We bought the KA KUDS30IVSS in October 2009. It does not have the venting issue that another KA DW line did. The store we purchased from carried Miele and KA as their 'top' lines. I thought the Miele had a wonderful build quality, but my dishes and cookware simply did not fit. I have a lot of oversized cookware that will literally take up half a rack with one piece. Some of it is tall and was a really difficult fit. The KA had a much more flexible arrangement, and in that respect has worked out very well for us. When the phosphates were removed from detergents in Jan 2011, I had some cleaning issues that went away when I switched to Finish, as recommended on this forum. The KA DW is definitely a little noisier now than it was before. 'Noise' is always subjective, but we have an open plan in a small house, and both upstairs (where the DW resides) and downstairs (it is above our master bath) it can now be noticed when the DW is running, whereas before it was almost unnoticeable. We had recurring issues with the soap dispenser unit which was documented here in other threads, so I won't repeat myself. Poor repairman competence was a major contributing factor to a nine-month saga of why we are on our fourth dispenser unit. I was told by the original installer that these DWs have an issue with the pump unit failing after about three years. He congratulated us on getting the extended warranty and certainly it was of great use during the dispenser problem. Now that Miele has finally recognized they need a more flexible loading arrangement, when this KA fails - not if it will fail, but WHEN - we can replace it with a Miele. The KA is good, but it is nowhere near the build quality of Miele. From the plastic hinges to the rickety sprayer arms, KA just can't compare.

fahrenheit, It was just replaced this morning. Do you have a webcam inside my house :-) Told you I was afraid that Miele Vision module was going to create privacy issues! The short answer - the gasket replacement was done skillfully and without rush by the local guy. Looks nice and even as expected now. The original gasket must have been poorly molded or something. He originally tried just adjusting the one in place and it wouldn't correct the problem. Kind of wonder what kind of QC Miele has to let somethig like that through. The longer story... The local guy doing it has been doing appliance repair for quite some time, but this was the first W48xx he has worked on. Didn't initally give me a great feeling, but I saw he worked in a very methodical way, never forcing anything and calling for help when he got stuck. He was good about keeping track of all the parts, and after the machine was back together there weren't any extra parts (always a good sign). He did the entire job without moving the machine from it's leveled spot knowing what a PITA it can be getting things just right. The machine didn't come apart quite as easily as you'd think. The top was removed, the bezel of the control panel had to be carefully seperated from the keypad electronic panel and then a tray that hold both in place removed. Door latch removed and interlock between the latch and despensing drawer removed. Then the front comes off. He commented on how nicely built and higher quality everything appeared vs. other products on the market. He wasn't very happy with the telephone support he got from technican Miele support in Princeton. He got the information he needed, but the person was short with him, arrogant and left a distasteful impression in the mind of the local tech. I took pictures of the insides while the machine was partially disassembled. Overall, I was very happy with the service provided by the local repair guy. He does get to go to the various Miele training seminars, but hasn't been to one on this washer yet.

I have trouble motivating FDH to parent A__ too... And like you, I think that FDH is just totally unaware of his son. If I'm not home, FDH will have A__ all darn day without feeding him a proper meal. It's easier for him to let A__ play on the computer all day than to think up stuff to do with him. But I just do things my way, and he goes along with it because he realizes that he's sort of a slacker if left to his own devices. For example, right now, FDH wants to watch Trailer Park Boys, and A__ is right here in the room, so I pointed out that there is too much swearing in that show for a 9yo. He changed it back to the ball game. FDH would probably do the same thing with Meet the Teacher night as your DH did... He's the king of "Oh, and we're supposed to be at this place at 6:30" when supper is already on the stove and it drives me nuts. I think it's inconsiderate of him to spring last minute plans on me... But I think it's a Mars/Venus thing: I plan ahead, while he ignores my planning ahead - He makes last minute plans, while I get mad about it. I've found that most men are like that (with some exceptions of course) For things like chewing with his mouth open, it's quite probable that DH doesn't notice. A__ can have his face LITERALLY in his food and be poking it into his mouth with his fingers and FDH looks confused when I remind A__ of his table manners. When I was a kid and I chewed with me mouth open, it was always my mom or my older sister who reminded me to close it - I don't recall my dad or brothers ever reminding me. Maybe that's a Mars/Venus thing too? It puts you in a hard spot though. Either you say "DH, your son is chewing with his mouth open" or you remind SS of his table manners yourself. Option one makes it seem like you're purposefully avoiding interaction with SS and he'll probably react poorly to that. Option two is that you're doing the parenting for DH, which you seem tired of. I guess for me, it comes down to this: If I do the crappy stuff like wiping dirty handprints off the wall and telling A__ to use table manners, FDH gets much less frustrated with A__ and they have a better relationship. The difference between our situations is that A__ has improved from where he was last year (which is a lot like where your SS is now) while your SS is still in a rough patch. I know you're still frustrated and SS is still misbehaving, but it sounded like he was progressing a little... Is he still?

We are a family of 4. Currently, 18 year old and 15 year old boys. The boys do their own wash. I had an Asko for 10 plus years before it died. I washed diapers in it on near boil setting. Then I bought a Miele. I have had that for 5 or more years. The capacity has not been a problem for us. Euro washers are all I have had during my duration as a mother. I separate into like-kind fabrics. When one does that, the loads get smaller. For example, I have a load of what I call "plastic" clothes: boys' basketball shorts, Dri Fit (and like) athletic shirts etc, separate loads of colored cotton, towels, white sheets, etc etc. I can put all 3 sets of sheets in the same load. The only thing I cannot wash in the washer is my thick comforter. I can wash Queen down comforters because that gets compacted. I wash my cashmere sweaters in my Miele. I wash my work wool pants in it, etc. I like washing things with water as much as I can. I prefer that to dry cleaning.