How have you found the Miele washing machine overall?
It's just a joy to use, if washing can ever be described as a joy! My grandmother apparently used to say how utterly miserable wash-day made her. I was looking at her battered old 1923 Mrs Beeton the other day and saw an advert for the most technologically advanced washing machine money could buy back then. It had to be plugged it into a light socket! How far have we come since?? Even the machine we bought five years ago and replaced with the Miele seems so old-fashioned in comparison. The quality of washing is light-years ahead and so much quicker and quieter.
Is there anything in particular about the Miele washing machine which impressed you?
Firstly, the reduction in the need for ironing! We absolutely hate doing ironing & avoid it unless absolutely necessary. DH's shirts were creased and stiff when they came out of our (very basic) old machine, now with the Miele shirt function they're barely creased when they come out and apparently much softer to the skin. Likewise denim; they still come out a wee bit creased, but not stiff at all.
The 20-minute speed wash is a godsend. There's invariably something that gets forgotten but is desperately needed at short notice. Brilliant.
And the machine is unbelievably quiet. The last one on spin sounded like an earthquake was taking place in the middle of a thunderstorm. With this one you can have a phone conversation at normal levels standing by the machine during the spin-cycle.
What did you think of TwinDos feature?
It's brilliant; I tend to be a bit cavalier with dosage when using detergent/conditioner from bottles, so having the machine decide for you is great (and probably more economical in the long-run!).
Just a couple of points/suggestions:
The machine could really do with a prompt to choose one of the detergent options, as you (well, I!) can easily forget while the 'start' button is flashing at you and end up running washes without any detergent at all.
We've looked through the instructions for a way to check how much detergent is remaining, but couldn't find this. We presume there'll be a message flash up, but don't know how much notice you get! An option to proactively check would be great, so users aren't caught short.
How did you find the Miele detergents? Did you notice any improvement in the wash results?
These are very good indeed. The washing smells good but not overpoweringly so.
Washing has come out noticeably cleaner. You can choose the stain-level on the washing options and it works; a bunch of wine-stained napkins came out pristine. No need for soaking in special stain-removers. The old machine could never have done that.
Would you recommend the Miele washing machine to your friends/family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Well I have been waxing lyrical to all and sundry about it, so yes! The machine certainly presents a financial outlay we'd never previously have considered, but having been lucky enough to be selected to test (thank you!) we'd say yes, it's worth every penny. I don't think we'd have felt shortchanged if we had bought it. The technological standards, wide range of washing options, lack of noise, really high standard of washing & (from what I'm led to believe) customer support mean it should be worth every penny.