Any Miele currently on sale in the USA (besides the Super Capacity W4840) will be the same or very comparable to what is on sale in Sweden or Germany. We had a Miele W1215 and W1986 for years, and they were 100% trouble free. Both units are 220V, so you are able to almost boil the whites to get them super white w/o bleach. We have had the W4840 now for over a month, and it's actually a great unit. On the W4840, you can have a Miele tech (free of charge) come out, and set the water level/usage higher for the wash and rinse cycles. I had them do this, and WOW...what a differnce. You can actually see a water line during the rinse cycle. Everything is cleaner, softer and fresher. I do not know if this Water+ feature is available on the smaller USA Miele model washers. Asko used to be great, but a lot of their units and parts are made in Korea by LG, so sadly what was once a superb Swedish company (like Volvo and SAAB & Electrolux) has been destroyed by foreign investors and owners. Miele is 100% German, and Miele is the largest family owned company in the entire world, serving over 40 countries. Get the Miele, you will love it!!!

Miele unfortunately switched all of their washers to 120V a couple of years ago, which means lower maximum water temperatures and longer wash times, just like the U.S. brands. Asko, Miele, AEG, and a few smaller brands still use 240V on some of their washers.

Make that Asko, Bosch and AEG

Thanks for the info. Based on your input, I'm thinking I should try to grab one of the discontinued Miele models if I want a Miele? I located a W1215 near me, new in box from an authorized dealer, for $1299. That's 220v right?

Deutsch100, may I ask how you liked your 3 Miele's, which did you like best and why, since you've had all three models that I see come up a lot... w1986 vs w1215 vs 4840. I'm leaning towards w1215 because it seems like it was the last of the 220v ones, is that right... w1986 is older and does not have the honeycomb drum? And w4840 is the newest, has the "super" capacity and runs on 110v?

Deutsch100, one more question, just reread your post and saw about the water plus feature -- did you feel you needed that on the w1215 or did it use an adequate amount of water without futzing with the settings... thanks !

Our first Miele was a W1215 (No honeycomb drum), the second was a Stainless W1986 (Honeycomb drum) the 3rd was the debut of the W4840 (had a lot of little annoying issues) and our 4th (sorry we've had 4 Mieles not, 3) is a 2009 W4840. I love my new W4840 and T9800 Dryer with Pedestals! Wow, the pedestals make it such a pleasure to use. Solid, no vibration, no rattles and the added height is so nice!!!

Our W1215 was 220, but I think our W1986 was 110. No problems with the W1986 being 110. The internal water heater handled all whites like a champ, as does our 2009 W4840 that is 110V. Our T9800 dryer is Electric 220V. Electric dryers are SO much quieter than gas dryers, and the heat is even and consistent from start to finish. Also, it seems crazy with a gas dryer and the lint and clothes. I just feel safer with an electric dryer!

Not having the Water+ feature in the 1215 and 1986 never seemed an issue, although I REALLY like the extra water in my W4840 during the wash and rinse cycles.

Whites come out very white in my W4840, when washed on Hot (140degF) or Sanitize (158degF) temperature with oxygen bleach...much better than I got with my old top-loader using chlorine bleach. But the W4840 does allow use of chlorine bleach if you want.

From what I've read, boil wash temperature, 205degF or so, can be safely used only on white cottons without elastic. E.g. white towels, white pillowcases and flat sheets, white napkins, diapers.

You don't need a Miele tech to set higher water level on the W4840, you can do it yourself through a special options menu. I've gotten into that menu and seen the option, but haven't set it.

I went ahead and bought the w1215 at the dealer near me. I really want to try the 220v and higher temps. I also located a w1966 but not having the delayed start would drive me nuts. OTOH, not having a drain & spin option (which I'm understanding the w1215 does not) might also drive me nuts... but now what's done is done.

Suburbanmd -- I have a set of GE FLs right now and they supposedly heat up to 170F on the sanitize cycle. My whites are not very white! Maybe I need to use more detergent (currently using 2-3 tbsp with soft water). I have tried the oxygen bleach -- both Oxyclean and the more generic version with fewer additives -- and still not had very satisfactory results.

hcj1440, I use Sears Ultra Plus Free powder detergent, one scoop for a full or nearly-full load (interestingly, one pail of detergent came with a 50CC scoop, and another identical-looking pail came with a 60CC scoop). For bleach I've been using Clorox 2 powder, to the halfway line on the scoop for a full load. My water is slightly hard. It's soft but acidic when it comes out of the well, and picks up calcium in the acid neutralizer. The Miele wash cycles are probably longer than most of the GE cycles, though I imagine the GE sanitize cycle is pretty long.

deutsch100,

I'm just curious, what is a difference between the "debut of the W4840" and 2009 W4840?

I have 3 Miele washer/dryer sets. The w1918, w1930 & W1986 with matching dryers. All of these washers are 220 volt units. I personally would choose the w1986 over the w1215. It has more flexibility than the w1215. My favorite Miele washer is the w1918. The w1930 is the same as the w1918 just minus the porthole. The w1986 is a larger capacity unit but more "Americanize", user friendly but not as aggressive as the other 2 Mieles washers. Other washer/dryer sets I own are the AEG 88840 1800 rpm spin and a Asko 20003 circa 1993.