After regularly keeping a finger on the local pulse (Marketplace, Gumtree) I found a Miele washing machine in pretty decent cosmetic condition, that was being sold for an absolute song. Hubby and I drove through to the seller (only 25 mins away) Thursday evening to pick up this beast. 96kg of approximately 10 year old German engineering 😅 that we then carried up the stairs to our 3rd floor apartment. The seller says they're selling due to having been given a 13kg top loader from one of the kids, and they don't have the space to keep both washing machines.
I gave it a very good clean, I suspect the previous owner only used the Express cycle, as there was a very strong detergent buildup smell. I cleaned out the dispenser and ran an empty Cotton's 75C cycle with a Fairy dishwasher pod, and that really made a difference. The next morning I ran another Cotton's 75C without any detergent, just to do a hot flush on the machine. Hubby then washed the dogs bedding Friday morning, and then Friday afternoon I ran an empty Express cycle with a few capfulls of Miltons fluid, followed by 2 rinse only cycles with white vinegar. The machine was now looking and smelling amazing, so I was ready to start doing laundry.
Saturday I ran 4 loads on 4 different cycles:
1) Work pants (chinos and jeans, about 7 pairs in total) on Cotton 40C with Short and 1400 spin
2) mixed dark fabrics (t-shirts, hoodies, sweat pants) on Automatic Plus (40C and 1200 spin as standard) note this was not a full load
3) 2x winter coats on Express but with Short deselected so cycle was 30 mins, 40C and 1000 spin.
4) 3quarter full load of lights (easy care button up work shirts and a few t-shirts and 1 thin hoodie) on Minimum Iron with short and Water Plus selected, 40C and 1000 spin
Today I changed the programming of water plus to include an extra rinse as well as upping the water level on wash and rinse. And then I washed another 3 loads:
1) 2 sets of double bedding (2x fitted sheets, 2x duvet covers, 8x standard pillow cases and 2x continental pillow cases) on Cottons 60 with short and water plus, 1400 spin
2) weekly towels (4x bath sheets, 3x hand towels, 2x bath mats and 1x face cloth) also on cotton 60 with short and water plus, 1400 spin
3) mixed load of pajamas, socks and underwear on Cottons 40 with short and water plus, 1400 spin.
What I like about this machine:
It's VERY robust. This is my first Miele and I clearly see why everyone comments on their robustness.
It's very quiet on washing
Doesn't take long to balance a load before spinning
Even at 1400 spin, creasing seems better than with my Siemens at 1400
Very spacious drum for a 7kg machine
Now, for the shocking parts of what I don't like:
Compared to my Siemens (iq300 9kg 1400 rpm, purchased new 2020), the cycles are very long, even with Short selected. VarioSpeed on the Siemens takes a lot more time off than what Short seems to do on this machine. My Siemens can do a 40C wash in 46 to 90 minutes, depending on the cycle. Miele seems to be minimum of 90 mins, even with Short selected.
The Miele seems to struggle with getting water logged. Every load I washed, every interim and final spin, got water logged. This rarely happens with my Siemens and when it does, the machine detects it very quickly and stops the spin, drains the excess water, and spins again but ramps up slower to avoid a water log. The Miele seems to just power through, waterworks show and all.
There's no pause button on the Miele. If I noticed a water log on the Siemens before the machine did, I could hit pause, and then restart which would then cause the machine to drain and redistribute before continuing with the spin. Miele seems to only have the ability to cancel the cycle completely.
The interim spins on the shorter cycles on the Miele are a problem. Automatic Plus and Minimum Iron seem to just do a very short burst spin for the interim spins, not taking much water away, and then moving to the rinse. Only Cottons does a proper 2 minute interim spin. I believe good rinsing starts with a good interim spin, so I worry about rinsing efficiency on the shorter cycles. With the Siemens, even on the mixed fabric cycle and easy cares, it still does a proper 2 minute interim spin at the selected spin speed.
I originally thought that Minimum Iron or Automatic Plus would become my go-to cycles for daily clothes that get washed on 40C, with only the loads that need a 60C cycle getting done on Cotton, but it looks like Cotton with Short would need to be the go-to.
I am going to try doing more frequent smaller loads (2 days worth of laundry) on minimum iron and automatic plus to see if that results is less or no water logging. Maybe I just need to change my laundry habits a bit to fit the Miele?
All things considered, I don't think I'm going to enjoy the Miele as much as I had hoped. The Siemens is in the spare bedroom, so I may just keep the Miele for a few more weeks to play with it and then flip it, and put the Siemens back in place.
Are my dislikes normal? Is it just because it's a 10 year old machine? Are the newer Mieles better with these issues?
Pictures for reference. As always, all feedback is appreciated.
Apologies for the essay of a post 😅
