<p>I haven’t been around the Cafe for a while, but I’ve stopped by to plumb the wisdom of the Cafe parents 
Our 22 yo Kenmore washer/dryer are about to give up the ghost and I want to replace them with a similarly long-lived pair. I’ve researched a bit on the Laundry forums and the Mieles seem to get the most praise.
Also, the Mieles are slightly shallower than the Duets I also looked at and that would help them fit down our EXTREMELY narrow basement stairway.
So I’m wondering if people who have them find them to be worth the money?
And also, my laundry is set up with the laundry tub on the left and I’m wondering how that will work with the Miele setup (Miele washer on right).</p>
<p>We got some with the house we purchased a year ago, and I wouldn’t buy them again. They are very temperamental, at least mine is. They hold very small loads and if you exceed the load it does funny things, like not draining properly. Even though my pair is only about 3 years old I dream about changing them.</p>
<p>As for the position of the laundry sink, my sink is on the left, with the dryer next in line, and the washer on the far right. </p>
<p>Sorry to rain on the Meile praise parade. Maybe mine are an aberration, but I would not buy them again.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input Anothermom. I wonder what model Miele you have because The washer I’m thinking of, 4842, is pretty large and can hold a king sized comforter.
I’m glad to hear that my laundry room set up will work for the Mieles but your problems with your machines will be something I’ll look into.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to get a little more feedback.
Do people who own Mieles still like them, feel they were worth the money?
I did a search and I know that people who posted did really like their machines but I’d like to know if they still feel the same after more time has passed.
Or if there are more people like Anothermom who wouldn’t buy Miele again. Thanks</p>
<p>Can’t help you on the Miele, but I have a brand new pair of Duets and am madly in love with them. If you get the bottom Duets they are made in Juarez. If you step up, they are made in Benton Harbor, Michigan. We have the made in the USA type.</p>
<p>We have a Miele washer and dryer and love them. We have had them for two years with no trouble. We do use only Persil detergent - you use very, very little! It’s front loading, so while it seems smaller I find I can put a lot in. The Miele guy told me as long as I could stick my arm in on top, I was okay and so far it’s worked :-)</p>
<p>I bought Mieles and had them taken out after 6 months for the very reasons anothermom stated. I have Duets in FL that I love, huge capacity and real work horses. In NH I have Maytag Neptunes which also are great.</p>
<p>I have the large capacity Miele washer (honeycomb stainless steel). Love, love, love it. I can wash anything, from a single silk panty to a king size down comforter. I’ve had it for three years now and so far, no problems of any sorts. I’m looking forward to the day when my Kenmore elite dryer kicks the bucket so I can replace it with a Miele one. I use regular HE detergents from Costco, but I use about 1/3 of the recommended amount.</p>
<p>I had an Asko set, then a Miele set afterward - all front loading - for my upstairs laundry room where space is an issue. Horrendous, as others have mentioned. Both held very small loads, were finicky if the load wasn’t just so - heavier items in with lightweight clothes, for example frequently were unbalanced. Sometimes the Miele would not drain for no apparent reason. Nobody mentioned the black gunk that builds up inside the opening - yuck. I replaced the Miele with a GE front loader and it is much more reliable. I still prefer my humongous top loader in the basement for serious laundry.</p>
<p>Second floor/vibration?
Piggy-backing on the thread: anyone with 2nd floor laundry rooms care to comment?
I will need to replace the washer and dryer in our 2nd floor laundry room and and interested in of the performance issues, plus vibration/noise. I should probably start another thread when our present w/d are ready to go.</p>
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<p>I had a 20+ yr Kenmore washer/dryer pair (my husband’s parents bought them for him when he graduated college). When the washer finally bite the dust, the repairman told me that I will never get that much of a lifespan out of a large appliance again. He said they are deliberately making them to last 7-10 years now. </p>
<p>I do have 20 year old Kenmore refrigerator that is refusing to die!! I’m trying to talk my husband into relegating it to the basement so I can buy a new one.</p>
<p>A tip about front loading washers that they sometime fail to tell you when you buy one…you need to leave the door open when not in use or it will eventually develop mold and an odor. I also leave the dispenser unit open. That is because the washer has a vacuum-like seal when the door is closed and air doesn’t circulate and with the left-over moisture it becomes a great breeding ground for mold. I’m always surprised at the number of people who tell me they have a front-loader and no one told them this when they bought it.</p>
<p>Mafool,</p>
<p>I don’t have any problems with noise/vibration in my second floor laundry room. Newer washers usually are pretty well insulated for sound, and the room was sound-proofed when the house was constructed. As long as I close the door, I don’t hear anything except a muffled whirring when I walk past the room. Also, the room is located in the middle of a hallway, not near the stairway, so noise is less likely to travel downstairs. My daughter’s bedroom shares one wall, and she has never mentioned the noise.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind, though, is the possibility of an overflow or a leak. The floor of my laundry room is ceramic tile, but the washer and dryer sit in a stainless steel “pan” with a drain in the center. The pan is recessed about an inch into the floor with a lip all around to accommodate a fair amount of water. I’ve never had a leak, but I’m glad that the drain is there and I don’t have to worry about the ceiling of the powder room located directly below.</p>
<p>GM makes a good point. In my first home, a condo, my washer leaked and my downstairs neighbors sued. A good tub underneath would have helped. Also, the babysitter overloaded the washer or this would not have happened</p>
<p>I want to thank everyone for all the input, even though I’m more confused than ever 
It sounds like no washer is made to last as long as my 22 year old Kenmore so I think I’m going to try the Miele, which seems to have the best chance of longevity.</p>
<p>I was very happy with our Miele. We moved after six years of trouble-free operation. (I did get a hole in the rubber skirt–the fault of the bucket of change that accumulated there before I learned to check after every load.)</p>
<p>The one we had was quite small; a set of king sheets and pillowcases was a single load. I quite liked that, as I never felt guilty about running a small load every day, which was much easier to manage than a huge load once or twice a week.</p>
<p>We never buy any major appliances without first looking at Consumer Reports. You can look in the local library for the issue that handles the specific appliance you want.</p>
<p>I have a second floor laundry room. The recently-replaced top loading washer would cause significant vibration. The new Duets are so quiet one can hardly tell they are there. One thing that may or may not be a factor is that mine sit directly on the floor. I’ve heard that pedestals may increase vibration, but I don’t know if it is true.</p>
<p>I’ve now washed every queen-sized down comforter and duvet cover in the house. Perfect results! Also super results with H’s wrinkle-resistant shirts from BB, infinitely better than old machines. I think I may try a chenille bathroom rug next. :)</p>
<p>I have a Miele washer that I purchased about 4 years ago. I liked it, at first, because it was so much better than the old, old Neptune I had. However, I have come to hate it and will be getting rid of it with an upcoming reno. It is very, as my grandmother used to say, persnickety. For a lack of any discernible reason, it will pause or shut down completely, less than 10 seconds after I push the start button. This happens more than half the time I use it. It’s not a serious issue but I find it incredibly annoying, especially when I have already left the laundry room and am headed down the stairs. </p>
<p>I’m fairly certain that I’m going to go back to a top-loading machine. It’s what I have down south and they are so easy to use and clean just as well, even without having a million different options for each load. I never have had the mould issue with my Miele but that’s because I leave the door open between loads. There definitely is a vibration issue with mine and the salesperson I spoke to recently did make a point of mentioning that there have been many complaints to Miele about this, in second floor laundry rooms. It apparently is one of the many reasons that Miele now insists on doing their own installations. The salesperson, by the way, had no knowledge that I already had a Miele and wasn’t happy with it. He actually is a big fan of Miele appliances, in general, and we’ll be going with Miele for our dishwashers and their built-in coffee system.</p>