I've been using FL machines for over 10 years and I have never had a mold issue. My previous machine didn't even have a heater so no sanitize and still no mold. I have always left my door open after washing. With my new Miele I even remove the detergent drawer and rinse out the fabric softener compartment. I did notice on my Frigidaire that mold was forming in the detergent drawer as I never thought to leave it open. Don't want to make that mistake with my Miele. I have used mostly liquid detergent and fabric softener. A large part of those 10 years it was Tide and Downy. A few years ago I "greened" up and use only "more natural" fabric softener (only one is awesome to me - Shaklee Fresh Laundry). I have an "arsenal" of detergents; most of them greener choices but a few not so. I do own Persil in various flavors but can only really tolerate the Sensitive version (smell wise). I also have Tide HE Free Coldwater for when I really need it. Mostly I use Vaska, Clorox Greenworks and lately Seventh Generation liquid and powder. I have several others I use sometimes. I'm a bit of a product addict - Larsi and I ;) I highly recommend you use HE detergent. See attached link. If you have mud stains or ground-in soil or dirt, then powder detergent will work best. If, on the other hand, you're working with more oily dirt, like food stains, you should use a liquid detergent. Even Miele told me this. I think it's wise to own both a powder and a liquid. I do and it's working for me ;) Good luck! Let us know how it's working for you. Here is a link that might be useful: HE washers & detergents

Heated or not heated prewash ? that's the question ;) The misundersanding is all inside the word "COLD" that is ambiguously used by Miele Chech all the tempeature settings in the W48XX : No heat = tap cold - cold fill only IMHO (but not only mine) prewash has to have a drain before the main wash (that will be carried with fresh water), otherwise it would be just a extended main wash. COLD = 30°C = 85°F ("almost warm" were less misunderstanding) Warm = 40°C = 105°F Very warm = 50°C = 120°F Hot = 60°C = 140°F Sanitize = 70°C = 160°F So the heater in the prewash engages or doesn't depending on the target temp AND on hot water line actual temp.

I received my shipment of Miele detergent (for whites, colors, delicates, and fabric softener) in mid December and compared it against PERSIL MEGAPERLS (for whites and colors. I have used PERSIL since 2003 when I first purchased my machine, but have tried other brands during this time. As I mentioned in my previous post I looked up the Kreussler Company on the web, which is the maker of this detergent. Kreussler is the private company Miele uses to manufacture their commercial detergents which are sold to laundries under the brand name of Trebon. Powder Detergent Product Consistency: Persil consists of small beads. The Miele detergent is similar to fine grain sugar. Fragrance: Persil is scented when you sniff the product in the container but does not leave a scent on clothes. The Miele product is described as the smell of flowers and there is a scent when in the container. No scent is left in the clothes and since my washer drains into the sink I have to say that there is no trace of a scent in the discharged water. If anything it smells rather acrid. Dosage: I purchased my current boxes of PERSIL in the early spring of 2007. I compared those boxes to my previous box from 2006 and found that the recommended dosage had been increased by 1 ML. This doesnt matter since I ignore recommended dosages, and use amounts I have found to be right for my soil levels and water conditions. The Miele detergent comes with a cup which does not match the dosage lines on the PERSIL cup and does not match a standard USA cup either. I compared the recommended amounts by following the PERSIL dosage using the PERSIL cup, then pouring that amount into the Miele cup. The Miele recommended amounts for each soil level are slightly less than the PERSIL amounts. The Miele box contains recommended amounts for small and larger washers. Even though I dont use recommended amounts I found that I could decrease the dosage amount when using the Miele detergent, so I can use slightly less of it for each soil level. Cleaning in temps of 85F, 104F, and 120F: I did not do any scientific-like comparisons or do any strip tests. I have the same type of typical or heavy (ground in, body, oily) soil in most loads. I got very good results in warm watereverything was cleaned. I did do a load of white cleaning clothes in warm water instead of hot(190F) and got very good results. Oily dirt was handled well in warm water. Rinsing: One reason I use PERSIL MEGAPERLS is because it rinses well in my water. The Miele detergent rinses a bit better. The wash discharge water is milky and contains no suds. During the first rinse water will be clear with slight bubbles on the top. As the spins and rinses continue these dissipate. Liquid detergent for Delicates: Persil for Delicates is a creamy thick liquid. The Miele Delicates is like a creamy water. I understand there may be an issue with the W11XX or W12XX dispenser and I guess it is different than the dispenser on my W1986 because it will hold back water. This consistency is good for me because I have trouble with the thicker products in the winter. I think this is because my incoming cold water is about 40 degrees and it cannot flush thick products as well. With the dispenser I had to add hot water to it to get it to flush. I dont even use the dispenser anymore even with the Miele product. If I am not going to do a prewash I just move the clothes away from one of the fins in the tub, pour the product onto and into the fin, close the door and start the machine - works fine. Delicates come out clean. Fabric Softener: The Consistency is like water and it easily flushes from the dispenser leaving nothing behind. Clothes are left soft. There is no scent that I recognize and I dont smell anything in the clothes hours or days later, although clothes smell clean, fresh and good.

Hi, Been getting the ’cartridge 1 empty’ message for a long time, despite being full/new, but it seems to carry on and wash fine. I tried warm water last time and it worked for the maintence cycle. Today the warm water trick didn’t work alone. I had 1/3 cold water, the rest at about 90degC. It was hot, but not too hot to hold in hand. Started the maintenance cycle - when I heard/felt the machine trying to pump water from the cartridge, I put my hand where cartridge 2 would go and pressed/pumped the side of the cartridge. This happens a few times during the 13 min cycle and it worked. I ran the maintenance cycle again without touching the cartridge - it worked on its own. Trying my luck again, I tried a 3rd time - it failed (same cartridge, didn’t refill). Fourth time it worked pumping the side/end of the cartridge. 5th time worked on its own. Spent long enough doing this and 4 cleans should be better than nothing. I’ll have to wait to see if the subsequent washes work without the message ‘cartridge 1 empty’.