NO APPLIANCE is without faults. Some brands have a better track record than others. Some care about their customers others care about their customers money.
The two top residential brands are Miele and Speed Queen. You will pay more to acquire these brands. MOST people forget what they paid after the initial shock and just enjoy mostly trouble free machines.
The choice between the two comes down to a few simple questions:
1. Do you want a top loading washing machine?
If the answer is YES, then Speed Queen is the only option from those two brands.
2. Do you want a front loading machine?
If yes then either brand will work. The differences are listed below.
Miele
Made in Germany. They own almost all of their parts fabrication machinery. They even have their own steel/iron refinery, forge, electronics manufacturing, etc.
Built-in water heater. Maintains water temperatures and can provide a true sanitizing water temperature if desired.
Compact size. The internal washing drum is smaller than speed queen. If you do laundry more frequently this is not usually an issue. If you save it all for one day then it can be an issue.
Many cycles, features, technology. Automatic Soap Dispensing, WiFi, etc.
Speed Queen
Made in Ripon, WI. Parts are made to their specification, but necessarily made BY THEM.
No built-in water heater. The water will be as hot as your water heater supplies it. No automatic temperature control. Water will fill and then cool during the cycle. May not be important to you. Chemicals are needed to sanitize laundry (Chlorine Bleach)
Full size units. The internal drum can hold more laundry per load.
Fewer, simple cycles. Usually enough for most people. Can not usually wash delicate items such as wool, silk, cashmere. If you don't own or wear items made from these fabrics it may not matter.
ALWAYS ask who will service your appliance. Speed Queen relies independent shops to service their machines. Service isn't usually a problem. Call speed queen and see who the local servicers are BEFORE you buy. Then check google and other sites for reviews on those places. Some are great, some are terrible.
Miele has both in house technicians and partners. if you have a Miele in house tech in your area, then you are way ahead. These techs have to go to school on the appliances they repair. They have a laptop with special software to help diagnose and troubleshoot problems. If you do NOT have a Miele tech nearby and need to use a partner, do the same research as above. Call the service partner and ask if they have people experienced fixing Miele appliances. Some are great, others are terrible,
Q
Elevated walls around hot tub
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