Brief encounters - Miele T294C tumble dryer review

It’s not often we get a tumble dryer review on Forever Better. Perhaps it’s because it’s the unsung hero in the laundry room with the washer grabbing all the glory and more than its fair share of write-ups.

So with this review of the Miele T294C over at the Review Centre, it’s time for the humble tumble dryer to get five minutes in the limelight and what a better way to start than with a swathe of top marks from the Guest reviewer who’s awarded the T294C 10/10 for ease of use, durability, service and value.

‘Efficient’, ‘economical’, ‘quiet’ and ‘fast’ is how this owner describes using the dryer whose large family means it gets continuous usage and after “having cheaper brands that packed up every couple of months” the T294C is a “sheer delight”. Unable to fault with the dryer they point out the “the next model up gives time remaining but do you really sit and watch it decrease?…[the] buzzer is fine so you can get on with the next load!”

So the T294C gets this reviewer’s whole-hearted ‘thumbs-up’. Jump across to read their review in full and if you find it useful, why not rate it.

“What does a £1000 Miele washing machine do that makes it so good?”

Over at Pistonheads, Wattsie_2004 is urgently looking for a new washer and has short-listed Bosch, Hoover, Hotpoint, Indesit and Zanussi as potential candidates. Even with this selection he’s still not convinced and wants recommendations for others as long as they’re “reliable”.

“Top notch gear” is bomb’s description accompanying his Miele recommendation, while Alfa_75_Steve recommends the entire Miele product range: “Dishwasher: Miele, Washing Machine: Miele, Tumble Dryer: Miele, Vacuum Cleaner: Miele, Oven: Miele, Hob: Miele”. Although Andrew[MG] asks “What does a £1000 Miele washing machine do that makes it so good?”, both Alfa_75_Steve and Neil_H list the benefits of Miele ownership: “Efficient on water use, Very energy efficient, A program to look after any kind of fabric you can imagine, Deathly quiet, Will last you a lifetime.”

All of which leads to the question of the false economy of buying a cheaper brand which will have to be replaced sooner rather than later or spending the extra on a Miele and seeing it last twenty years. As usual this provokes a lively debate so jump across and get involved.

Brief encounters - Miele W1613 washing machine review

Jane-24 has recently become “the proud owners of a Miele W1613 washing machine” and by the sounds of her review on Ciao.co.uk, it seems she’s pretty happy about it too!

Noting that the W1613 is “quiet and very easy to use”, she spends a large proportion of the review waxing lyrical about the added options the washer provides: “Water and energy consumption are determined by the size of the load, so when smaller amounts of laundry are washed the automatic load recognition system reduces the amount of water, time and energy used” – meaning that this washer is a step forward with environmental concerns, and money-saving on those electric and water bills.

She’s also delighted with the timer, saying “the estimated programme duration appears in the digital display, which counts down to let you know visibly when the cycle will finish, which is very handy when you are busy”. All good – not to mention that “there is also the option of a buzzer” too.

Jane does concede that her W1613 “is very heavy and expensive to buy”, however, she tempers this observation by suggesting that “Miele appliances are renowned for their build quality” – so she’s “sure that the extra expense is worth it in the long term”.

To read Jane-24’s thoughts in full, drop by Ciao and see for yourself.

Brief encounters - Miele W1714 washing machine review

After only six months using her new machine, ksb76 has been so impressed by the Miele W1714 that she’s written a review of it over at Dooyoo.

Giving it full marks across reliability, ease of use, design, maintenance, and quality she describes it as “easy to use and economical” and “pretty self explanatory…even my hubby can use it with no instructions!”. She’s found the 40C and short-combo wash the most useful for her which she says provides excellent results.

What’s also caught her eye is the way the chosen program tells you how long the cycle will last for, how much time remains once the cycle is underway and if you use anything but a full load it will use less water, take less time to spin thus saving you water and electricity.

To read ksb76’s review in full, hop over to Dooyoo and rate her review or even leave a comment.

Energy efficiency in the kitchen

Last week we posted about a thread on DIYBanter in which we briefly touched on the energy efficiency of new appliances versus older machines and asked whether anyone had noticed any improvement in food shelf-life aftering purchasing a new fridge.

Guyc over at the Green Building Forum has taken this thought one step further and actually bought an energy meter to monitor the energy consumption of his old freezer and also researched the more efficient appliances on the market. He notes that Miele offer a number of “…high rated models that are well priced” especially “…their A++ rated freezer, Miele F1365S claims 134kWh/year and retails for £360, but can often be found around £300…”. Interesting stuff when you consider you’re not just saving on the initial purchase, but over the life of the appliance as well.

If you want to read more on going green in the kitchen, including scraping and recycling your old fridges and freezers hop over to the Green Building Forum and join in conversation.