OMG...of course you can. What makes you think you cannot? One can use any HE (he) detergent desired. In fact, our senior Miele tech said he and his wife use Tide he liquid and Tide he powder when not using Persil or the Miele Care Collection!!

Do you think I would use anything, that would harm my beloved Mieles?? :)

You MUST use liquid (HE of course) when using the Express/Quick Cycle and the Comforters Cycle though. I have been using and LOVING the new Tide concentrated HE powders, but of course keep liquid on hand for the Comforters Cycle, which I use every week for blankets and bulky items.

"What makes you think you cannot" - my husband who is mechanically minded and European for one & he said so. Also reading this site people have said that Tide suds up too much for "our" beloved Mieles. I'm saying "our" because you know I love Miele as much as you do Larsi ;)

Also our Miele technician said NO to it as well....

Your Miele techcician said No? He is not that qualified then. :-o lol

Up until a few years ago, before Miele had their own Miele Care Collection of detergents...On the back of Tide he Powder it listed manufacturers that officially endorsed the use of Tide he Powder. It said: Officially recommended by Miele!!!

Our Senior Miele Tech (with the company over 15 years) said that Miele of course wants customers to use the Miele Care Collection, but Persil and Tide are the #1 products that are also factory tested in Germany. Persil (and it's other named Euro soaps) and Tide are the biggest sellers from a worldwide perspective, and the Miele Tech said that Tide he powder and Tide he liquid have been extensively tested in Miele units. Not only fine, but until recently...Officially recommended by Miele!!!

What do "techs" and repair people know about detergents? Seriously... anything they tell you is anecdotal at best and doesn't represent an actual recommendation from Miele. If Miele wants to recommend something, they will do so via a press release, their web site, or via user manual documentation. This is why I don't bother fretting when a service person claims you shouldn't use vinegar in your Miele. Really? So Samsung, Maytag, LG, etc. all have rubber seals that can handle vinegar but Miele does not? BAH! A 1/2 cup of vinegar in a wash will do nothing to affect rubber seals or anything in the machine. The acid is simply not strong enough. Miele recommends against dye removers in the manual, why don't they also recommend against vinegar? One reason... IT'S FINE!

I generally won't be swayed by something a service technician tells me about what I can and cannot put into my machine. I'll rely on Miele for that. Larsi, did you ever contact Miele directly and ask them your vinegar question? I be the answer they give you will be quite different than what your service person told you.

Any HE or "front load compatible" detergent should be fine to use in your Miele. As with anything, try it and adjust your dosage if you have suds or cleaning issues.

I believe it is all a matter of which Miele tech you get. I've dealt with three different Miele techs, and liked all three. All were very informative, and one in particular was exceedingly knowledgeable, plus he personally owns the Miele machines we have. He tries out all the products he can get his hands on and reports his findings back to Miele. He did tell me the "green" products were giving them fits as they tended to gum-up. This might have all changed with time.

Sstava....

YES!! In fact I did call Miele USA in New Jersey and asked them about using vinegar in my W4842. So there- HA!! :)

They were very nice, but very vocal about NOT using vinegar in ANY miele machine. They told me it will harm many components in the machine, and Miele has advised them to tell customers NOT to use is. Before you say ANYTHING :) yes, yes...it should be in the manual NOT to use vinegar. But, as we all know..Miele manuals are average at best!!

Like I said in my above post...I am not relying on just what my Miele Senior Tech said, but until a few years ago Tide he powder said on the back of the box...Officially recommended by Miele!!

I agree with fahrenheit 451...there are amazing, informed techs and some not so! Mine is excellent, and he and his wife have all Miele appliances. He is very informed and involved!!

The Tech that advised me was here at the house, he was a Supervisor filling in since the previous tech had left.

#2 - when I contacted Miele over the phone about the gunk in my Miele dw, *that* tech told me to use vinegar in my dw & that it was fine to do. Now this is for the dw, not for the W & D, so that could be different.

Ok, so Tide HE powder won't oversuds in my Miele washing machine? How much do I put in? I do *miss* Tide because it is awesome at getting stains out, better than Persil & Ariel which leave our clothes stained.

So, please advise. TY!

I think German vinegar is more potent than our table vinegar. Have you ever eaten something like Salzkartoffeln
in Germany? Wow

@larsi - How interesting about the vinegar. I talked with Miele customer service a week or two ago and the guy said it would be okay to put up to 1/4 cup of vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser, in order to cut over-sudsing. (Using it regularly was not discussed.)

@ Mielemaid...

Follow the directions on the Tide he box.

For my medium and medium-largish loads, I fill the powder to Line 2 on the provided measuring cup.

If a load is really big, I will use up to line 2.5 or 3. Line 2 seems to do a really good job though. I have virtually no suds, and it rinses great. I am so happy I can once again use Tide powder. Their new concentrated formulas no longer leave a white, powdery residue on the stainless wash drum in my W4842!! Smells sooooo good too!

@ Cavimum...that is odd. Both my Miele Senior Tech and Miele USA in NJ told me NO vinegar in a Miele. So interesting that now they are telling you to use is. A-ha...they want to wear the insides down, so in the near future you will NEED Miele Service!! :) lol

@Fordtech...Ich liebe Salzkartoffeln!!! Lecker...nom, nom, nom :)

Well, if Miele USA customer service is saying don't use vinegar then I can't argue with that.

@Cavimum said Miele CS told her OK to use vinegar?

It is rather interesting that both myself and another person got an OK from Miele to use vinegar, though I admit mine is for the dw *not* the w & d.

@Larsi - ok. Vielen dank vor the information about Tide. Do you like Tide better in your Miele or Persil better? I loved Tide as I said it really got the stains out. I used to use 2 TBLSP in my Whirl/May and it was amazing how well the stains got out. Persil does *not* do the same job, as I said I still have stains with Persil & Ariel. With Tide (it was liquid, sometimes it was HE, depends on what Costco had) it always came out, no pre-soaking needed for most of it, & I always washed on cold.

For my Miele, I almost always wash it on "no heat", except when I'm doing whites (like tonight) - then I wash it on hot. Don't ask me about stains... :\ -- I'm not expecting much.

Ok well, I'll *think* about getting Tide powder HE - I'll tell my husband LARSI & the forum said it's ok (he already knows about GW & Larsi) and see what he says. He grew up with his mother's Miele that's still working for 25 years in with no service calls (except the rubber I think?). It still looks exactly like the other European Mieles washing machines. It's a tank.

Mielemaid....

Yes, tell your husband Larsi says Tide he powder is not only ok, it's perfect for the Miele :)

I actually find the cleaning ability of Persil to be kind of amazing, and I love the smell!! My family is coming from Germany in mid September with a suitcase full of Persil, Ariel and Vernel.

I think the for the price and ease of finding it...Tide he powder and Tide he liquids work really, really well. And yes...Tide is great at almost any stain. Like the bottles of Tide used to say..."A washing miracle".

2 Tablespoons of Tide he powder for a Miele sounds like way too little. Follow the directions. I think line 2 of the measure cup works for most loads!!

Good luck, keep us posted!!

:)

Larsi

@livebetter - We never discussed using vinegar on a regular basis. The guy at Miele said I could put some in when I had over-sudsing/overdosing from detergent, in order to cut the suds.

@cavimum, looks like I need to contact Miele Canada and see what they say. I'll post their response. Thanks!

I was looking at the Tide website tonight. It looks like the powders contain one enzyme while the liquids contain up to 4. How can powders clean better?

I emailed Miele Canada directly regarding the vinegar. I'll keep you posted.

@ livebetter

Might it be possible that, because powders tend to be used at higher temperatures, fewer enzymes are needed to accomplish the same task? Tide HE Liquid of any variation is a sudsing nightmare if you go over 120F.

The powders also have oxi bleach in them which removes stains at warmer temperatures so the extra enzymes found in the liquids are most likely not needed.

OK ... Miele Canada's response to the can I use white vinegar question.

"Thank you for taking the time to write.

It is perfectly fine to use white vinegar to clean the appliance, you can rest assured that it will not cause any damages. The best way to clean your appliance would be to use the clean machine program and use white vinegar instead of detergent while you have no clothes in the appliance. You should do this once a month.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you require additional information."

I did ask about using it in the rinse cycle but either way this response would lead me to believe it will not harm the machine.

@ livebetter

Thank goodness! I hope this settles the issue for everyone.

I emailed them right back to verify that using it instead of fabric softener many times a month will not harm any rubber/metal parts of my machine.

Their response:

"Yes, that will be fine and will not damage your appliance."

Thank goodness is right. I was going to be bummed if they told me not to do it. I use it quite often for loads like tea towels, bath towels - things I want to remove as much residue as possible.

@ livebetter and SStava...

Well it at least settles this for Canadian Miele owners :)

Miele USA in New Jersey, told me NOT to use white or any other vinegar in the washing machine, as it will damage seals & rubbers.

Cleaning the machine needs to be done with either bleach or Miele de-scaler product.

:-o

@ larsi

It must certainly have to do with the fact that our vinegar is not German... LOL

Sstava!!

Yes, for sure do to our inferior, non-German vinegar!! :)

ha ha ha

Maybe everyone is an idiot and this answers nothing ... argh!!

@livebetter - Seriously! It is amazing that we all get different answers.

And who would have thought that such a simple thing as vinegar would cause such a controversy! I much prefer citric acid to vinegar anyway...

Well @cavimum, your guy said ok for sudsing. My girl said ok for long term use instead of fabric softener ... is it only @larsi who says different? I'm going with it's OK. I'm warrantied for 10 years.

Use vinegar on the right side of your load and without on the left side, and compare after a month. If it looks OK go with it!

Where'd everybody go?