They can clean, but the electricity network in the U.S. limits this greatly. In order to get a true profile wash (Starts cold and progresses to a selected temperature), you need 240v of electricity to achieve this in reasonable amount of time, or just lots of patience. Something that people don't seem to have these days... 

WITH a profiled washing cycle, you can get perfectly clean clothes - as each type of soil are worked away with detergent and gentle mechanical action (on Miele's, at least) over a wide range of temperatures. 

Even so, some members here have been happy with their FL machines - notably Frigilux: And I think we've ALL seen the performance testing of kitchen whites he repeatedly does!

If FL machines were so hopeless in their ability, please explain why those in Europe/UK don't have issues with them?

~ We have different detergents (More enzymes, and better formulations)

~ "Better" electricity supply (240v. No special wiring required)

~ Government mandates to ensure our washers are chasing results, not time savings (At least in Australia), but still highly efficient in their energy consumption

In the U.S., your machines take in 120°F water, temper it to 104° or less then wash for 20 minutes or so without a heater, and complete the cycle. (I base this on relatively recent discussion occurring here where machines take about an hour to wash).

There is NO way that will get clothes clean... If you have an FL machine that takes in PROPER hot water or heats it up and washes for long enough, your clothes will get clean. You also need some water to achieve this. But not copious amounts that some people *think* they need. 

Of course, there are some people who still think that Cold water can achieve all of this. Well, the fact of the matter is that U.S. machines are practically washing in cold water 100% of the time (Cold is the new Warm, Warm/Hot and HOT) and not delivering results, even with longer cycles. What does that tell you? 

Whilst I think the SQ machines are great quality, at least in Australia, I no longer believe they are a worthwhile purchase, for the following reasons:

~ You can purchase a High-End Miele or other fancy machine for the same price as an SQ FL or TL machine. They include heaters and more "choice" in their cycles. They (Well, Miele) are built to high standards for domestic machines. SERIOUSLY you don't need an over-built machine for home use, unless you are careless with your washer. 

~ SQ TL machine no longer feature conventional timers that can be set for your choice of washing time, agitation speed etc. Instead, everything is controlled by someone who thinks they "understand" what a Normal cycle constitutes

~ No options for "in-between" water temperatures (ala Fisher and Paykel) or Warm rinses (as redundant as they are)

~ FL machines lack a heater, given the longer cycle times they feature on Australian machines

I have a SQ TL machine that can wash a "Full Load" of laundry, with two rinses, in 37 minutes.  My water heater is set at 130*F.  My clothes are washed in true warm water.  Yes, my clothes are truly clean and this was accomplished in less time.  I have people at work who constantly ask me what kind of detergent I use, because my clothes look so clean and smell so good.  When I tell them that I use original Tide powder, they look surprised because they are using the same.  I start telling them about my SQ TL, and how my water heater is set higher to give me a true warm wash.  They start telling me about their FL machines and how they hate them.  I just smile at them, while inside I thinking how lucky I am to have my SQ TL.

Miele is most CERTAINLY NOT junk! If you didn't see the recent videos posted about their quality control methods, I'll recap and say that their machines are built for about 10,000 cycles (According to Combo52 SQ TL machines are the same) and are not piles of junk that take "forever" to wash clothes

Sure, if you select a cycle with Pre-Wash, Water Plus and a very Hot/Very Cold temperature, it will take longer. But the machine adapts itself to every load I put through it. 

The Miele can wash about 7.5KG of clothing with a stuffed drum at 40º if we so choose (A similarly rated TL machine often cannot handle such loads). That will take about 2:30 hours - but considering the size of such a load, I would never have any issues with a load that large taking so long to wash. If I'm pressed for time, I can push the "Short" button and bring the whole affair down to a 1:45 cycle, which is more than enough for clothing items worn daily as part of an office job. 

As I've repeatedly said here over time, I usually just wash about a 3.5kg load of clothes (Thats the typical load after sorting) on "Minimum Iron," which takes about an hour, or about 50 minutes if I cut it down and depending on the temperature and options selected. I use that cycle as it provides more water (thus gentler action) on the clothes. Since I don't need hardcore stain removal, I don't need the minimum water level. The cycle uses the same amount of water as the machine would on a fully loaded Cottons cycle, just to put that into perspective for readers. 

Other comments about "Washing Machine Cleaner" are met be the following statement: Given CORRECT laundering habits , that is FREQUENT Warm and/or HOT washes, being gentle with fabric softener products and ensuring proper detergent loading, you WILL NOT NEED a washer-cleaner, EVEN in an FL machine. 

Of course, with U.S. machines dumbing water down so cold, and people using so much fabric softeners and other *crap*, I'm not surprised your machines need it. 

Our machine runs probably about 3-4 washes above 130ºF (55ºC) every week. Other washes are at "Warm" temperature (40ºC/104ºF), always with Extra Rinse selected. 

The machine has NO mould in the boot, NO odours (except the smell of clean clothes/detergent) and has not had any issues (*touches fibre-board desk*) in the 1.5 years we've had the machine. 

"*value for me is how long will the thing last and how much use can I get out of it?"

Miele's sell at a similar price point (or cheaper, sometimes), are manufactured to withstand years of domestic use (and abuse...), add more features and have high efficiency.

And for the record, I'm not interesting in starting the FL/TL debate. Merely setting the record straight and correcting misconceptions people seem to have. I won't be contributing any more to this thread - as it seems that people are offended by my opinions, or perhaps their own fear of the truth.

(And make myself a hypocrite).

No, I don't feel I have "power or authority" to correct. I form opinions based on what I read here, and what I've experienced in my own personal activities.

Therefore, when I see people spreading misconceptions I bite and "correct" them. I'm sorry, if people are offended by that, then I apologize.