Deb, I have a W1986 and love it. I'm not sure but the W1926 may have a smaller tub. I'm sure those more knowledgeable will chime in.

Any comments on the 1213 vs 1986? Does the honeycomb tub on the 1215 make any noticeable difference?

Hello kawfeeaddict,

This is a hard choice for me. I am glad to hear you love your W1986. The W1926 is also 6K, but it does not have the silk setting or the soak selection. The W1926 does heat to 190F as yours does, but also has temperature selections at 180F and 155F, which I don't think would be necessary. Yours also has a Jeans and Dress Shirt Setting.

The W1926 also defaults to the longer wash cycles.

Do you use the extended wash much?

Do you use these features: Soak, Silk, Jeans and Dress Shirt?

Thank you, Deb

Hi smh12,

The reason I am planning on getting either the W1926 or the W1986 over the newer W1213 is they both have separate spin and rinse options which the W1213 does not. Sometimes I put in too much soap requiring another rinse and sometimes I hand wash something and just want to use the spin cycle. I would like the 203F water temperature of the W1213 though. Deb

Hi Deb,

My problem is trying to keep my 100% cotton towels white and my dishtowels clean/fresh smelling without having to use bleach. I currently have a LG2277 with the onboard heater...not hot enough for my whites. I would love to get the 220v Miele, just wish they were bigger. I hate the thought of having to take my king comforter/blankets to a laundry mat...always wonder about the cleanliness of those machines!

Sue

Wow what a decision. I have the 1986. When I was doing research back in 2002 I decided on the 1926. When buy time came the 1986 was there and I bought it in Jan 2003.

There are differences. The 1926 will allow for 4 or 5 rinses. The 1986 will allow for 2 or 3 rinses, but ends up using the same amount of water. This is because the 1986 uses more water for each fill in the rinse plus I have mine programmed for higher fill rinses. The water can be up over the bottom of the door and into the glass while the clothes are lifted and then plunged into and through the water. A good looking rinse.

The 1926 does the rinse and I think then does a slower spin between each rinse. The 1986 will rinse and then do a faster(not max) spin between the rinse.

The 1926 lets you select the spin speed in rpm. The 1986 uses terms like low med high max, but these translate into the same spin speeds as found on the 1926.

At first I was upset with the lack of rinses but found that 2 or 3 high fill rinses with spins between work just fine. If you use 3 rinses, the middle one will do short tumbles and longer pauses so that the clothes soak in the water.

Also if I want additional rinses I can use the fine rinse cycle. This cycle provides two very high fill rinses, with the water for the last rinse being taken in through the fabric softener dispenser and you can use any spin speed you want.

Jeans, Dress shirts. Perm Press works just as well in my opinion except that it will not give the same type of spin that Jeans, and dress shirts do. The speed will be there but the duration is not. Perm Press gives what I call half a..s spins but well...things don't require ironing.

Silk...I use this cycle for silk shirts..it works great.
I also use the wool cycle for wool sweaters....great.

The 1926 defaults to extended, the 1986 defaults to quicker. I don't think the default quick cycle is the same as the rapid cycle on the 1926. I think the 1986 default cycle may be a bit better.

Extended. when I first bought the washer I used Extended for white cotton all the time, and I would use a temp of 140F. Now I find that white cotton gets very clean using the default cycle and I use 120F or 140F if very dirty.
If you use Extended each phase of the cycle is longer. However the length depends on the cycle you select, so less time will be added if you select extended for dedicates, than if you would have selected it for cottons.

Here is one thing I don't think the 1926 has and that is fuzzy logic to determine load size. This is a major plus for me.
The 1986 will determine the size of the load and then adjust the estimated wash time...So If I start a small load with an estimated time of 49 minutes, after a few minutes the machine will detect that it has a small load and drop minutes from each portion of the cycle....and still get everything clean. The shortest wash phase i've seen has been 10 minutes. Time reduction occurs when using the Extended option also.

Also the machine will automatically add a rinse if needed, but this has only happened 1 or 2 times for me.

The 203F cycle is something I really don't need. I only use 190F on items that do not contain spandex or polyester. If you subject these to temps much over 140F they will start to fall apart quickly. I will say though that when you use 190F and you stand near the machine you can hear the water near the boiling point during the tumbling pauses. You know that sound you hear in a pan when the water is really really hot.

Prewash. You can use this option on almost any cycle. It starts with cold water, heats it a bit, and then drains it and the washer moves on to what ever cycle you have selected. This is very good for stains.

So over all I am pleased with my 1986. Of course I didn't have the option of getting the 1926 but I am pleased with the machine I have and don't plan on getting another anytime soon. If I move..this washer goes with me too.

I hope someone with the 1926 will reply and describe the operation so that you can get a good idea of each machine.

One more thing. I have used the Soak feature 2 times.
You select the soaking time by pressing the soak button. Each push of the button adds 30 minutes to the soak time. I think you can get up to 4 or 6 hours of soaking.

The machine draws water, tumbles a bit and then sits. Every once in a while it will tumble for a few minutes, then sit. Stuff was clean so it worked.

Hello Jerrod6,

Thank you so very much for all the detailed information. I still cannot seem to make up my mind. If I get 1926 would I miss the soak cycle and the silk cycle. My husband thinks the denim and dress shirt cycles would be nice, as well as the default to shorter cycles and the fuzzy logic. I like knowing it is going to wash for a certain amount of time and not change it on me. It would be nice to have a new machine vs used, but it would also be nice to save some money.

Does yours have the honey comb drum???? The W1926 does not.

I have read, I think all of, your posts regarding the Miele washers. You are a terrific source of information.

Thank you again. Deb

Hi Deb, The W1986 does not have a honey comb drum.

I use the default cycles 95% of the time which is adequate. Only if something is stained do I use soak or extended. I have not used silk or dress shirts but jeans is nice and I love the woolens cycle with Perwoll! Our sweaters and scarfs come out beautifully!

My vote is the W1986!

Debs3

I have only used the soak cycle the times I mentioned before, however I do use the silk cycle for silk shirts, sweaters and items that are a silk mix. This saves having to get them pro cleaned. Like Kawfeeaddict says the woolens is great too.

No honeycomb drum although I have the newer T9820 dryer and it has the drum. As far as I can tell the 1986 has never damaged anything I own so I don't really care about the drum.

The time reduction does not bother me. When I have a small load I have learned that it may be shorter but will be clean. Plus the machine tumbles the clothes every once in a while for about 1 hour after the cycle finishes to prevent wrinkles. Personally I like the time reduction..easier on clothes...gets me in and out of the laundry business a bit quicker. I figure why wash 3 or 4 normally soiled items for over an hour?

If you can replace parts on your Novotronic W1986, do! My husband just changed out the four springs and struts (we ordered the parts from Miele). The machine runs once again like the day we bought. This is a super machine. Miele has nothing comparable to it any longer. You can buy the Little Magic? (didn't they change the name) but at a much higher cost along with additional electrical work.