02 80's machines, a Servis Sapphire 1300 Washer Dryer 9635 & a Servis Quartz 1000RPM AutoWasher 6036 (Pic below).

They both are the same machine pretty much, only one's a Washer Dryer, the other one's not, the only other main difference is the fascia style.

Both have a Bio Wash, & the PreWash options, & they both have a special "Mixed Wash" cycle, which on these two machines operates as follows.

Servis Sapphire 1300 Washer Dryer 9635 for example!

01. Fills to high water level.
02. Heats water to 030°C, with delicate agitation, 025RPM (Maybe).
03. Wash for 010 mins, delicate agitation.
04. Soak for 04 hrs (01 tumble per 01 min).
05. WashSpin 095RPM.
06. Rinse 01, high water level, delicate agitation.
07. RinseSpin 01, 095RPM, with a 6000RPM burst.
08. Rinse 02, high water level, delicate agitation.
09. RinseSpin 02, 095RPM, with a 6000RPM burst.
10. Rinse 03, high water level, Delicate agitation, softener added (where added).
11. SpinDry, 095RPM, increases to 600RPM.
12. Commence of selected drying time, or End of Cycle.

I've used this Mixed Wash cycle numerous times on the Sapphire, each load has come out completely free of stains, except one load.

SERVIS Mk600 Quartz Instruction Manual

Been meaning to photograph this instruction manual for ages, following a request from 'sesteve' last year. Apologies for the delay Stephen - enjoy the manual....

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[hooverzanmiele]

Pic 02

Pic 02, 1/2 panel doors closed.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Most almost all of FLs from me used heated water during prewash....about 30°c 40°c unless temp dial was set on cold... even when setting Boilwash the Pre-wash cycle would always heat about at 30°c-40°c...
I don't think this is an unusual thing...quite usual and normal I'd say...every one I tried used to do that..
I find though pretty strange that the indesit would not heat water during the BIO prewash.....it would have had more sense...I just find it soooo weird...if it's function is to "remove stains" or better say  help this,  I just don't understand  how this  supposed to happend with cold water rather than warm (that would make the "chemical" action more active)..not to mention if it have a slower speed in this particular cycle...
I also don't see why do a prewash for "stains" when main  wash cycle alone should do the job...but that's another matter.
The Bosch I used had a separate prewash (near the single rinse, spin cycle   space  in the dial) that filled way more water than the usual and tumbled slower... it heated the water like "normal" prewash also...it was called Bio prewash indeed.

[this post was last edited: 7/22/2013-03:42]