Sounds like a lot of fun ;)

I just love the infinate control of that machine! How is the harshness of the towels washed at that temp? I had found the hotter I wash them, the stiffer they were. I think we reach the point if diminishing returns when it comes to clean white laundry. Lightly soiled and already white and bright laundry wont get any whiter or brighter no matter how much their bleached or what temperature their washed at. Lol, the way us folks wash they dont have a chance to get dirty.

rpsinfo....I do not think towels or laundry should regularly be washed at 170-200F, LOL. I agree with you, not good for the fibers!

They felt fine, but it was the first time washing them at such a high temp! I honestly, just wanted to try it ;)

I regularly boil wash my kitchen linens and cleaning clothes, and they are no worse for the wear. Some are 5 years old. In my opinion, any bleaches (oxy bleaches included) used in uber high temps will also lead to degrading fabric. Chlorine bleach does this at any temp, which is common knowledge. Anything with synthetic fibers in it (elastic, polyester mainly) will not routinely take washes over 160 without starting to disintegrate. Once in a while, if necessary, it will not hurt them. Most other laundry I wash at 140, 120, or 105 in my Miele. I just like to blast the crap out of kitchen towels and such, and get all of the staining out. :)

I have been washing ALL my clothes, including high performance workout clothing at either 130F or 140F since getting my Miele. Everything not only looks and feels amazing....but everything smells so clean and fresh!!

Its nice to have the flexibility to select temperatures like the Miele. But I will tell you that consistent laundering at those temperature for todays High Tech Performance ware will impede the longevity of the fabric. You will find you will be replacing much more frequently. I am not saying certain polyester and blends can not withstand the temperature, however consistent exposure will really start to degrade the fabric, the look, and overhaul texture. At minimum the care label should be followed as closely as possible.

Thanks rps. If I followed the care label, I'd be washing my drenched with sweat work out clothes in Cold water :-O Cannot do that! Even washed on warm...high performance workout wear does not smell clean! I agree that repeated Hot washes, are not the best for today's high performance fabrics!

I bet the STPP leaves your Miele drum all shiny, doesn't it? ;)

@ Mitch.....LOL. Like the top of the Chrysler building shiny!!!!

I wash all my towles : beach, shower, hand, face, guest, kitchen on the hottest the machine does and it is bertween 190 and 205. I also do this with all my cleaning stuff witch is microfiber. Also all the stuff my dogs use get this treatment and that because my last dog were alergic to dustmites and I needed to wash his bed almost every night and vacuum the hole house.

My towles are all fine, some are 10 years old, I got microfiber towles and mops that are even older.

Most I do with bath towels is 150f...I have been known to boil wash facecloths..they don't hold up well after that. Now vintage linen holds up very well to boil washes.

Linus, I vav and damp mop daily at my house, biggest pet peeve I have is dirty floors, I think I could handle a stain on clothing more than a dirty floor lol.

Well I also clean alot mamapink, with 2 rottweilers and livi g in the country you get so much dirt in the house, I go through about 2 vacuumbags a month with my Miele cleaners and do 1 or 2 loads of cleaning gear a week in the washer. Puh that was hard to se in writing, well I like a clean house and I hate (know it is a strong word) disposable cleaning stuff, I got wipes for the toilet for inbetween cleanings after you visist the loo but other than that nothing.

Larsi - I can appreciate your comments and you have every right to wash it as you see fit. If you feel it works for you then your good to go!

My Bosch only goes to 160F. I run the 140 setting for dog stuff and dish towels, but never used to use the 160, but I recently figured out that if I run a super hot load weekly it keeps the machine really clean. Hopefully that means I won't have to descale it as often. (I have nasty LA water)

I had a running top that accidentally sat wet for a few days and the 160f cycle was the only thing that got the funk out. I normally wash athletic clothes on warm, which is I think is 90F on my machine, and they come out clean (and don't smell the next time I sweat in them, which is the real test)

Hotter washes won't reduce the need for descaling. Boilers get scale, right?

Larsi- nikiwax BaseWash is a store bought equivalent of products we used on some of the high tech "label" wear. Much lower processing temps and zero customer complaints. And whatever you do no Softners with the tech gear.

@surburbanmd, regular uses of STPP will keep scaling at bay. I also recommend using 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Lemishine (think of it as Cheap Miele Descaler) every 6-12 months, on a boil wash. But... I wouldn't worry about it, so much, if you have soft water.

I think Maryland has really bad hard water though, if I recall correctly. Do you know? :)

I use plain citric acid on an empty hot cycle to descale the washer. I'm pretty sure that is the active ingredient in those washing machine cleaner packets. LOL, I don't own a ton of laundry products, but because of the LA water we have every variety of descaling agent in large quantities.

Im not sure of the chemistry, but come to think of it the hot tap in the shower builds crud much faster than the cold tap, so the extra hot wash probably doesn't help with anything but detergent residue.

edit: I have nikwax Techwash for waterproof jackets and Downwash for.... down ;), but I've never tried the base wash because it seems expensive for use on things that need washed frequently. Is it that much more effective than regular detergent?

Here's the back of an 8.5 oz. box of official Miele descaler. It says "Contents: Citric acid". I bought that once, and of course realized there are far cheaper sources. I do find that STPP helps with scaling, but doesn't entirely eliminate it.

Public water hardness varies in Maryland. I have a private well. Water straight from the well is fairly soft. But the required calcite neutralizer adds some hardness.

fishcow - the BaseWash chemical composition and chemistry is much different than carbonate alkali based anionic detergents. It is slightly acidic PH 4 cationic detergent which controls shrinkage and dye bleed. It contains acidic acid which is quite effective at eliminating bacteria at lower processing temperatures, and the number one cause of lingering odors in tech gear. In conjunction with its ETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOBUTYL ETHER another potent solvent based cleaning agent which is particularly good on oil based soils ,such as body oils, fats, etc. Product also contains Geraniol an alcohol based natural scent. I can't speak directly to NikiWax but the commercial equivalent of this product is excellent for water based cleaning, removal of body fats and oils, controlling shrinkage and dye bleed, bacteria control at low wash temperatures. The product contains no enzymes, no bleach, so pre treatment of stains is a critical first step.

My user manual forbids use of chlorine bleach or it voids the lifetime anti-rust warranty on the tub. Also, bleach doesn't do much for soap scum or scale. Neither does oxiclean.

I'm no laundry geek, but as I said I have a lot of practical experience dealing with the fun stuff hard water leaves behind. Vinegar is great on soap scum but household white vinegar isn't as effective as citric acid on limescale. I've cleaned the dishwasher with vinegar, CLR (lactic acid) and citric acid, and while they all work the vinegar isn't quite as good as the other two. I'm guessing from the name that Lemishine is citric acid, but the bulk food grade citric acid is cheaper and has a million uses, so I wouldn't bother cleaning the washer with anything else.

I disagree with you Mich..lol..enzymes are good up to closer to 140f..at 140 they will die. But something I've learned from the good FL folks here is..a FL'er takes the temp up gradually, so there's plenty of time for the enzymes to do their job before the temp gets to high..than of course after it reaches 140 and above the oxygen bleach really gets underway.

I can understand Larsi washing at these high temps, his machine can do it, what goods a heater on speed if you can't play now and again, after all laundry is all about being daring, doing things most people outside of us would never even think to do, its about the the excitement, the fun, the risks, the success's and the failures.and nobody does it better than all the wonderful people in the

Don't worry Mitch, using the CLR in a washer scares me too. I'd probably use it in an old school top loader that was really scaly ;) but not in a FL.