asolo... 'town' water in central MA from underground wells pumped into tanks (not an 'open' reservoir system)... per the 'quality' reports we get, we do not have "issues" or mineral or other problems, although it is not 'soft' water.... that said I will say there are days when I fill the bath and the water has a brown sheen to it... other days a blue sheen... so I know they have consistancy issues. I don't know that I could "tell" if I had buildup/scum issues in my old tl machine... all you ever see ther is the inside of the tub.... not the window or the boot/drainage holes... in the tl that was all out of sight.... As far as temp goes, i typically always run my bosch using the water heater, so that should not be the problem here... All that said... after two weeks of going back to charlie's except for my whites (when my 'sample' arrives from charlies I'll try their first auggested approach for whites and see how that goes)... the scum is now totally off my door and the boot/drain hole area is back to looking like new from a cleanliness perspective... scum is gone... I will stay with the charlie's for all but whites for now... it seems to be working at keeping my machine clean and all but my whites clean... now to fix the whites problem... liriodendron... can't use cheer or most 'mainstream' laundry products with my husband's skin problems... but thanks for the suggestion...

They may be fluffier, but are they clean? I donÂt know about CharlieÂs Soap, but I recently tried the Seventh Generation powdered detergent on the basis of a recommendation from another post. I had a pair of white shorts that had a grass stain from mowing the lawn. The Seventh Generation failed to get it out. Thinking that I might not have used enough, I rewashed the shorts in another load and upped the dose. It still didnÂt get it out. Inasmuch as the Seventh Generation detergent has oxygen bleach and enzymes in it, I would expect the CharlieÂs Soap to have an even more dismal performance because it has none of those things. "Toxic" it may be, but I think IÂm going back to Sears Ultra Plus With OxiClean. It would have removed that grass stain with no trouble. It really is the best detergent IÂve ever used. The idea of green detergents is great, but thereÂs no point to them if they donÂt work.

compumom, I haven't tried Charlies Soap yet as I found this site looking for Miele 4840 reviews, and then found this string on this soap. I wish it was cheeper for Canadians, so I haven't gone and made my first purchase of Charlies. Then I found someone that is trying to get me to try the shaklee green stuff, since I am into all natural stuff. Right now I use a product that is all natural in my TL, but it isn't a product I could sell myself. (I've been a victim of two car accidents, and haven't worked full time since 2003, now our savings are all drained. We are converting our garage to art studio for husband, in hopes to make extra income, and a space for laundry so I don't have to climb the basement stairs with laundry anymore. All on the equity of our home. I just don't believe in suing, now after the lost of income etc almost wish I did believe in suing. Anyway I am looking for something I could make an income on too, be easier to make money on things I highly believe in like green cleaning products.) Anyway that is why I am presently coming around this site, now about your rough towels, I've never used chemical fabric softeners, I use a water/vinegar/essential oil compo as my fabric softener. Never straight vinegar. Then dryer balls in my dryer, use to use tennis balls for a few years. I don't want to repeat what I have already posted on another gardenweb string, so check out the link with Dyer balls. Here is a link that might be useful: dyer max balls

Your plumber said he had to smash out the wall? Maybe you should check with another plumber. If the water heater is only six feet away on the other side of a wall I would not think it would be that big a deal. Unless the wall is solid brick? I would have a few more plumbers come out and look at it. Will it be easier to put in the 220 line for the washer? I am assuming you are looking at one of the smaller European models that uses the on-board heater in every cycle to do a profile wash (heat cold water to hot to better remove stains) rather than the larger American models that only use the on-board heater in certain cycles. I'm not sure how the American style front loaders would handle washing with only a tap cold input. You will probably want to call customer service for the brands you look at and ask. When I was researching to make my washer purchase I found the Bosch customer service reps to be very helpful. Good luck! Let us know how this turns out!