There are many owners of the 4842 who will no doubt post.

My 3035 (stainless) is now a year old. The latest model is 3037 (white). I am very pleased with this washer which does the most amazing job in so many ways. There is a learning curve -- worth the effort --and there's a cheat sheetwhich I keep in the laundry room for reference.

Bottom line: everything gets clean and the job it does on stain removal, my whites, my synthetics and woolens is outstanding.

Thanks rococogurl - I was hoping that you would respond!
I'm glad to hear that about stain removal since I have 2 small children...can you soak in the 24 inch models or do you think that's unnecessary since it does such a great job on stain removal and whites? I like to wash all the kids clothing on cold since I can't afford shrinkage with their clothing...also is there flexibility with the programs or do I have to have the water temp that the program dictates ie if I want cold for whatever cycle... thank again for your input! I will have a good read of your cheat sheet also

And does anybody know the difference between the W3033 (now retired - I thought that was still being sold?) and the replacement W3037? Thanks in advance!

rococogurl one other thing: which detergent do you use and how much per wash? What is the Persil like to use?
I currently use Caldrea sweet pea - one lid per wash, Vaska for whitening and vinegar for the rinse cycle
(I want to make sure I don't use too much for the machine) PS With small children I like to use detergents with very little to no fragrance etc that will not stay in clothing

fpmom - I will try to answer the various questions.

The machine is a completely different animal than the top load. There is straight wash on various cycles each of which is sort of named for their task (emphasis on sort of) and each has a specific fill level, temperature choices and agitator action. But there are a lot of them which is why the cheat sheet was done. Easier to figure out what to use for what with that.

Some cycles (not all) have a cold prewash called heavy soil. I use that with less than a tbsp of Oxiclean for stain removal followed by a warm, very warm or hot wash. If you check the cheat sheet link you will see the job it did with DH's espresso-stained pants which is quite dramatic. That same prewash-wash removes blood without a trace and when our friends' little guy had an accident at night there was no worry at all about getting it out of the sheets or the bedpad.

If you absolutely need a soak, Handwash is the closest and it's a 40 to 60 minute cold water cycle with occasional agitation.

One cycle called Custom allows you to basically set whatever you want. With kids clothes this washer should be a dream.

Mindstorm has a 3037 although she bought hers a few months after I bought my 3035. It said in some technical docs that it has an extra drum bearing. Alex may know more about any other differences. My impression is that it's not a major change.

I use Persil megaperls and Caldrea (love sweet pea!) for most of my loads. I generally use no more than 1 TB per load of Persil or I get too much suds but we have a whole house softener. I use about 1 TB Caldrea. So a box of Persil lasts me a year (it rocks white loads). I generally go with Caldrea for underwear and colored clothing. With the Oxiclean booster in the prewash, I can go down to 2 tsps Persil. (Vaska was way too sudsy for my water).

Most cycles have 3 rinses and there is a setting to enable more called "Sensitive". So things rinse out really well. No worries there. And if there is a question, I run the load through the separate 18-minute rinse cycle which is my backstop.

For dark loads I like the Perwoll Dark Wash which does a nice job in cold water. I use that for the stretchy yoga clothes and fleece also.

Our DD discovered Cal Ben pure soap which she uses for her family's laundry because the little guy has allergies. She has three, 7, 5 and 2 so there a ton of laundry. Very nice soap, relatively inexpensive, works in the Miele and rinses well. Another option.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cal Ben

Thanks so much rococogurl - that answer is so helpful... I'm starting to think I should stick with the 'european' 24 inch vs the 'american' 27 inch - at least I know I will be happy with the W3037 based on what I know about european style 24 inch washers and then what I have read about Miele on here... rococogurl you have been extremely helpful answering my other various posts since you have also used Bosch and Asko as have I - do you see much difference between your new Miele and the old Bosch? The fact that the Miele is gentle but gets out stains and does a great job on whites (which I wear a lot of) is a home run for me... would still be interested to hear from any W4840 owners though (that $1399 price tag is enticing!) PS Is a 4 yr warranty at $250 a good price? Is it worth it?

i liked the Bosch. It was a good basic machine and has slightly more capacity. But it doesnt have the same whitening ability as the water doesnt get quite as hot. Also, it has set cycles, not adjustable at all. But it would have been my second choice.

I bought that waranty from Miele direct on cyber Monday. The dealer actually wanted more. I got 10 percent off by calling and asking for it. no rush on that until one year to the purchase date. perhaps you could get the discount at some point.