I had a large capacity Miele that did really well. Unfortunately it died on me after eight years. I do fifteen to twenty loads a week. Family of seven, with one working on a dairy farm, one truck mechanic, one landscaper and a few littles that love dirt. So we have a lot of dirty clothes. I could do wash twice a week but then I would be doing it all day long.....Efficient for me means two or three loads a day and staying on top of it. [Everybody's definition of efficient will be different]. Each child has their own basket in their bedroom and brings it down. I wash and fold then put it directly back in their basket. They are responsible for carrying it up and putting it away. Blankets get washed as needed and put right back on beds, human or dog.

if you have Miele how does it work for your extra loads of laundry?

not sure what you mean, my Miele did ALL my laundry. Comforters, blankets, curtains, pillows, dirty clothes...........I now have a Speed Queen front load and it does all those things too. Just make sure the drum is big enough for your biggest item and you'll be fine.

I see! that is very helpful. Thank you. Looks like larger capacity is essencial.

I don't have a Miele but I do have four kids. I do laundry twice a week

I don't have a Miele ;) and it's only my husband, our Dingo and me. I just had to speak up about a large capacity washer. I didn't NEED a large capacity washer but the size I bought in Oct (4.5 cu ft) didn't work because of the water restrictions). It's the same size as the one it replaced. Both have agitators and even tho I used Deep Fill, it just didn't let me wash large loads and use the amt of water I wanted and that the washer it replaced used. This is excellent timing because I have about 10 of DH's white work t-shirts soaking in max water capacity. I'm in heaven! Lots of water! T-shirts are floating freely. This machine is 5 cu ft. direct drive, quiet wash, wifi, and has a water station (for those of us without a sink in the laundry room). Hot water wash is HOT. Warm water wash is WARM. It also has a pre-wash for really dirty loads that wash and rinse and then starts a regular wash. I'm sure for "hands free" you have to have detergent in the liquid detergent reservoir. to do that tho I haven't done that yet and don't know if I'm going to. Putting a 75 ounce bottle of detergent in the reservoir just reeks of possible odor over time. Of course it's way to soon to recommend this GE GTW845 washer but for the two days I've had it, I'm satisfied with what I've seen and features I've used. As for the size, it's like looking down into a well! I'm 5' tall. I need tongs and or a stool to reach all the clothes. I'll deal with it. Love the size!

Another with a family of seven here... except we have no pets (oldest daughter has extreme allergies) and don’t live on a farm or have messy work clothes on a daily basis. We average 14-18 loads per week. (Usually closer to 14) All of my kids are older, and I haven’t done their laundry in some years. They have assigned days where they wash their own clothing, bedding, and towels. So I only do mine and hubby’s, kitchen laundry, any guest bedding/towels as needed, and cleaning rags. I’ve had extra large capacity front loading machines ever since our twins (our 4th and 5th children) were born and hubby had to do laundry while I was recovering from the c-section. Hahahahaha! (He couldn’t keep up with the set we had) They’ll be 18 in a few weeks. My kids were “helping” me with laundry ever since they were toddlers and entirely took over their own laundry once they were pre-teens to young teens.

If I had a lot of laundry, the money, and the floor space I'd get this enormous LG WM9500HKA 5.8 cu. ft. HE Mega Capacity Smart Front Load Washer.

Anna, in addition to checking the time of the washing cycle, I would check the dryer timing as well. IIRC, most electric dryers take longer than gas dryers to dry out a load, so it would probably be more efficient to have a gas dryer, otherwise, wet clothes will stack up waiting for the dryer to finish the prior run.

Not sure what you mean by “efficient.” Maybe designate one day of the week for the start of the laundry cycle, so all the dirty laundry gets to the laundry room and sorted into bins, then you can start running one load after another? IMHO, it’s most efficient to sort the laundry into loads, and wash the biggest loads possible. It’s better to wait a few days and run a bigger load than to wash a small load of towels etc. Each person should have two baskets for clean clothes. Having extra baskets for clean clothes saves on running around looking for empty ones and yelling at people to put their laundry away. When you do it is up to you - I prefer to do it when I’m home and can fold things right out of the dryer.

Monikakm_gw, wow sounds really good. Especially the water station. I do not have a sink in there.

Note that the GE GTW845 washer (mentioned above) received a mediocre overall rating of 60 out of 100 in Consumer Reports tests. There are many other washers of all types that performed better. http://www.consumerreports.com/join $10/month digital).

I had a Miele and one baby who I cloth diapered. It was a great machine that got clothes really clean. But, I would not buy the regular size Miele with that many kids. Get large capacity if you’re getting one. Otherwise you’ll be doing laundry all day.

I haven't had the GTW845 long enough to put it thru a true test of how good it is or isn't. So far I haven't been disappointed. However, I've known for at least 18 years how crooked and "bought" CR is. They are good for telling you what to look for in a product but (generally) when it comes to ratings, they are so far out in left field! In addition, I don't use the machine in "auto" mode. Auto modes are usually dumbed down modes that can't be all things to all people. It's got enough settings that I can do things the way I want them done :) If it holds up, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be happy with it. If it doesn't hold up, I have an extended warranty for that.

I have a total of 5 washers and dryers, all front load. Currently have two speed queen front load sets, two Miele sets (octoplus and regular older Miele set), and a Maytag front load set. The speed queen front load washers are a no frills front load washer that cleans well. It does not dumb down the temp but does not have an on board heater. I find I use the Maytag front load set for our pet items and really gets them clean. The Miele octoplus set I just got and hasn’t been set up yet but I’m willing to bet they clean great too. The Maytag set is 4.5 cubic feet and fits our king sized comforter with no issues. If you don’t mind no onboard heater I would highly recommend the speed queen front load set Or the Maytag front load set. They really clean up clothing well. The Maytag does have a onboard heater. I have the 5500 series front load machine.

Another vote for cycle times. You can be the most efficient & organized laundry person in the world, but if the ‘smart’ large capacity machine is analyzing each load for weight, suds, water, the quadratic equation... a single load will take hours to complete.

My speed queen front load does a load in 55 min even with analyzing the load for weight, suds, water, etc. it’s really a no frills good cleaning washer.