When your appliances are rather worn, defunct – or quite frankly ex-appliances - whitegoods shopping beckons and with it a wide choice of hardware that one must painstakingly choose. But what should one go for? Well if you’re anything like oldgreypoet from the ‘A little bit of bread…and no cheese’ blog, you pick Miele as this duologue describes:

“I don’t know about you,” I said, “but this is something I don’t want to have to repeat any time soon. And I want the best machines we can find.”
“Easy, then,” said Graham. “We’ll go for Miele.”
“Gulp,” I said, feeling my wallet gripping tight to the inside of my pocket.
“Yup. I know. But it’ll be worth it. Tell ya what. You pay for the washer/dryer and I’ll pay for the dishwasher.”
“Fair enough.”

And lo, one house kitted out in plenty of Miele goods, a fact celebrated by the majority of oldgreypoet’s readers. L’autre Monique suggests that Miele are a “very nice choice of brand indeed! Those washer/dryer combos aren’t as common here in the States as I know they are in Europe, but they should gain in popularity eventually for their space-saving advantages also among others.” Bex meanwhile says “Over here, if you have ‘money’ (which a LOT of folks do around this area) then you buy Miele everything”.

Excited by their purchase, oldgreypoet is now patiently awaiting delivery of the “gleaming new top of the line machines…We’ll be more than ready for [them] when they arrive.”

AVForums.com is the UK’s biggest home consumer electronics discussion resource, so it’ll come as no surprise to anyone that community member doodles deemed it the best place to lay down a number of slightly garbled questions about washing machines.

“Looking for a washing machine, what would be better choice in reliability/quality etc, washer or washer dryer, pro’ cons, apart from it also dry’s??” he says… And as well as getting a number of strong recommendations on which companies to strongly avoid, doodles does get this piece of sage advice from Anwarsadat, who suggests “It all depends on your budget to be honest.”

“I swear by Miele products” he says, but concurs that “they’re not cheap.” Would it be worth getting the cheaper machine though? Not in Anwarsadat’s opinion, who states “cheaper brands are false economy though, if you do a lot of washing drums/bearings tend to wear out very quickly on the likes of Hotpoint/Whirlpool etc.”

Oh, and as for washer-dryers, Anwarsadat again with a fairly unequivocal statement of his thoughts on those. “Don’t get a washer dryer if you have the space for separates…”.

To read the rest of the conversation in full, hop over to AV Forums.

The process of buying a washer dryer can be full of pitfalls, so it’s important to take as much opinion as one can find when taking the big step into the whitegoods market. That’s exactly what KFA over at Digital Spy has done in their quest for a new machine.

One of the first commentators Galaxy266, was keen to pledge his allegiance: “Best would be Miele, that is, if you want to spend that sort of money” and offers stark words of warning to anyone buying a cheaper machine: “It’s well worth taking out an extended warranty on a washer/dryer; they are known to be troublesome (not necessary on a Miele as it’s guaranteed for 10 years anyway!)”

Meanwhile, Chessie delivered her verdict in a no frills post, simply stating “Miele, Bosch or AEG”, while the interestingly monikered Smutbucket agrees on the whole: “You can only get what you can afford but from experience I would stick to Bosch, Miele or Zanussi”. And what of the negative? Well, jellybabie68 certainly has the knives out for Hotpoint after working her way through three faulty machines in as many months describing them as a “…total waste of £450.”

Do you have a horror story to rival jellybabie68? What would you recommend to KFA? Have your say in the forum.

AaronG from the Digital Spy forum isn’t very happy with his washer dryer. After putting a load in overnight he’s found that his laundry is still damp in the morning even after the drying process.

While some members ask if the machine is broken or whether AaronG appreciates the difference in washing loads and drying time, the main debate centres around whether washer dryers are as good as separate machines. 555 points put that “they all take twice as long to dry clothes. If you know that, you work with it, and it’s not a problem” and recommends either Miele or Bosch as the brands to go for. Luxxy too, comments: ” unless you buy a Miele, you may as well forget it…the next machine I get will be a Miele, you get what you pay for.”

AEG, Bosch, Hotpoint and Zanussi all have their share of happy owners with the concensus being whatever brand you have, it’s best to dry only half the load at a time.

If you’ve got any washer dryer stories to share with the folk at Digital Spy, pop over to the forum.

Netmums member Rosie F is in a bit of a quandary after working her way through two washing machines and a tumble dryer in the last five years. Instead of separate units she wants to get a washer dryer and after having spent a small fortune on other brands in the past wants to know if the extra initial investment in Miele will be worth it.

CathH immediately recommends Miele on the strength of their customer service and warranties after she had repairs made to her vacuum cleaner, while lizm recalls the advice given to her by an appliance engineer of choosing either a cheaper brand and replacing it every two-three years or spending the extra on Miele which will last twenty.

Rosie F concludes with the thought: “…I have to say a lot of my fears about washer dryers have been confirmed! Buying a cheap one is a bit of a gamble…”. If you’ve got any further suggestions for her why not leave a comment.

Over at the Speaker’s Corner section on the PC Adviser Forum, Diodorus Siculus has asked the immortal question: “Who makes good washing machines?” There are many mentions of Miele from various posters, such as Eow is nighe who writes “You won’t get any better than a ‘MIELE’”.

Stuartli mentions that he used to own a Zanussi washer dryer, but replaced it with a Miele on the advice of a friend and because of the company’s “superb quality and reliability”. He reports on how the Miele was £100 cheaper than the Zanussi cost to buy 13 years ago and how it is now 5 years old, used at least twice a day “and has never missed a beat.” FatboySlim71 agrees, telling how he finds his own Miele washing machine “fabulous”. It’s extremely quiet, even at an 1800 rpm spin and he thinks that “Miele are the Rolls Royce in washing machines”. Stuartli also links to a review of the Miele W864 washing machine previously covered on Forever Better.

Head on over to the thread to read the different opinions and if you have any of your own for Diodorus Siculus, let him know.

A new review of the Miele WT2670 washer dryer has popped up on Review Centre, receiving full marks in every category listed.

You may recall a previous write-up way back in April that was similarly positive and the guest author of this latest review thinks the WT2670 is “a brilliant machine”, listing a number of good points including ease of use, extensive programmes and the “excellent wash results”. The author is also impressed by the machine telling you “how much detergent you need based on the programme and weight of load”.

“Don’t even bother to waste your money on a cheaper alternative” concludes the author. He’s had a Miele for 15 years and it’s still working “brilliantly” today despite never having been serviced. Head on over for the full review here.

Despite asking for no Miele recommendations, replies to Catherine197’s post about a new washer dryer to replace her old Bosch suggested just that.

The argument from the majority of her fellow Pistonheads being that although the initial outlay would be greater, the lifespan of Miele appliances will prove better value than replacing a worn-out machine from another brand every two or three years.

GregE240 brings this point home describing the problem he’s had with his two-year old AEG washer dryer against his sister’s trouble-free five-year old Miele.

What are your experiences of washer-dryers? Although traditionally seen as more troublesome than separate machines have you had any problems? Why not share your thoughts in the forum.

In the second of our brief encounters reviews, sideshow bob from the Review Centre has posted his thoughts on the WT2670 washer dryer after twelve months use.

Despite using it three times a week he describes the machine as “…still running like new” and provides “excellent washing and drying results”. He’s also impressed by the build quality and the basic five-year parts and labour warranty which can extended to ten years by simply returning the warranty card to Miele.

Comparing the WT2670 to his previous Hotpoint and Hoover appliances he describes the Miele as “…simply outstanding” and gives it the Review Centre ‘thumbs-up’.

Read his comments in their entirety, rate his review or add a comment of your own.