Is There a FL Washer Available in the U. S. That Heats Wash Water to 206 F?

[gredmondson]

I found these older Miele models in Burlingame . . .

W1966, W4842, W1215

I think they all are not current stock, and that at least one of them boosts the water to 190 F. The warehouse salesman of Atherton Appliance told me that these were floor models, or mis-ordered, or returned models. He also said that it was possible to get a machine that listed for $2000.00 for $500.00. Is this too good to be true?

I do know that my machine, W1203, will take out underarm discolorations from white T shirts, and that white dress shirts that had turned gray from going to a commercial laundry, came out sparkling white after a run through the "Sanitize" cycle with a prewash and planty of Persil and OxyClean.

 

[launderess]

IIRC the W1966

Would be one of the last in the 19## series (that is old school Miele where one can chose water temps independent of cycles for the most part). Top wash temperature is 190F .

The W1215 wasn't a long model series IIRC. Again IIRC because water temps were set by cycles many didn't warm up to them. You see quite allot of 12XX units on sale at various online sites like CL or eBay.

Finally the W4842 is the newest uber-large capacity Miele that was offered for about a year or so but was discontinued earlier this year. The outer drum is a type of fiberglass and the washer does not do boil washes. IIRC top temp is somewhere around 140F.

Long as you are purchasing new units from a Miele dealer they will come with a warranty and service/support shouldn't be a problem. If you go for the W1966 I'd contact Miele tech support to see if they still have a decent selection of parts in stock. Miele promises to keep parts in order for twenty years after a model is discontinued but Miele USA seems to stop ordering parts from Germany after a certain point for discontinued appliances.

Keep in mind the W1966 and W1215 are strictly 220v-240v machines only, while the W4842 is 120v.

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/W1966.html

 

[launderess]

W1966 Operating Instructions

For your late night reading.

http://www.miele.ca/miele/canada/OperatingInstructions/Laundry/Washers/Previous%20models/W1966%20-%20Washer%20-%20Operating%20Instructions%20-%2005631101-00.pdf

 

[arbilab]

Nothing lends itself better to a healthy exercise of obsessive-compulsive disorder than laundry temperatures and techniques. Howard Hughes would be proud.

 

[frigilux]

I use liquid chlorine bleach on white loads (always with kitchen/personal whites; monthly with bed and bath linens, all white).

Will bleach kill bed bugs? The Frigidaire heats water to 155 on the sanitize cycle. I'm guessing that isn't high enough to eradicate the critters.

Calling Launderess!

 

[launderess]

Bed Bugs (and one presumes Lice) & Laundry

Turns out our great-grandmothers were onto something:

Guidelines for killing bed bugs in laundry

The nice thing about an emergency pest problem, like the current bed bug epidemic, is that such problems attract a lot of attention from the...

insectsinthecity.blogspot.com

 

[mrb627]

W1612 heats to 95C on 120V

If you can get one across the border...

http://www.miele.ca/miele/canada/lndry_w1612.asp

 

[jerrod6]

Interesting that  W1612 is 5.5 kg, uses 120V and will heat to 95C.

 

I think the 5.5 kg models sold in the USA using 120V are limited to 157F  as their top temps.

 

[bosch2460]

I have a Miele 1966, and I love it! IMHO, nothing can clean like a Euro front loader.

 

[launderess]

Importing and Or Cross Border Miele

Miele USA will not honour warranties of products sold in Miele Canada or Mexico and vice versa. Indeed they will not do so for any Miele appliance not sold in it's native area. Miele USA (and vice versa) will not sell nor ship parts or accessories across borders either. So you cannot for instance order Persil from Miele Canada and have it shipped to the USA.

Over the years have inquired about various Miele appliances either offered for sale in Canada but not USA or on these shores but came from Germany during a house move. Miele tech support gave the information above and also stated while in some cases they will perform service on such appliances, they work is not covered by any warranty either.

Can sort of see their point. Depending upon exchange rates Americans living near Canada or Mexico could save a decent sum by going across the border and hauling back appliances.

 

[launderess]

Speaking of Bosch

Forgot that they also offer 220v washers that have uber-hot water temps. Not sure if they do "boil" but you can check.

 

[Iowegian]

@tomturbomatic:

I'm not really bothered by high wash temperatures where they are appropriate for the fabric. But like lots of other things, like spin RPM and drum capacity, there seems to be a prevailing thought that "More is more better". The same thing happens with home theater stereo receivers where everyone thinks that a 80 watt home receiver is "10 more better" than a 70 Watt receiver, when in reality an 80 Watt receiver will only play about 0.3 dB louder than a 70 Watt one. Most people need a full 3.0 dB (ten times) difference to detect a loudness change, and 3.0 dB requires a doubling of power - so for most people to reliably detect a significant difference in volume, the would need a 140 Watt receiver to sound very much louder.

It's just the specsmanship thing thing that I find irritating.

Sure, bleaching sailcloth is great, but most people wear clothes made of fiber blends, a lot of which wouldn't survive a true boiling and still be wearable. I don't know much about sailboats but do they even use real cotton anymore? Aircraft that used to be covered in cotton and butyrate dope now use polyester fabrics and modern glue and coating systems that last 3 to 4 times longer.

BTW, I remember the days of people buying 501s and wearing them wet, but I left that to my sister. She married better than I did, though, so maybe there really was something to that concept...

 

[carlvs]

Our family still uses linen tablecloths and napkins and the best way to remove the stains is by pouring boiling water thru. Infact, we still dunk the napkins in a kettle of boiling water to get the grease and any stains out. Some sets of linens are over 80 years old and look brand new - and with out bleaching. If this type of washing machine was easily available, and I was in the market - I would probably buy one just to wash linens and sheets in.

 

[tolivac]

With the ideas of heated washers--instead of dealing with the 120V or 220V heaters-how bout the washer makers making them with the option of a GAS heater instead of the electric-would be good for users that have gas service.
For sails-most are made of Dacron-DO NOT BLEACH-the bleach can weaken the fabric-also when washing sails-you will need to reapply the resin "stiffener" to them to make the fabric stiff again-limp sails don't work well-even with battens-from what little expereince I had with this.Most boaters don't wash sails unless its absolutely necessary.they simply air them if they get damp or wet before repacking them in a sailbag.Mildew will wreck any sail fabric.when I was a boy-my Dad did have a sailboat that had cotton sails-remember spreading them out in the yard several times after boating sessions to dry them before refolding them into the sailbag.and when these did get wet-they were very HEAVY!!

 

[launderess]

Gas Heated Washing Machine

For domestic use would probably be a very hard sell.

First depending upon local code gas appliances must be installed by a licensed plumber (that is how NYC does things), which would drive up cost. Suppose one could simply ignore this and DIY or find someone cheaper that knows how to do the thing, but if something went wrong not sure how one's homeowner insurance and others would take things.

Then am thinking of the various safety design issues to prevent injury and or liability issues, again costly.

Commercial laundries long have had access to gas heated ironers and of course dryers. If one had the space, zoning and so forth would go for one of those smaller gas heated flatwork ironers in a NYC minute. Natural gas being way cheaper than electric around here it would probably make my "ironing" bill a bit less. *LOL*

Back in the day Ironrite (also badged as Maytag) had gas heated ironers for home use. From what one has been able to find out only a limited number of units were produced and even those were for mainly sale by gas companies to their customers. Guess there was lots of competition between gas and electric back then.

 

[mikeklondon]

Bed Bugs

Think I'll keep washing at high temp when possible, and a good run though the roller iron.

 

[mikeklondon]

Bosch2460

HI Your so right, I would love to have the space for a TL but as a daily driver? the wash performance on all the TL's I have looked at in the UK are rated at G where the Miele FL is rated at A+ for wash A+ for rinse and A+ for spin.

 

[mrboilwash]

Those compact Bosch washers sold in the US only go up to 161°F in the Sanitary cycle. I wouldn`t call that a boil wash.

On the other hand I don`t believe that my Miele really heats up to 203°F when I choose the 95°C.
190°F is a much more realistic temperature in the "boil" cycle of a modern Euro-FL no matter what the dial says.
Otherwise there would be way to much steam and even possible damage to the detergent drawer.

 

[tolivac]

so,guess the idea of the gas washer may not fly-it was a thought for homes with gas service-would figure the appliance dealer would install the machine.Think of it-electric heaters for washers and dryers are convenient-but it is costly to use electricity as a "fuel".I don't know what the codes are for gas in my area-but the appliance dealers here usually install any gas type machine.My home doesn't have gas service-it would be easy to get it-a gas pipe runs in front of my house-some of my neighbors use gas for heat and cooking.Or for the heated washer-you have to decide wether to put in a seperate 220V circuit for the 220V heated washer-or use a washer whose heater runs from the 120V 15A circuit-would work-but VERY slow.A person I know in this area put in a Meile appliances in his house-he sells Meile vacuum cleaners-so he got a good price on the machines.He had to have a 220V circuit installed for his Meile washer.His large kitchen appliances are Meile-he got them from the Meile distributer in Raleigh.Same place that supplies his Meile vacuum cleaner stock.

 

[launderess]

Leave Us Not Be Hasty

IIRC there were one or two vintage combination W&D units that used gas both to heat water and for drying. So the idea isn't totally out of the ballpark, though what flew fifty or more odd years ago appliance wise may not meet today's safety and or liablity standards.