Jenner asks which dishwasher? Smeg or Miele

Jenner’s a big fan of Smeg appliances, but after reading so-so reviews is prepared to widen her net to find the ideal appliance, and has put her questions to moneysavingexpert.com.

Twinklyrach is quick to vouch that almost “all of [her] appliances are Miele” while lovincoupons suggests it’s a trend to follow… “I would go with a German make. Miele or something”. Mvteng loves her Smeg cooker, but after problems with the dishwasher, has “now been replaced with a Miele which has been faultless for the first year of its life.”

To join in with the conversation, pop over here.

Miele dishwashers: “The flat cutlery tray is genius”

SparklyGothKat over at the Mumsnet discussion boards has had her dishwasher go belly up. Luckily her insurance covers the cost of a replacement and likes the look of a Smeg machine she’s seen. However for a further £20 on top of her payout she could go for a Miele instead and “wondered what they are like”.

No prizes for guessing that Miele comes out ahead of Smeg from those members who’ve owned both brands. As Winetimeisfinetime demonstrates: “I have had a Smeg dishwasher – a stainless steel one which looked lovely but was not very good at washing the dishes…also had a Bosch which was similarly bad”. “We now have a Miele which we are pleased with…So I would definitely recommend Miele over Smeg”.

Docket too describes the comparison as “Miele are meant to be the best. Smeg are meant to be amongst the worst!” although what ultimately gains most attention is Miele’s flat cutlery tray of which NCbirdy, GrabShellDude and Warthog are all fans. Mme Lindt goes one step further describing it as “genius” while Winetimeisfinetime pops up again to comment on the safety factor of keeping “the sharp stuff out of the way”.  Happy with the responses SparklyGothKat concludes: “Miele it is then!! Can’t wait to get the voucher and go shopping!!!”

Hop over Mumsnet to read the discussion in full.

Premium appliances: Are they worth the money?

Many of us will have had that protracted debate when designing a new kitchen: Should we invest heavily in premium products or go for less expensive brands? Well Neilw has started that ball rolling over on Boards.ie: “Just wondering if the likes of Smeg, Neff and so on are worth the extra cost, do they work any better, last longer?”

CDfm certainly agrees, with a simple “yes they are”, but while DublinWriter may agree with that, “They might last longer”, he’s a little more scathing about the people who buy them “as far as I can see they are just middle-class aspirational kitchen decor for people who can’t cook in the first place.”

He goes on: “I normally buy mid-range Miele/Bosch stuff as I could count on the fingers of both hands the amount of Hotpoint/Zanussi appliances I’ve had that have broken down after one or two years.” Niceirishfella though sums it up, stating “it’s like everything, you have to use your eyes and your head and gut when buyin.”

What are your thoughts on the subject? Would you compromise on the appliances or not? Have your say in the forum.

“Are SMEG fridges any good?”

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the last subject to be discussed on a mountain bike forum would be kitchen appliances, but the members of Singletrack prove this isn’t the case.

DrP likes the looks of a Smeg fridge he’s seen and although he thinks they’re expensive would like to know how they compare to other brands for better or worse. While BudFudlacker comments “surely a fridge is a fridge”, a number of other forum members share their experiences in more detail: Mefster in particular had considered them in the past, but after consulting an appliance expert found that “some of the other brands (including the Miele we went for) were better built. There certainly seemed to be a visible difference.”

Bunnyhop, cinnammon_girl and catshoe all give Miele the thumbs-up, bunnyhop especially commenting “Having done the research, I am really happy with ours. Also got 2 other Miele appliances, no complaints there either.

The prognosis for Smeg ownership doesn’t seem promising as the rest of the discussion demonstrates. If you’ve got any thoughts on the matter why not pop over to the forum and add your comments.

Miele or Smeg – Which has the best build quality?

New member Floob over at the UK Whitegoods Forum is looking to buy a new fridge freezer and although tempted by Miele also likes the look of Smeg. However, they’re unsure whether Smeg’s build quality matches Miele’s, so have asked for advice from those in the know.

Ike offers the opinion that Smeg build quality is purely marketing talk and describes it as “dubious” and having just bought a Liebherr model in stainless steel further recommends either Miele or Liebherr for their engineering and reliability, with Miele just having the edge on style.

Are you a Smeg owner? Or have you compared Miele, Smeg or any other appliance brand in a recent purchase decision? Share your thoughts with Floob in the forum.