I Thought the goal was WHITER not YELLOWER....

I believe the problem with chlorine bleach and older Miele's with stainless steel outer tubs is that the bleach, theoretically, can bead up and concentrate in spots, presumably if the washer is shut off whilst it contains bleach. Then, evaporation would concentrate the bleach until it started to attack the stainless steel. Over time, if left long enough, these concentrated spots can cause pinhole leaks in the stainless steel. This is a known problem for home beer brewers who use stainless pressure vessels for their brews, and disinfect them with chlorine bleach and don't rinse them out promptly and thoroughly. Stainless steel's Achilles heel is the chlorine ion. For this reason, most stainless cookware advises that if, for example, one is boiling water for pasta, that one add the salt after a roiling boil is achieved, so as not to concentrate the salt on the bottom of the pan at high temperature.

The 4000/4800 4 cu ft Mieles have plastiglass outer tubs, not stainless steel, and therefore presumably are immune to the problem.

I also was a bit non-plussed, considering Miele's history of inveighing against the tilted tub, to see that the newest 110 volt 4 cu ft models for the American market feature not-perfectly-horizontal alignments. Whatever happened to the vaunted "fall height"???

In any case, the Neptune 7500 has a fairly pronounced tilt, at 15 degrees. Other washers, such as the Whirlpool HE series, come in at 13 degrees. The LG, as I recall, has an 11 degree tilt. Don't know about more recent offerings or the Miele. For the Neptune, most of the time the tilt is not an issue. For hard-to-wet bulky items - like car covers or thick comforters, I notice that the front of the load doesn't get wetted down as soon as the rear of the load. Usually for these I program in more time for the wash, or a pre-wash, to help saturate everything.


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Post# 239663 9/30/2007 at 19:41 (6,045 days old) by pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)
Checkrate/Likes Ok, so I put my whites in the Miele as usual, Extra White cycle, 95 degrees C wash, sensitive option, and my usual combination of Persil, Oxi-Clean, and STPP... Here is how a few of my socks came out... What happened? The bottom sock is totally yellow except for the band around the ankle which is only slightly yellow now, it was totally white before, the upper is the same kind of sock I posted with my other test on those wash clothes bit now the band inside is yellow. The shirt was in the same cycle and is totally fine... Did I actually burn the elastics?

Post# 239665 , Reply# 1 9/30/2007 at 19:58 (6,045 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes You really should'nt launder elastic/mand made fibers in anything more than warm water, maybe today's "hot" of 120F, but that is really about it. While not "burned" high heat can damage elastic fibers to the point they will fall apart. L.

Post# 239711 , Reply# 2 12/31/2069 at 18:00 (19,832 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)
Checkrate/Likes Either that, or you have powerful foot sweat ;-)

Post# 239730 , Reply# 3 10/1/2007 at 02:11 (6,045 days old) by hoovermatic (UK)
Checkrate/Likes Looks like that water was too hot, I have done that in the past. You gonna have one baggy sock!!

Post# 239732 , Reply# 4 10/1/2007 at 02:21 (6,045 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)
Checkrate/Likes *Where's Jason when you need him?* Cue in, "A Whiter Shade of Pale"... ;-)

Post# 239740 , Reply# 5 10/1/2007 at 06:26 (6,045 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)
Checkrate/Likes Chemical in your shoes/sneakers? Foot powder/ creams become reactive?

Post# 239743 , Reply# 6 10/1/2007 at 07:31 (6,044 days old) by westyslantfront ()
Checkrate/Likes Hi Jamie. Did you ad bluing to wash water? Bluing counters the yellowing action of bleach which is also needed to whiten whites. I have attached a link. My recipe for whites is Hot Water, chlorine bleach, bluing,and phosphates. Let me know if you have any questions. Ross CLICK HERE TO GO TO westyslantfront's LINK

Post# 239758 , Reply# 7 10/1/2007 at 09:07 (6,044 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)
Checkrate/Likes If it's not 100%cotton and mostly acrilic,that's what bleach does to it.100% cotton socks never yellow.

Post# 239761 , Reply# 8 10/1/2007 at 09:46 (6,044 days old) by askomiele (Belgium Ghent)
Checkrate/Likes eum mayde try next time just persil no bleach no additives... I wash every thing white (except shirts an trouses) on 95� never had anything yellow!!!

Post# 239979 , Reply# 12 10/2/2007 at 11:25 (6,043 days old) by nmaineman36 ()
Checkrate/Likes Thats funny in how your Miele says not to use LCB. In mine I have the dispenser that i took out since I too dont use it. Miele used to also tout being a true "horizontal drum" washer. Not angled like a Maytag Neptune. But with the new Mega Mieles they angled the drum. I dont really see any difference if its angled or not...but thats my opinion. That sock i would bet is a synthetic blend. My old Amana dryer used to get so hot that anything with a blend would come out like that. I threw out many socks because of it. Plus its kinda scratchy against the skin.

Post# 239986 , Reply# 13 10/2/2007 at 12:03 (6,043 days old) by lavamat78800 ()
Checkrate/Likes *Using belach* By using bleach, elastic fibres can turn yellow or grey.

Post# 239789 , Reply# 9 10/1/2007 at 14:22 (6,044 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)
Checkrate/Likes *I don't know what 95C is in F!! LOL!* But, I always wash my whites in 161F and never had a problem like that. I use Persil and OxiClean in every load with whatever my current fabric softener of choice is and they come out beautifully.

Post# 239791 , Reply# 10 10/1/2007 at 14:29 (6,044 days old) by askomiele (Belgium Ghent)
Checkrate/Likes 95�c = 203�f

Post# 239792 , Reply# 11 10/1/2007 at 14:33 (6,044 days old) by pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)
Checkrate/Likes I never use chlorine bleach though! It's a strict rule in my laundryroom, no LCB except for cleaning the cement floor. My Miele's manaul specifically says to NEVER EVER EVER use chlorine bleach in the machine and to NEVER EVER EVER put any kind of dye in the machine.

Post# 240123 , Reply# 14 10/3/2007 at 01:15 (6,043 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)
Checkrate/Likes I believe the problem with chlorine bleach and older Miele's with stainless steel outer tubs is that the bleach, theoretically, can bead up and concentrate in spots, presumably if the washer is shut off whilst it contains bleach. Then, evaporation would concentrate the bleach until it started to attack the stainless steel. Over time, if left long enough, these concentrated spots can cause pinhole leaks in the stainless steel. This is a known problem for home beer brewers who use stainless pressure vessels for their brews, and disinfect them with chlorine bleach and don't rinse them out promptly and thoroughly. Stainless steel's Achilles heel is the chlorine ion. For this reason, most stainless cookware advises that if, for example, one is boiling water for pasta, that one add the salt after a roiling boil is achieved, so as not to concentrate the salt on the bottom of the pan at high temperature. The 4000/4800 4 cu ft Mieles have plastiglass outer tubs, not stainless steel, and therefore presumably are immune to the problem. I also was a bit non-plussed, considering Miele's history of inveighing against the tilted tub, to see that the newest 110 volt 4 cu ft models for the American market feature not-perfectly-horizontal alignments. Whatever happened to the vaunted "fall height"??? In any case, the Neptune 7500 has a fairly pronounced tilt, at 15 degrees. Other washers, such as the Whirlpool HE series, come in at 13 degrees. The LG, as I recall, has an 11 degree tilt. Don't know about more recent offerings or the Miele. For the Neptune, most of the time the tilt is not an issue. For hard-to-wet bulky items - like car covers or thick comforters, I notice that the front of the load doesn't get wetted down as soon as the rear of the load. Usually for these I program in more time for the wash, or a pre-wash, to help saturate everything.