Miele WWG880 WCS

I have owned this machine for approximately three months and as I write this I am waiting for a technician to come out to fix it - the second time I have had the technician out. In terms of waiting they are not coming today - initially it was going to be ten days but I am rearranging my life so I can accomodate the needs of my washing machine and now I only have to wait three days. I need to do three loads per day to keep on top of my washing ... so it is a nightmare. The first time a technician came out was for the dryer, also bought three months ago, because I misunderstood the line drawings in the operation manual - you know those little books that come with appliances that you shove in a drawer and never look at again? Oh no, with these machines you will be referring to them on a weekly (initially daily) basis, so make sure you put them somewhere handy. The dryer was telling me I had to clean my filters - there are three and two of them (in the door) have to be cleaned every time you use the dryer. The third one needs to be done on a two to three weekly basis. It has a handle on it and I had turned the filter around so I was looking at the inner face of the filter, which was clean. But it was the outer face of the filter that needed cleaning. The dust was so perfectly spread out I couldn't tell it was dust! I don't know what is wrong with my washing machine but I know I have turned it off mid cycle a few times, because it does not have a pause button, and when I do that it does not behave the way the manual says it will. It does not pump away the water, but later, when a new cycle is chosen, the machine freaks out, flashes a number of problem codes on its screen, pumps away the water and then stops. You have to turn it off and select your cycle again. Anyway, despite reading my manuals thoroughly, it was only when the technician came to fix my dryer that I found out how to use my washing machine. I don't use the twin dos system because it involves bleach. Bleach is not cruelty free, it is also really bad for the environment (something the game of star appliance accreditation doesn't take into account!). And it is unlikely the other liquids Miele provide are good for you, animals or the environment because the only thing I can find out about them on the packet is that I should not get the liquid on my skin. Really? What does Miele think I do with my clothes? Anyway, when the first technician arrived I told him I hated my washing machine and it was not cleaning my clothes. He first tried to persuade me into just using the steam cycle, because apparently I don't know when my clothes need washing. He then advised me I was using too much washing powder for the machine. Because it is a 4.5 star rated machine, it uses too little water to rinse the soap out of my clothes if I use the amount advised on the back of the soap packet. The soap stays in the clothes along with the dirt. I have to use half as much soap if I want this machine to rinse my clothes adequately. For most of our clothes this seems to work now, but my partner's older business shirts have to go through the machine twice. Using the cotton cycle makes that six hours of washing ... how they got 4.5 stars for this machine I have no idea ... it seems they just look at water usage, because when a machine uses electricity for three hours per cycle, that can't be good for the environment. So If you are looking at Miele, and like me, think that you might be buying a good quality machine because you may get a ten year warranty on it (we got this as a special offer), think again. Miele has changed its game. It does not offer ten years warranty as a standard offer, and when you call up to get a service technician out, they make you listen to (I actually had to put the phone down and walk away because I was so angry), a disclaimer that they will charge you for a call out if it is "user error." It won't be user error; there are numerous design flaws both in the machines and in the instruction manuals. And Miele can't make up its own warranty game, Australian laws protect consumers, but it is pursuing your legal rights that is expensive. You can complain to the ACCC and if you encounter people who try to deny you your legal rights, definitely do place a complaint there, but they won't resolve individual issues. You have to go to VCAT for that. I am pretty sure I have a date with Miele at VCAT some time in the future, and I seriously DO NOT recommend these machines, in particular the TWIN DOS washing machine. This is a GAME that appliance manufacturers have invented because consumers care about the environment - the meaningless star accreditation - but they all then go on to manufacture increasingly limited life span appliances. Yes, Miele is in on this game too now. So don't reward them, don't buy their machines. And the space age features (such as twin dos) Miele has built into their machines to justify their prestige price, don't get fooled by those things either. They are nonsense. I am so so sad I gave up my lovely Electrolux $700 washing machine which gave me absolutely no problem for seven years :(, I stupidly thought if I got the matching washing machine and dryer they would work better.