Here's a quick review of my Axxis Plus washer and Vented dryer. (WAS24460UC + WTV76100US) I have had these units installed, stacked with the stacking kit, for about four months so far and I am extremely happy. The Axxis washers absorb much vibration with internal shocks so if level/solid on a hard surface, the washer should not vibrate when spinning, even when loads are slightly unbalanced. I only feel a pulsation, not much vibration. It's rare that I get a perfectly balanced spin but like I said, the shocks make for little exterior vibration. Do not make the mistake I did originally by placing a dense rubber mat under the washer which causes vibration with these units. The rubber mat may work with other brands, but not needed here. I have very little complaints about these units. The quality is top notch and they run like a tank. If I must say one negative thing, it's that the vented dryer does not get that hot(by design for efficiency) and dry times can be a bit longer than other dryers you have owned. BUT, with that being said, a hot dryer is not needed when used in conjunction with the Axxis Washer. The cloths come out of the washer fairly dry because of the high spin speeds! So you are saving electricity on the back end! With the Axxis Plus, my detergent of choice is Tide Original Scent 2x HE liquid detergent. For each load, probably only a tablespoon or two is plenty. So far, I have NO moldy smells...not even close. After my last wash of the day, I use a small towel to dry the outside and inside-lip of the boot. Lots of water can sit in that inside lip. And then I ALLAYS leave the door cracked open for ventilation. Both units are quiet. I must say, the loudest part is when the water goes down the drain! The spin cycle is high-pitched BUT NOT LOUD...there's a difference. Also, since my house water heater is like 20-25 feet from the washer, I have a Y-connector with Cold water input only. Even when you select Hot or Sanitary, the internal heater heats that relatively small volume of water up quickly. The dryer is great as well. I have NOT had any 'balling' or tangling issues. Do not overload the dryer. Cloths must fall in the drum. Heavy Cottons(sweat shirts) and jeans must be placed on the Extra Dry cycle. And the sensor will allow the dryer cycle to finish with just some dampness in the pockets. With these dryers, I would suggest using the rigid(smooth) 4' duct.(Not the accordion type) Although I have never had an issue, some say the dryer is sensitive to a long or slightly obstructed duct. I called Bosch about the dryer pausing near the beginning of every cycle. I would always get two pauses. After hitting the start button, It would run for a minute, and pause for 2 seconds, run for another minute and pause again and then run normally after that. My duct is only 10 feet and clear as a bell. After having a Bosch technician come out to the house, he said that the pausing is normal. Are you guys getting the same pausing? That's it. If you have any questions, plase do not hesitate. I know I did not cover everything. But if you are considering these units, they are awesome. Others on this forum had great things to say about these units. They are not inexpensive mainly because you are paying for quality-made 24' compact washer and dryer with a fairly large capacities. And for those of us with small spaces, these are the ones to get! John. Picture of my stacked Axxis units is below or click on the link! Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Blood stains are removed easily via cold water to warm/hot (120F-140F)profile wash, or pre-treating the area with any good stain product and or hydrogen peroxide then washing in cool to warm water. Heat sets the protiens in blood, modern enzyme detergents/pre-treatments work quite well in removing such stains. It also helps to flush the stain while fresh with cold water. As for "boil washes", most all my vintage laundry books from about the 1940's on clearly state boiling laundry went out with modern automatic washing machines and certianly as laundry products have evoloved from soap. Boiling was done mainly as a way to loosen muck,grime and other soils from laundry without all the rubbing/scrubbing one had to do prior to automatic washing machines. Very hot water washes were also a way of combating common vermin found in laundry (lice, nits, fleas, etc), which happily are not as widespread today. Very hot water washes do offer a way of sanitising laundry, but at widely differnt temps. E coli requires only 160F at 20 minutes, but yeasts, and other types of bugs require much higher temps for longer contact times. It must also be remembered that there was much more of an emphasis on "boil washes" in eras past when there were few if any modern disenfectants and especially antibiotics. Cathing a germ until as recently could almost mean certian death, unless one was strong enough to fight off the infection, even then many still died. Therefore housewives did everything they could to keep their homes "germ free". However because of modern sanitation and health care we simply do not see the sorts of illnesses/widespread diseases housewives commonly were used to. Thyphoid fever, measles, cholera, minor strep or staph infections that rapidly turned into major systemic infections which caused everything from child birth fever to pneumonia can are are controlled. Also modern hospitals have replaced sick rooms in the home. This means less disease in homes to infect other members of the same household. The final reason for very hot water washes was that perborate/percarbonate bleaches require temps of 120F/130F and above to become really effective. The lower the water temp, the longer contact time must be for equal results. Modern chemistry as gotten around this problem by creating "activated" oxygen bleaches found in most better quality detergents/laundry products. Bleach activator chemicals when combined with oxygen bleaches in wash water,provide equal or better bleaching/stain removal action at wash temps of 100F, and even 80F. This is why repeated washing of darks even in cold or cool water using products such as Perisl or Tide will eventually "bleach" those colours. Activated bleaches also provide very effective disenfection of laundry at wash temps of 100F to 120F, with a contact time of at least 20 minutes. In fact the chemical produced by combining oxygen bleach and bleaching activators "Peracetic acid" is a very, very effective broad spectrum biocide and stain remover. Peracetic acid is such an effective biocide that brewers and other use it to clean stainless steel vats because unlike chlorine bleach it does not cause damage. Commercial and hospital laundries around the world have long switched to activated oxygen bleaches because they can obtain the same level of stain removal/disenfection at wash temps of 120F or lower, which results in a savings on energy costs. It also results in longer textile life as lower wash water temps are less harsh on textile fibers. Again, unlike chlorine bleaches (never very popular outside of the United States for laundry use), activated oxygen bleaches do not cause textile damage. For all the above reasons, the average wash temp in Europe/UK is widely documented to be 40C. The use of activated oxygen bleaches, and better detergent formulas has really removed the requirment for long boil washes. Of course if one uses lower quality detergents and mainly cool/cold water washes, that is a different matter all together. Americans have really only recently "rediscovered" front loading washing machines, and built in water heaters. Just because one can launder something at 160F to 200F, does not mean one ought to; first of all not many items produced today can withstand repeated super or even very hot water washes. Second of all many American detergents are not designed for long boiling washes. Designed with enzymes and activated bleaches, they work quite well at wash temps of 140F and below, (140F-120F the common setting of most hot water heaters in American homes, with 120F usually the factory setting). Indeed long wash times with detergents not desigened for the purpose can lead to poor results, as the componets of said detergent begin to loose their soil suspension ability, allowing removed soils to redeposit back onto laundry. Conversely many European detergents designed for long boil washes have been redesigned to work in lower wash temps and or shorter cycles. Have washed everything from badly soiled table linens to muddy gardening clothes setting my Miele to ho higher than 120F and using plain old Tide or Wisk dual action tablets, and the results have always been great. Have also "restored" vintage linens that had foxing stains (that yellowing one sees from linens lying about stored), using the same low wash temps, but quality products. My Miele goes up to 200F, and cannot remember the last time (aside from occassional "maitaining washes), ever laundering anything at that temp. Especially as I still do quite a bit of ironing, and cottons/linens laundered at very high temps emerge with lots of wrinkles. Simply do not fancy making more work for myself. C.dS

Hi Guvnah, You will be pleased with how clean your clothes get in the new Bosch. Especially whites. We use the cotton temp-boost setting for all our whites except when we use the XXsanitary cycle for bedsheets and pillow cases. The only thing is the new machines rinse out the detergent so well that we don't get that detergent aroma that we always associated with freshly cleaned clothes. Now they just smell more 'pure' (if that makes sense). The clothes also come out softer and I think that's because all the detergent is getting rinsed out. -Bill

Hi All, I finally heard back from Miele. They didn't really respond to my question re: vibration, so I'm assuming that the vibration on the washer I saw at the Miele Gallery is typical of a Miele unit. My email to them and their response is below: Sept. 9 email to Miele: Hi, I'm looking for a new washer and dryer and have narrowed it done to a few contenders, the Miele W1612 being one of them. I went to the Miele Gallery in Vancouver and had a demo of the model. The washing performance was excellent and I love that you're offering a free 10 year warranty. It's refreshing to see a company that's willing to stand behind their products! Before making a decision, I have few questions that I'm hoping you can respond to. 1. During the demo that I saw, the washer vibrated between about a quarter to a half an inch at the top of the machine when it was spinning at 1000 RPM. I would be installing it on a wood (main) floor of my 83 year old house, so I am concerned about vibration. In the Vancouver Miele Gallery, the washer and dryer were stacked, but a stacking kit wasn't used. So, I'm wondering if perhaps the unit wasn't installed as well as it could have been and that what was leading to the vibration. Alternatively, is between a quarter and a half inch vibration typical of Miele washers? 2. I noticed that the drain holes on the rubber bellows are about half an inch above the bottom of the bellows. It seems like water would pool there, without any way to drain. Is there a reason why the drain holes are not located at the bottom of the bellows and have you had complaints/issues with odours and mold? 3. Is there any plan to bring back a 240V washer? I was really hoping to get one, but there aren't any in Miele's current line up. Thank you in advance, Lisa Sept. 17 Response from Miele: Dear Lisa, Thank you for taking the time to write. There are things you can do to prevent the vibration in your appliances. The main thing you would need to look at in your case is if your floor can actually handle the weight and the vibration. Soft surfaces can vibrate more readily than hard surfaces such as concrete. Locate the washing machine in a corner of the room, floor stability is the greatest there. If beams are below the wooden floor, fit a wooden board under the machine and screw it to as many beams as possible. Make sure the unit is perfectly levelled. We usually recommend that the unit is installed in the basement on a concrete floor because that is where there will be most stability. In regards to the drainage in the seal, we haven't had any complaints of mold issues. As with any front loaders, you do need to follow a few simple maintenance rules. Make sure you wipe down the seal after you're done with your laundry. If you're able to, leave the door ajar for a few hours to make sure it has a chance to dry completely. Once a month, run a hot water cycle without any detergent in your appliance to rid the appliance of any detergent residue you may have. Try to avoid using too much detergent in your washer as well. A little goes a long way with a front loader since they are very low water consumption. And there are no plans to bring back a 240 V washer in the future in Canada. I hope this will help in your decision. Please do not hesitate to contact us again in the event that you may require additional information. Sincerely, Annie