From experience I know that they have a great customer service tech line. Call them in the AM and ask their advice. Good luck!

I guess you have the Optima G2432 or G2472? I have the Diamante and get excellent results. Even though you may think you have soft city water, get the salt and use it. I have mine set to 5-8 grains. You also must use rinse aid. I tried the Cascade brand first, but found the Miele Rinse Aid to be better quality. I have my rinse aid dispenser set to 1ml. For the detergent, you can try the Casacde Complete Action Packs like I did, but then I tried the Miele brand of tabs and found them better. I just break them in half and just use one half per load. On your Optima there is a setting for Tab that you want to make sure you turn off, as that is only for detergent that contains rinse aid in it. The Turbo function is for shorter washes. With all this being done, I would suggest using the Normal cycle first and see how it works out. If you are still having problems, then try the Pots Pans cycle as that washes longer and hotter.

1. The salt re-charges the water softener. It is not needed on the first load or second.

2. yes, you need rinse aid- that's why your cutlery was wet.

3. what detergent did you use, how much?

4. is the DW connected to hot or cold water?

5. Nothing came clean - come on, after nearly two hours getting sloshed with water - even cold non soapy water , some stuff would have gotten clean.

6. Miele's and other euro models for that matter should be loaded methodically in the slots in the racks for best results. They don't do well with stuff just thrown in willy nilly like your mother's potscrubber.

Was the dishwasher outlet hose installed properly, i.e. with a "high loop" installation? The high loop is so that the dirty waste water drains out, and cannot flow back into the DW. If the hose is not installed as a "high loop", you could be having dirty water come right back into your DW and on your dishes.

There is a lot of value to having a certified Miele installer install a Miele DW (an additional year on your warranty for one thing). Who installed yours?

Here is a link that might be useful: Video Explaining DW High Loop Installation

I'm in NYC and my Optima works perfectly. It's hooked up to cold water. We use no salt but rinse aid is a must. Call them as it's likely there's either an install problem or a setting that that needs to be programmed.

I thought Miele's have a special valve that doesn't require a high loop or air gap and that even certain towns in CA will waive the air gap requirement.

Is the outlet drain hooked up to the garbage disposal, and was the metal plug removed from the disposal?
We seen "That One" a couple of times!

Gary

good thought dodge,

miele's do have a one way check valve that keeps water from coming back into the unit, but a high loop is still not a bad idea with them. You can also have the entire hose drain below the unit in which case a modification has to be made in the sump area.

I have G2432. Thank you everyone for your help! What brand of Rinse Aid and dishwashing liquid should I use? I checked out Miele's tabs on their site, and it costs $30!!! Miele Rinse Aid is available only on their site. Amazon sells Somat for Miele Rinse Aid - is that good?

Does Rinse Aid make such a big difference that the dishwasher will not even clean and dry without it?

Start with rinse aid. You get Jet Dry at the grocery store. Or, you can use Somat (more expensive). The manual will tell you how to fill the dispenser and what the default setting is. It's necessary.

Miele tabs are expensive but most of us cut them in half. I found those give best results but some use Cascade powder -- no more than 2 tsps per load.

I suggest making those changes first. See what happens. Then go from there. It can be several different things -- the machine will work if installed correctly and all the directions in the manual are followed -- or it will get adjusted. No worries.

"good thought dodge,"

Thanks Antss!

Ya know a lotta times it is the simple thing"
So I try to follow the "Kiss Principle"
(Keep it simple Stupid) (LOL)

Gary

Rinse aid is a surfactant and it is used in the last rinses to ensure that the water sheets off rather than beads on the dishes and thus aids the drying process. It is not a cleaner and it won't help your non-cleaning woes.

Personally, I would hold off the rinse aid until you've solved your cleaning problem. You don't want the still soiled, grimy dishes to come out with the soil dried on.

On the plus side, these DWs are excellent machines. You or someone will fix your cleaning problem - no doubt about it. You can then move on to the drying problem - easily solved with the rinse aid which is, unf., necessary in these euro-machines.

Good luck.

As others have said, Rinseaid will help if your dishes are not coming out dry, but won't help with your cleaning problem. The wet-dishes issue to me is less important than the problem of the dishes not coming out clean. BTW, I use inexpensive Jet Dry from the supermarket in my Miele and it works great. And my water is slightly harder than yours. So you really don't need to make yourself crazy spending all that money on the Miele tabs or the Somat.

But you should be focusing on the cleaning--after all that is the sole purpose of the appliance. It sounds like it's an installation problem. As Compumom advised, first call Miele customer service. But really, get your installer back, although since he did the problematic installation, it may behoove you to find a Miele certifiied installer and get the problem solved in one visit, and properly.

It is very rare on this forum to have someone with a Miele DW post with your complaint (I can't recall of one). Since it's brand new, something went wrong with the installation.

It would be helpful if you posted the cycle you are using and the detergent.

Load the dishwasher so that each dish will be accessed by the water. Once loaded, give the washing arms a spin to make sure they are free and clear of any obstacles.

If you use powder detergent, then do not use the TAB option.

If you use tab detergents, choose the TAB option. This option gives a longer wash, since tabs take longer to dissolve than powders. Thus the option choice.

Choose the pots and pan cycle or even the Sani cycle at first. They are your longest cycles and should certainly get your dishes clean. Most people want to use the Express cycle to save time and water. Thats great if you are putting very lightly soiled dishes. You need to start with a good long cycle, so that you know how absolutely clean this machine can wash your dishes.

Make sure to scrape the dishes, but do not RINSE them clean before adding to the machine. The detergents need soil in order to work properly, otherwise they will eat at your dishes and glassware. Clean the screening unit at least once a month. There is no macerator in this machine, like those in North American machines. It takes only a couple minutes to do this.

I would use the built in softener, even though your water is not hard. It will just make the detergents more effective. I have a whole house softener, but still use the built-in softener too. My dishes sparkle. Literally. I use Somat tabs and Somat salt.

The turbo option is selected when you have relatively clean dishes in the machine. The turbo sensor measures the particles in the water. That option makes cycles shorter. I would select that option when I am cleaning dishes from my cupboard, not from my table.

Once you are aware how clean this machine gets your dishes, you can then move to the other cycles and see what suit your particular needs. Happy dishwashing!

Regarding the Rinse Aid and Detergent being used, its really personal preference, how well it works, and price. When I got the Diamante installed, I still had a bottle of Cascade rinse aid (the blue stuff) and a box of the Cascade Complete Action Packs. So that's what I used. Everything cleaned well, but I noticed a bit of a chemical smell on (and inside) my plastic cups. I wasn't sure what was causing it, so I used up all the Cascade rinse aid that I had put in the dishwasher and when it was empty I filled it up with the Miele rinse aid (clear). That right there stopped the chemical smell I was getting on plastics and in the dishwasher.

I continued to use the Cascade Complete Action Packs (as there was about 90 of them left), but the guy from the Miele store gave me a few samples of the Miele Detergent Tabs. I had read in here that most people just break them in half and use them, so I tried it like that, and half a Miele Tab worked just fine. So last week when my Cascade packs ran out, I went and purchased the Miele tabs. They are $30 for 60 full tabs, but when broke in-half, you really get 120, which are 25-cents each. The Cascade packs cost about 23-cents each, so doing it that way they are almost the same price per pack.

Regarding the TAB option that is on the Optima dishwasher, the manual clearly states this is only to be used if you are using a tab product that contains rinse aid, as the dishwasher it WILL NOT dispense any liquid rinse aid. That is why I suggested that you turn the TAB OFF and use a liquid rinse aid with a Cascade or Miele pack. You can also try the standard Cascade loose powder that comes in a box, as some people like to measure how much they are using.

"If the "Tab" indicator is not lit, the
dishwasher is set for normal detergent.
If the "Tab" indicator is lit than the
program sequence is adapted to suit
detergents than contain rinse aid (as
well as other components where
applicable).
The rinse aid dispenser and indicator
light are deactivated"

The SiniWash and Pots/Pans cycles run the longest and use the hottest water temps. You might want to start with those and see what type of results you get.

If you try everything we've all suggested in here, and still are having dirty dishes and everything being wet, then call Miele for a service apt. The unit might not have been installed properly, or maybe there is a defect with the unit (rare with Miele, but can happen to any built machine).