Celtictaj

My 10 -11 year old Miele w980 takes several different times for a 40 cotton wash 30 mins on the quickwash setting 1.57 mins on a full 1.10 mins with the short button selected and 55 mins when started off at the 1.57 and the novatronic wow gizmo sensors decide that the wash isnt dirt of full enough to warrant the full 1.57. (if it has flipped over to 55 mins but I want it to do the whole 1.57 I just re-press the on/off button) All of the above on 1600 rpm default unless changed

Hi Richard I live in North Norfolk and according to the recent test I did the water here was the highest on the hardness scale. (it was a paper strip test similar to ones used to test blood sugar levels). I've never used calgon because of the high cost but have been using Tesco's own limescale prevention tablets whic are a fraction of the cost. They used to be £2.95 for 30 they have now come down to £2.35 for 30. It does seem to make a difference in thatbefore without anything using the recommended amount of detergent would show no signs of suds at all. Hope this helps. I had been think of getting a water softner but for the moment due to lack of funds I'll be sticking to the tesco's limescale tabs .

A while ago I posted that I was having problems with my 11 year old MieleW980 washing machine. While waiting for the lovely man from Miele who sorted everything outfor me I decided to re read the instruction manual. I have discovered that pressing several buttons at once I can access programme features additional to the ones shown on the no nonsense dial. I have now programmed the machine to start by flushing both of the draws in the powder tray. This has been very useful as we live in an extremely hard hardwater area. I now put some powder and a small amount of soda in the prewash tray (which flushes first) and thenput the rest of the powder and a limescale prevention tablet in the second compartment, which flushes a fraction of a second later. The results have meant a much cleaner detergent tray. I have to say that loathe to admit it , it proves "him indoors" right; he always says that one of the main rules in life is RTFM (as in Read the F* Manual). So I'm feeling bit sheepish for possibly not having RTFM to its entirety. On reflection it would have been good if the existence of additional progs was pointed out when choosing the machine.

I know the W980 is no longer made , mines getting on for 11 year old. I think the 1600 spin is great andwould go for the same or higher in the future. leaves the 1200 spin on partners zanussi standing. Anybody got one of the 1800 HC models ?

Can be useful place to recycle unwanted items http://uk.freecycle.org/

What model did you go for in the end and what do think of it ?

It was near enough £93 pounds because I paid by card when I booked the appointment. The fee includes ahours labour. Given that thats the first work I've had done on my machine in 11 years I can't complain. Now that work has been done machine is using less water and almost silent again. It wasn't just a case of removing the pressure chamber and cleaning out he had to then recalibrate the machine with the laptop.

Miele man has just been and worked his magic, luckily it wasn't anything disaterous; just a pressure chamber blocked solid with limescale. I had a look at the Anglian Water site the other day and it giveswater condition by each section or water sub area. The rating for the Fakenham area was very high. Going to use descaler once a month on the washing machine since I do anything between 8 and 20 loads a week.

May be its the detergent ? Ive been using asda non bio delicate and sensative tablets for a while. Is a difficult one as am allergic to some detergents

I was always put off by the price of calgon and disappointed when John Lewis stopped doing there very good and cheap softening powder. Tesco brought out there own limescale prevention tablet which is almost identical to the C brand, its a fraction of the price , its £2.95 for 30 tabs. So far I'm happy with them

As I mentioned in my first post I've just had first ever problem with my W980 mile washing machine. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the engineer says death by limescale. We moved to North Norfolk about 5 years ago and the water is horrendous, even compared to Norwich. I use the Tesco limescale prevention tablets every wash and oko magnet ball thingy as well. I was wondering if there's anything else I could or should be doing ? I noticed last night when reading through the instruction manual for the W980 that I have been putting the limescale tab and washing tablets thingies in the wrong order , apparently Miele say detergent first and lime scale treatment next. I've bought a couple of sets of the clamp on magnet things to go on the pipes and I'm hoping to persuade "him who knows what hes doing" to brave a session under the sink and fit them. I can't believe its only been less than 24 hours and I'm having washing machine withdrawal symptoms already! If the service guys can't get to me pronto, I'm going to disappear under a huge pile of laundry. Himself has a Zanussi machine that I gave him when I upgrade to the W980 but I have to say it's awful in comparison, its only got a 1200 spin so It's going to mean stuff is going to take longer to dry. Does anybody else use a dehumidifier to dry laundry at this time of year ? Back to the lime scale I use the prevention tablets every wash and clean the machine once every couple of months with descaler and the filter etc still gets coated in lime scale. Is there anything that can be used to safely descale the filter ?