New Miele washer and dryer

[nmaineman36]

Hey all I thought I would share a few pics of my new babys. The washer was dead on arrival. It would fill but not much else. I called Miele and they sent out a guy today...not bad for a 1 day turn around and he diagnosed the problem...I had a bad klixon switch in the motor. He had a new motor available and I took a few pics of it apart. So far I am very impressed with the service and the performance of this washer and dryer. The dryer is super FAST.Anyways enough of my babbling and on with the pics.

 

[nmaineman36]

top view

inside the washer

 

[nmaineman36]

side view

notice the plastic drum

 

[nmaineman36]

the pair

Miele washer and dryer

 

[nmaineman36]

dryer inside

love the Honeycomb drum. The drum is 6.36 cu ft

 

[nmaineman36]

washer drum

Honeycomb washer drum

 

[zipdang]

Those are gorgeous. Congratulations!

 

[the7]

Mieli use "plastic" outer drums in their full-size washers like most other full-size FLs.

Seems the drum is hanged by 4 springs and sits on 2 dampers.

 

[launderess]

Not Plastic

But a type of fiberglass. IIRC Miele stated it was sort of the same as what the hulls of some top yachts are made from, in which case quite durable stuff indeed one would think.

L.

Great machines by the way, congrats!

L.

 

[sudsmaster]

Nice pair

You were smart to take some photos while these were apart. Interesting that the frame looks like stamped sheet metal. But since I don't see any concrete weight blocks, I'm assuming that the counterweights are cast iron. Is this right?

Also, interested to know if the dryer can vent downward into the floor... which is how my laundry closet is currently set up. If and when I replace my Neptune 7500 pair, this 4 cu ft Miele would be at the top of my list.

 

[nmaineman36]

You assumed correctly Sudsmaster. The front of the washer drum has the cast iron counterweights. On the dryer I dont know if it can be vented down. The dryer came with adapters for various vent hoses. The one thing about the dryer that I will have to be honest about is the fact that its not quiet. The airflow is very noticeable. My guesstimate would be that there has to be close to 350 cfms running thru the drum. The laundry is literally pushed to the front it seems. I dont mind that since the dry times are impressive. I did my first load of whites...dry time was 25 mins. Sheets came in at 15 mins. And the dryer lets me know at what stage of drying the clothes are at. When it meets normal stage it goes right into cooldown. The dryer also features reverse drum tumbling. I watched a load of sheets that got into a ball get undone plus the dryer sensed the ball and automatically reversed itself.
The washer is equally impressive. It uses Miele's hydromatic system is slow tumble and them revs up to power out the dirt. The washer spins at 1300 rpms and the drum looks decieving in its size...it does hold as much as the Maytag Neptune that I have in Mass. So far after using them on my first day it was money well spent. Oh and the washer doesnt pussyfoot when it comes to the cycle like the Neptune. It gets on with the job and the cycle times are not as bad as I feared.

 

[launderess]

Posters over on THS who own the new uber Miele dryers have noted that they are rather "loud". Apparently this is because of increased air flow, which Miele uses to gain energy effficency. One poster mentioned something about a retro fit thing for his dryer vent or something to cut down on what he felt was excessive noise, but cannot remember.

 

[askomiele]

oooo pictures or video's in action would be nice. The construction base is the same as the normal miele's but some things are different like the pump who is usually place under the detergent tray etc...

 

[hoover3060]

Beautiful!...Just Beautiful! Congratulations!

Mark

 

[launderess]

Miele has always used cast iron as counter weights,instead of the cheaper concrete found on some front loaders.

 

[nmaineman36]

I just took a load of towels out of the dryer...I thought with my Whirlpool dryer that the towels seemed nice and fluffy. With the Miele they are even more fluffy..if that makes sense. They seemed to be higher when I was folding and stacking them. I did discover that on the washer I wont be able to use the mix of regular and Tide HE...it suds up too much during spin. The oversuds light lit up. SA8 even suds up in this washer. I have been using a scoop and a half but I will have to cut it back to one scoop. It does love Persil...no suds.
As I use this set I am finding that the Germans know how to build a machine. From my dishwasher that I love to this set and my vacuum that are all Miele...I can see why people love them.

 

[peterh770]

When I was at a nearby Miele dealer to inquire about the valve for my 1918 washer, I did take time to look over all the Miele appliances. Man, I want one of the dishwashers so bad! The laundry products are so nice and sturdy, and this model in this thread is just the cat's meow!

Congrats!

 

[nmaineman36]

My sister saw these today and she said to me that if I get bored with them that she would take them. I told her I dont think I will get bored with these. One thing on the washer that I noticed is that after the main wash cycle the washer will drain and spin the load at high speed to get the soapy water out of the clothes. My Frigidaire washer that I had really didnt spin for long and sometimes not at all between rinses. By the time the final rinse comes the water is clear in the Miele.
I wonder how it will rate when Consumer Reports does the washer and dryer ratings. I know they might whine about the dryer noise but thats a trade off I think for a dryer that moves so much air. In fact the manual says to open a window so the dryer can have adequate make up air. If it doesnt get what it needs then the dryer will take longer. I am looking forward to the dry winter air to come to see how much faster this dryer is with bone dry air.

 

[launderess]

Miele Washers And Detergents

Took the nearly full boxes of Tide with Bleach and Tide Coldwater to mother's for her or other family members to use. Only use either Persil or a commercial European detergent for colours in my Miele. Both seem to do much better, with less rinsing issues, and by the fourth rinse the water is always clear.

The only non-European or "HE" detergent I use is the Caldrea powder for my linens, but it is non-sudsing no so worries there.

Americans can build front loaders to rival Miele's, they've been doing so for commercial use for ages now, it is just that the consumer just won't open their wallets

 

[nmaineman36]

I also think that the size of the holes in the drum have something to do with the oversudsing on spin. They are half the diameter of a regular exit hole and there are 80% fewer of them compared to a Bosch or other brand. The honeycomb design of the drum does make a difference I think in performance and whats interesting is that fact that towels dont have the hole pattern on them. I used the Sanitize cycle last night to clean out the washer and the wash water temp got nice and hot. The door was hot to the touch. So this washer does raise the water temp nicely.
I am going to be using Persil, British Ariel and SA8 in this washer. Tide HE does OK as well...but not with towels...why I dunno but somehow Tide HE will suds too much during spin.

 

[launderess]

Whatever holes are left from spinning in my Miele, or any other front loader has never bothered me, as by the time they are dry everything is fluffy.

Question: Does your Miele engage the heater on all was cycles, including "Normal"? One poster over on THS made quite a bit of noise in that her machine didn't and gave Miele so much grief regarding the matter they actually TOOK the machines back.

Thanks,

L.

 

[nmaineman36]

Oh the holes dont bother me either...I just noticed that they didnt leave a pattern after the high final spin. The washer does indeed heat the water. It will pull the hot water off my water heater and then if its not hot enough add its own heat. My water heater is set at 135 which is 5 degrees higher than what Miele recommends. But the washer doesnt have a problem keeping the water warm and getting it very hot if I need it. The heater is engaged when its needed. After using the extra whites cycle I checked how hot the water was coming out of the drain hose and indeed it was very hot. I would say about 150 hot. The Sanitize temp gets the water a very hot 170 degrees. It does add time to the cycle but it gets the job done heating to where it should be. All this on 120 volts.

 

[frigilux]

They're beautiful! It was great to see the inner workings, too. Many happy loads to you.

 

[nmaineman36]

Thanks! One thing to give a heads up on with the washer is that if you have cat or dog...this washer does not remove the hair...it will stay in the drum. The dryer takes care of the fur. I had to vacuum out the washer after washing a blanket that my cats had been sleeping on. It was somewhat surprising since I never had that problem with any other washer I had used.
The other thing is that the vanes on the washer are solid...no holes to shower the load like other brands have. But it doesnt need the holes since it scoops the water up and onto the load. Besides the cat hair thing I am loving my new washer.

 

[bud]

Howdy, congrats on your scoring of these beautiful machines. I'm thinking of up grading. The question I have is are Meile's as skimpy on the water usage as their American cousins? Thanks

 

[nmaineman36]

Hey there Bud... I would have to say that they are very frugal with water. I should take a picture of the water level without clothes to get an idea. But thats not the true amount it would use since clothes towels etc soak up water differently. The washer seems to use what it needs and does clean well. Rinsing is exceptional since there are high speed spins between each rinse cycle. By the final rinse the water is clear.

 

[lavamat_jon]

Though mine are European models, mine are very economical with water and you can't see the water level at all during the wash cycles. However during the rinses the water will overlap the rim of the drum on cottons cycles, or will come up the window on the minimum iron and delicate cycles. The interim spinning, as with most modern washers, plays an important an effective part in rinsing the laundry.

Mike - nice machines anyway. I love the mega Miele's, can't wait until they're released here. BTW, taking a photo of the water level without laundry in the drum won't show how much water it will use in operation as it will alter the water level depending on how full the load is, and with an empty load it will only fill a teeny portion into the tub whereas with a fuller load the water would be deeper .

Jon

 

[aquarius1984]

Just a gentle thought

the speed of which an interim spin is has not that great an effect on rinse ability. I saw with my very own eyes at Mikes, a machine that did gentle slow interim spins yet rinsed far better than I can get with the LG Being re set after I have run a 1200rpm Maximum cotton spin after the wash and high water level rinses. Fast spins after wash and rinse only force muck and detergent back into the fibres and encourage suds lockz. High water levels dont really rinse that much better too. When using Horizon or Persil Performance detergent at school the Hoover Logic 1200 rarely had an exceptionally really clear final rinse. Its about how the water is used. One reason why Zanussi Jetsystems rinse so superbly on low levels. I got the same rinse standard from my Zanussi than the Hoover Logic at school using mega litres of water. I agree though that pet hair is only removable in high water. Nice Miele set. Good to see this brand gaining popularity. Its a good sign for the industy and other brands will hopefully buck ideas up to improve the quality they have lost over the years. Rob

 

[lavamat_jon]

Rob, interim spins do indeed help with rinsing from what I've found - the majority of suds are spun out of the laundry before the rinse cycle even begins so leaves laundry with less detergent residue to rinse out in the first place. Suds and dirt aren't forced back into the fibres at all - bearing in mind the surfactants in detergents suspend dirt in the water and don't allow it to deposit back onto the laundry again - plus the fact that the majority of any dirt suspended in the water is drained out before the spin starts, and provided a good dose of detergent is used then dirt shouldn't be deposited back onto laundry at all no matter how fast the interim spin. Sudslocks for me only occur on the rare occasion where too much detergent is used though the gentle run up to spin on our Miele at least prevents suds lock, and I rarely get sudslock even with towels. If you select a speed of 700rpm or lower on a cottons cycle on my machine it will actually add an extra rinse and increase the water levels, that alone to me says that the interim spins must be important otherwise the machine wouldn't be programmed to do that.

Rinsing is a combination of factors - if you have more spinning the less water/amount of rinses you need, if you have less spinning then the more water and amount of rinses you need.

I'm not sure anymore if high levels are needed for pet hair either - though pet hair was a major major problem with our Bosch machine the Miele's water levels, even on the standard low rinses, don't seem to have a problem getting dog hair off laundry at all, though you will have them collect in the door seal as the rinse water can't reach the seal to wash them away. The only use high water levels serve to me are the washday drama which is assosciated with it .

Jon

 

[nmaineman36]

Now I am curious about the wrinkle-free cycle that is on the washer. I will try the cycle the next time I do shirts and maybe even try the delicates or hand wash cycle to see if the water levels are higher. I agree with jon that spinning does make a difference. The washer doesnt use the Max spin speed but the high speed..I dont know how fast it is but it does a world of good for the load. I would have to say that on the Extra whites cycle that there are 3 rinses with an option for a 4th. On sensitive setting it adds the extra rinse but doesnt raise the water level in the drum. I am wondering if the models being sold here in North America are different than whats sold over in Europe.