AIBU to suggest we spend £900 on a washing machine?

[Mummyme1987]

I’m just so fed up with them only lasting a few years. I’m thinking of getting lower end Miele one I saw in a local shop. DH thinks they won’t last any longer. I heard they go on and on. He thinks it’s too much and won’t last as long as two cheap ones. I think it will wash better and last at least twice as long as a cheap one, ours has died after 3 years.. I think we have a family that I’ve never met living in my house too, going by how much washing there is for 3 kids! We can just afford it by doing a lower key Xmas and birthdays this next year. AIBU?

Ours are John Lewis, economic and very reasonable

I suppose not overloading it would be a good idea, but you wouldn't do that if you wanted your clothes to come out clean anyway because if they're all jammed in, those in the middle won't get wet and won't get washed.

That probably wouldn't break the machine either because the water probably weighs more than the clothes.

Maybe some people are doing at home stone-washing of denim or cleaning engine parts to make their machines break so quickly, so as it's never occurred to me to do either of those, I guess I'm a competent user and I could have bought the cheapest machine in the shop, instead of being seduced by German branding and hoping that they knew how to make things properly.

But I buy all my appliances from Currys, which is wrong according to Mumsnet anyway because I should be worshipping the God that is John Lewis, even though they think a week is a good delivery timescale (for a washing machine or dishwasher, I don't think so, I'm buying it from whoever does next day delivery) and when a friend of mine bought a fridge, it looked like it had been dropped off the delivery truck, there were so many dings and scratches all over it.

What about a secondhand Miele?

Another with 12 year old Miele which had 10 year guarantee. No problems ever.

TwoIsNotBetterThanOne

Why so rude? I only asked a question , you said you hoped I had money set aside for a new machine,I asked why.

My reading comprehension is fine thanks,it's you who seems unable to answer a simple question.

Anyway, onwards and upwards.

Haven't read all the comments but my nans Miele is still going after 25 years... Definitely worth it.
Also if clothes aren't coming out clean it could be a sign of two things, firstly you are putting too much in the machine - need to make sure it's not jam-packed in and there's a space at the top. Secondly that you are using enough washing powder - I know for our area because of the hard water we need to add an additional amount plus more because of the size of the washing machine.
I haven't found the eco washes much cop and just do a quick wash instead and it's not any difference in price.

It's definitely reading your instruction book to check the maximum load size for the quicker loads, because sometimes it's only a small amount.

And also because, counterintuitively, sometimes the quicker cycles use more energy than the slow ones, because the latter just has the washing sitting there, while the quick ones do more agitating. So if you're thinking 'I want to save energy so I'll just do a quick cycle' you're not actually achieving this.

My Miele is well over 10 years old and still running like a dream....

I have a Miele washer-dryer and, like a pp, it’s been a disaster (at least 2 repairs per year needed in the last 3 years - it’s 5 years old). Will never buy another one. Their customer service is awful too; I always have to wait at least 10 days for an engineer to visit and they rarely manage to fix it first time (with another 10 days before the next visit).

Thanks everyone

People are stupid if they think they all last for decades

My Mum had a washing machine that lasted for 35 years !! From the States and then shipped over here and used with a transformer box.

Things are sure not built like they used to be.

@ItMustBeBedtimeSurely

Of course people with Miele machines are going to say they're worth it!

Our £200 beko just gave up after 6 years so I replaced it with the same model updated, think it was £249. If you will have to cut back on xmas etc then you really can't afford the miele imo.

We have a similar priced Beko bought in 2016, still going strong.

@Mummyme1987

I’m just so fed up with them only lasting a few years. I’m thinking of getting lower end Miele one I saw in a local shop. DH thinks they won’t last any longer. I heard they go on and on. He thinks it’s too much and won’t last as long as two cheap ones. I think it will wash better and last at least twice as long as a cheap one, ours has died after 3 years.. I think we have a family that I’ve never met living in my house too, going by how much washing there is for 3 kids! We can just afford it by doing a lower key Xmas and birthdays this next year. AIBU?

I started out with Indesit and several other makes over the years, and they always had maddening things wrong with them and died after two or three years -- and no, I don't over-load washing machines, and yes, I use water-softener.

Our lower-end Miele washing machine has lasted eight years now. Before that I had tried going more upmarket hoping for better quality and we had two Boshe ones, which each lasted less than a year and were replaced under guarantee but I could no longer trust that make not to break down so I sold the later one (it was new, so I got a reasonable price) and bought the Miele instead. My brother has one and has had it for about fifteen years now, seven then, so I took that as a recommendation.

It washes clothes well, has a short cycle for things which are not actually dirty just worn-two-days, spins enough to get clothes line-dry but not creased enough to need ironing, and is very quiet. Sometimes I only know it has finished spinning for the last time because it goes beedle-di-bip at me to let me know, it's that unobtrusive even if it is in the next room with the doors open!

@Mummyme1987

We have agreed on one and just sorting finance now. Glad to hear how long Miele have lasted. DH is now as excited as I am for it! Anything to spend less time doing laundry is a winner in his books. Having to wash twice is such a waste of time.

I am delighted for you; honestly, mine was a life-saver -- I got ill shortly after we got it, and I couldn't have coped with any more hassle from any damn washing-machine just at that point.

We retired a 25 year old Miele (inherited with the house!) this year and replaced it with a similar model for £800. It does clean a lot more efficiently than a previous machine (Samsung ecobubble) and even if it only lasts 10 years I’ll be very pleased, better than scrapping something in 7 years both environmentally and in terms of the hassle of sorting it all out. And I do really notice how well they clean as we use cloth nappies.

We have had our LG for 6 years, gets used plenty, including loads of washable nappies etc.

The people I know who get through machine in 2-3 years are often:

• constantly running long, high rpm spins. Mine is max 1400 and that is fine. High spin speeds knacker the drum belt.
• overloading the drum. Weigh a load of washing, you will find you are probably putting too much in.
• gunking it up using too much powder/detergent.
• not cleaning filters, drawers etc - general maintenance.

My Miele washing machine is over 20yo and still going strong. OTOH my Miele dishwasher packed up irreparably 2 months out of warranty, so I’m not sure you can rely entirely on the brand.

I’ve had my Miele for 11+ years. It is on every day, sometimes a few times a day. It is fantastic.

A work colleague has had his for 20+ years and it is still going strong.

I’ve been married / living with my husband for about 35 yrs ,in that time we’ve owned 3 washing machines , a hotpoint that lasted about 15 yr and an LG direct drive that we replaced this year . We’ve gone for a Bosch , mainly because it had all the cycles I wanted including short ones and also because I was buying a Bosch condenser dryer and dishwasher at the same time . I don’t think expensive machines last any longer than cheaper ones or wash any better.

I have Miele washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher. They are all about 10/11 years old (that's when we moved here). They haven't had any mechanical issues at all in that time. I didn't go for an extended warranty because I find them overpriced.

We had one issue which wasn't the machine's fault, someone loaded the machine and caught a bit of fabric in the door, so that the door seal tore during operation and the machine leaked. DH wanted to buy the seal online and replace it himself but I called Miele service dept and they sent out an engineer which worked out about 10% more than buying the part and doing it ourselves so well worth it. Plus he did a service check on the tumble dryer for free while he was there.

Also, I use the MN recommendation of a hot wash with white vinegar every now and then and the engineer remarked at how clean and not gunky my machine was considering the higher than average number of washes it had done.

We bought the entry level Miele 14 years ago and it's never given us a moment's trouble. My mum has had hers for over 30 years!