I wouldn't experiment with them myself. I had a skirt like the pants and decided taking just that to the cleaners was insane that I could save money and just wash it at home. I threw it in with my wash and dry and next thing I know the slip that was attatched to it was longer than my skirt. Of course that was a gazillion years ago. Washers, fabrics and soaps have come a long way since then maybe someone else has had better luck :)

Hey wintertime,

I use the Delicates cycle all the time on my Miele, even for dry clean only stuff and have never ruined anything yet and I have washed some pretty delicate things. As long as you are conservative with water temperature (don't go above 30*C/85*F) and use a detergent designed for delicates, with your usual choice of fabric softener you should have excellent results.

However I would advise that you use the rinse hold feature, or unload straight after the cycle has finished and hang the times so as the creases fall out. Don't spin the items at more than 600rpm (the machines max speed anyway for the delicates short final spin cycle), the weight of the fabrics hanging should prevent major creasing and will allow the garment to fall back into shape.

Hope this helps :-)

Jon

Hmm, thanks Jon.
What soap should I use? I have Zero (by Woolite) but I have read here that it is too sudsy. I live in an area with very hard water and last night I washed 2 silk tops in the washer with a tiny amount of Zero and they seemed fine.
I also washed the %100 cotton dress shirt with success with regular Sunlight Free HE.
Do you hang your dress shirts or put them in the dryer? I put mine briefly in the dryer on low heat then hung, it will need ironing but otherwise seems fine.
I think I can muster up the courage to wash the shirts and my cashmere sweaters but I am pretty afraid of my good dress pants. They are pretty much an investment these days. They are unlined though. I wonder on the wool pants if I should use the woolens setting or handwash? Maybe I should call Miele and ask.

Thanks again!

Hey, I'm not too up to date with American detergents as I live in the UK, but I use a supermarket brand of Woolite type detergent and have no problems at all. The suds of the Woolite formulation shouldn't hinder anyway - delicate detergents are actually designed to be fairly high sudsing so as to cushion the tumbling effect of the laundry.

Dress shirts, I actually wash them along with a normal white load on a cottons 40*C/105*F (warm) wash and a fast spin... most of the wrinkles fall out in the dryer or on the washing line. But with suit jackets and trousers/skirts, I wash them as I described on the delicates cycle and hang dry. I seldom use the handwash woollens cycle as I feel it is too gentle for even woollens, and I've successfully washed handwash only items on the delicates cycle for years now without any bad effect.

Hope this helps,

Jon

wintertime

DO NOT wash those wool pants in a washing machine. Yes, the Miele is extra gentle and the woolens cycle can wash most knit woolens (excellent for sweaters); however, the fineness of the knit and the special finishes used on wool pants would very likely cause damaged without using special wet cleaning detergents and wet cleaning finishing equipment.

If these were expensive pants, think twice before you undertake the risk. The fit and shaping of the garment may be permanently altered.

Thanks Cyber.
I have definitely decided not to take a chance with my pants, it's just too risky considering I only buy one pair a year or something.

I use Dryel for all of my DH's wool pants. 3 in a bag, and a half hour. I don't have to press at all. I wash his cotton dress shirts in the regular wash.

Not to contradict cyberspacer's post, but I have washed several pairs of 100% woollen trousers labelled as dry clean only in the Miele without any damage to the fabric at all, the beauty of these machines is that there's literally nothing we have to take to the dry cleaners anymore. As long as you use a pH neutral detergent (which all delicate detergents are here) then you won't risk damaging the garments, especially if, as I said before, you unload immediately as soon as the cycle ends and hang dry.

I was dubious before as to whether they should go in the washer, but either I've turned out lucky for the past two years or the gentle washing cycles do the job perfectly.

It's up to you whether you run the risk or not, just relaying my personal experience :-).

Jon

I always wash my dress shirts in my Miele washer, either on the shirts cycle, which I think is called something else in countries outside of the U.S.A or on the perm press cycle.

I hang everything even t shirts up as they come out of the dryer so most times no ironing is involved. The exception -- thin linen shirts. I send these straight to the professional cleaners who insist on starching them even while I say no starch. We have finally reached an understanding that when I say no starch I MEAN NO STARCH. I understand why they want to starch them because without starch they return to me looking like something I might have done myself..but that is the way I want them soft without starch. This year I bought wrinkle free linen shirts which seem to work OK in the washer.

I wash wool using the wool cycle, and silk using the silk cycle, but do not wash 100% or 95% wool dress slacks in the washer...I they go to the professionals.

I use PERWOL for wool and silk.

Hello,

Why take risk, fabrics like 100% wool is not at all advisable to wash in machine, though you can wash cotton fabrics in your machine.

Regards,
sarah_9

Here is a link that might be useful: 100% wool dress trousers