• Energy Star Heat Pump Dryer Information
• List of Energy-Star Certified Heat Pump Dryers available in the US
• Whirlpool WHD560CHW 7.4 cu.ft Front Load Heat Pump Dryer

Thank you for your reply. I will explore the links you have provided, but not really interested in a 7.4 cf dryer, I think a bit big for my needs, but will review.

Miele makes ”less featured” heat pump dryers that cost less. What is your budget? That will help narrow the recommendations.

Hi Luna,

Thank you. I was hoping to stay around 1000.00 but it appears I may be close to the least expensive Miele. Less than 1000.00 would be nice, if it would work well and have good energy ratings.

I have kind of a sticking point with Miele and it's only a small part from those who have had issues. The other comes from their canister Cat&Dog vac I purchased. When I bought it, I had all hardwood floors and it worked great. I have a German Shep and a Havanese, the Shep sheds like crazy. Anyway, when I moved to this house, it had carpet. The miele does NOT work on carpet, just aweful. I ended up buying another vac, a shark, that is a dream for carpet and really gets up the hair. The miele was just 1.5-2yo. It kind of has me leary. I know they are completely different items, but the thought remains.

I hope that helps.

Its the powerhead that comes with the cat and dog. Miele vacuums are excellent. you have to marry your carpet type with the correct power head. Miele has four different power heads and they dont all work well on all carpet types.

The Samsung DV22N6800HW appears to be the only Energy Star heatpump dryer that costs less than $1000.

Of course, vacuum cleaners and dryers have nothing to do with one another.

Thank you Luna, I will check out the Samsung.

I have been using the powerhead that came with my vac. The carpet here is very thick. I will see what to do about it. Thanks for the tip, even though wrong forum.

I may end up back a Miele anyway for the dryer and have to figure out where to pull from my budget.

A year ago I went through a similar search for a heat pump dryer. I ended up getting the Miele even though I didn’t want to spend that much on a dryer ($2000 in Canada for the base model before the recent price increases). Even though the samsung heat pump was half the price, I didn’t feel comfortable buying one because I was worried about longevity and reliability. There were limited reviews on the samsung and potential issues with access to clean the heat exchanger area that I knew would not be an issue based on the many comments about the Miele machine on houzz. Luna’s comments are particularly reassuring as she has used her machine for thousands of hours and has shared her experience with how to clean the less obvious areas etc. Thanks Luna!

@HU1234

Thanks for the kind comments. I am however, a man who likes to do laundry and help out his wife.

Oops sorry about that! I should not have assumed!

Thank you @HU1234 for you response. It sounds like you bought the base model. Now that you've had it for a while, do you like it? What are your thoughts? What washer do you have it paired with if you don't mind me asking?

Yes I bought the base model dryer. I really like it! Drying times are reasonable and the sensor is great at not ovedrying clothes. Our old dryer vent went through an old window pane which was super leaky. When we replaced the windows I didn’t want to create a new hole in the house for energy efficiency reasons thus the heat pump dryer selection. I don’t regret going with the Miele at all. I have a Miele washing machine that I bought 2 years ago and love it. I feel more passionately about spending extra on a washing machine than a dryer but now that I have 2 little kids, I value the convenience of a gentle, reliable dryer that I feel comfortable drying almost everything in. I used to hang dry a lot of clothes that I now dry in the Miele.

As far as I know, Miele is the only heatpump dryer with a user accessable evaporator coil. Any others will require a service call to clean the coil. I have a Miele dryer and it works for my needs. Sheets come out very wrinkled but I think that's because of the small drum volume.

Thank you @HU1234 and @littlegreeny for your replies.

@HU1234 It is very good to hear you can dry things you previously used to hang to dry. That would be awesome. Is the washer delicate enough to wash some sturdier handwash items? I really don't need a washer at the moment, but keeping thoes things in mind.

@littlegreeny I'm not concered about wrinkled sheets, they pull out when you put them on the bed. Would you buy the miele again? I aske because you post doesn't sound completely convincing, more like 'it's a dryer' I want something I'm going to enjoy using for the price tag. It's good to know about the evaporator coil. I will have to do more research on that issue, thank you for bringing that up.

@littlegreeny: "As far as I know, Miele is the only heatpump dryer with a user accessable evaporator coil."

All maintenance of the Samsung DV22N6800HW heat pump dryer ($800) is done from the front.

@wdccruise you've mentioned the Samsung twice, do you own this and if so is it good?

"you've mentioned the Samsung twice, do you own this"

No. I have the older, LG DLEC888W condenser dryer. @littlegreeny made an incorrect statement that I wanted to correct.

Note: Home Depot has an LG DLHC1455W compact heat pump dryer which, at $1100, is nearly in your price range. Also at Best Buy.

@wdccruise I didn't make a definitive statement proclaiming no other dryer had a user accessible heat exchanger, that's why I said "as far as I know." But we all know how much you love telling people they are wrong. I don't have time to go online to peruse every product and user manual each time someone has a question. Apparantely you do, so by all means continue to do that if that's how you like to spend your free time.

@bigdogmom_pa I do like my dryer. It's been reliable and pretty fast at getting loads done. Keep in mind heatpump dryers, like condenser dryers, leave laundry feeling slightly moist at the end of the cycle. I find by the time items are removed, folded and put away, they are completely dry. BTW, I have a Miele washer also and I really love it. I have the WXR860/TXR860 set.

@littlegreeny: "I didn't make a definitive statement proclaiming no other dryer had a user accessible heat exchanger, that's why I said "as far as I know."

You obviously assumed you were right or you wouldn't have made the statement. If you want to complain about being corrected, by all means continue to do that if that's how you like to spend your free time.

@littlegreeny "I would venture a guess that you are the main reason why virtually no one participates in discussions here any longer."

Well, you're still here. And you mean, "as far as you know."

@SEA SEA: "Community PSA: the above poster is a paid spammer for a consumer magazine we would all recognize."

Community PSA: The author has repeatedly made this false claim because I disagree with her many opinions and sometimes link to CR as a resource for purchasing decisions. For some reason this drives her crazy; she hadn't even participated in this discussion yet here she is. Houzz, for some reason allows her abusive behavior. I will credit her new "he/she/they" for the comic relief, however.

Don't worry, I can spot problems a mile away. I may not have posted in years, but I've been here seen that is all I will say and not limited to just particular poster in the past.

If anyone has something helpful for me as a soon to be new owner of a Miele set, I welcome their suggestions on the Mieles, tips, tricks, and what to watch out for. Thank you .

bigdogmom,

Unfortunate this happened on your thread. It's happened to me too a few times in the past. You kind of wish to say--take that outside.

Anyways, I don't own Mieles myself so I can't offer anything informative in regards to your upcoming w/d. But I do send my congrats to you! It's a big purchase and many owners have been very pleased over the years. I hope your machines are glitch-free and make doing laundry a little more pleasant. If I were to be replacing my w/d in the near future, Miele would be on my narrow list of candidates, fwiw.

@bigdogmom_pa

The uber thread has almost all questions asked and answered, It's has over a thousand replies so it can be very intimidating to go through them all. Here are answers to your questions:

TwinDos:

You either like the smell of the detergent or you don't. Miele has an unscented version as well. Once the official bottles from Miele are empty you can use a funnel to refill them though the round port on the top of the cartridge. Just push down with a small funnel and refill with detergent of your choice. I would NOT use a thick, viscous liquid. I refill ours with Tide PurClean, but that is just what we like to use. Miele does NOT officially sanction doing this. They would prefer you buy all your detergent from them at their prices.

If you refill the factory cartridges they will work for a while, but eventually the one way air vent, that lets air into the cartridge as detergent is drawn out, will clog. When this happens the cartridge will appear to be getting crushed. The solution is to remove the cartridge, depress the plunger in the spout and air will rush in. We use the cartridge until it is empty and then recycle it. Usually get 5-10 refills on factory cartridge before this happens. poking a hole in the top of the cartridge near the back side would also allow air in, but then it becomes a potential leak source.

Detergent amount will depend on the hardness, or mineral content, of your water. If you have hard water more detergent will be needed. If you have soft water then less will be needed. This is sort of trial and error. I always recommend to new users of a Miele washer to buy some brand new towels that have never been washed before. Run a rinse cycle and note any bubbles that are present when you have CLEAN towels. This is what your final rinse should look like. Then wash the towels using Miele's lowest recommended amount. If you still see soap residue in the final rinse then lower it down 2-3ml. Rinse the towels until the water appears like when they were when new. Then do another wash. This is the BEST way to determine what your dose.

You will most likely notice a lot of your clothes have residual detergent from poor rinsing of your previous washer. Maybe you won't and your previous washer did great, but many people think they are using too much detergent and turn it way down, when in reality they have a lot of built up residue in their clothes. That is why I recommend using brand new towels to determine your dose. Then you will know you have the dose set correct.

READ THE MANUAL:

Take the time between now and when the appliances arrive to download the manuals and read them cover to cover. You will know all of the options and have some ideas on what to try when they arrive. Knowing the capabilities will really help you get the best results.

The "Normal" cycle is the EPA test cycle so there are some compromises when using it. The heater is used less and for a shorter time that all of the other cycles. If you have warm/hot water in your laundry room and it really is warm when it comes out of the tap then the Normal cycle will be fine for most clothes. Baby Clothes cycle is what I would call the "Cotton" cycle. It keeps the heater on until the set temp is reached and then maintains the temp. Rinses have a full spin in between to remove more detergent residue. The spins are longer, etc. etc.

All of the cycles are useful. Read the manual and learn when to use them. I use single wash all the time when I wash my nicer dress shirts that I don't want to risk colors running on my whites shirts. That option is on the next model up from the one you purchased. Up to you if you think you would use that. The other missing cycle is Quick Intense Wash. That is on the next model up as well. We use that cycle a decent amount for lightly soiled clothes.

There is a decent price jump between the model you selected and the next model up. Since the next model up has an extra recirculation pump used during the wash cycles there is a cost to have the pump and extra plumbing.

If you put the washer and dryer next to each other the tops make a really nice folding table, clothes stacking area. Obviously this means the machines are closer to the ground if you set them up this way. As we get older it might be preferred to have the machines higher up and have a separate folding area.

Use GOOD detergents if you want excellent results. Miele makes good detergents (Well they are made FOR Miele using a custom formula), but they charge for them. Tide, Persil and other top tier detergents are worth the money if you refill the TwinDos cartridges as the system will prevent you from using too much. This reduces your cost per cycle to the lowest needed and gets maximum performance from your appliances. That is my suggestion.

Turn on the actual spin speed and water temp display in settings. This is much more intuitive than cold, warm, hot, or slow, medium, high. You will see actual temps for water 86F, 105F, 120F, etc. 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1600, etc.

If you have other questions, feel free to ask, but keep in mind many of your questions and maybe some you have not thought of, have been answered in the big Miele thread.

@luna123456- thank you for your reply. If you are tallking about the Miele washer dreyr thread, I did read through it, but I felt like there was no way I saw all the replies. I will try again.

I've been reading the manuel and they are on my computer. I'm a research hound when it comes to anything I purchase. :)

Currently I use Gain powder. Years ago on this forum, it was well loved, and I do prefer powder to liquid. I felt I would give the twindos a try. Figuring maybe I'd been doing something wrong with liquid. I only use 2/3rd of a tbls in a load. If its really bad, maybe a whole tablespoon. Thanks to this forum many, many years ago and getting caught up in the orginal Neptune debacle, I knew that HE machines take very little detergent.

I've already looked up the general hardness of the water in my area. It shows somewhere between 6-9 grains. I'm also planning to do some extra rinsing on my clothing in my current HE machine. I've always been a fan of double or triple rinsing. Miele makes that easy.

When I bought this house, I downsized and I'm still trying to get through and more things to give away, donate or trash. But storage is still limited. Therefore I was planning to stack. I've had stacked before. This will allow me to add a folding area with storage underneath. Spare cartridge or kitchen items I don't use regularly.

I also will eventually be putting up drywall and flooring in there. Currently just cement floor and block walls. The person that owned the home before me was a plumber and a horrible one at that. I have extra drains in there from what appears to have been him moving a commode to different spots. He only had a light plastic cover on them that let sewer gas through. I put better caps in them, but they stick up above floor level. Those also need dealt with.

As to the other items mentioned missing from the machines I purchased, I have a metal manufacturing shop and dress clothes are not part of my attire, so I didn't feel that a shirt setting was something I needed. The intense wash would be nice, but I figure it doesn't matter the time I spend, I don't have much laundry to begin with.

One thing I notice coming up in what I've read is about the app. I don't really believe is smart appliances and these will be the only ones that have that capibility that I will own and I did not plan on setting that function up. However, I've noticed people mentioning that the app can get you different selections than you can pick on the washer? How much different and do you think it is worth it?

Thank you for all of your help.

@christense

What is your basis for that belief? Everything I've read here and with other research claims otherwise. Or are you talking the initial outlay for the cost of the dryer itself?

@christense: "Machines with a heat pump will cost more, in my opinion, you shouldn`t save money in this case."

Do you mean more to purchase or more to operate? The ENERGY STAR Certified Residential Clothes Dryers list shows heat pump dryers to be the most efficient. But they are expensive;. you can buy a conventional, full-size LG DLE7000W electric dryer for $600.

@christense

Let see, the people on here use the equiment they are talking about and have mostly for years. The reviews are based upon, mostly, the item just landing in their home and WOW look at my shiny new appliance. While I do read reviews, I take them with a grain of salt. This forum has never directed me wrong over the past 20 years.

I need a new dryer. The junk that was left here isn't good. If I need to spend a bit more upfront to save in the long run, I will do so. Other than intial outlay, you haven't given me a good reason to avoid a Heat Pump Dryer.