Verdict

Pros

• Exceptional build quality
• Class leading performance
• Fantastic features including TwinDos
• Incredibly quiet

Cons

• Just the price

What is the Miele WMR 560 WPS?

No, we haven’t made a mistake on that price, this is a flagship washing machine from the Miele W1 range and will set you back just shy of sixteen hundred pounds. It promises to be quiet, efficient, last for decades and be rammed to the cheeks with technology and features. One of its many innovations is Miele’s TwinDos detergent system, which uses capsules specially formulated for specific clothing such as silk and wool. You can still use standard detergent or liquid if you prefer, however, though the TwinDos system is very effective.

With 10 pre-set programmes on the control dial and a variety of options available to add on as well as another 14 pre-set programmes to use under the further programmes banner on the control dial, this machine really has a program for every conceivable type of wash load. And, just to complete the package, to protect from burst pipes the inlet hose is fitted with an electrical safety valve, which cuts off the water in the event of a fault or leak.

Miele WMR 560 WPS: How well does it wash?

For our tests we ran
three different wash cycles; a 40°C cotton wash with a 6.4kg (80%) full
load at 1600 spin speed, a 40°C cotton wash with a 3.6kg (40%) load at
1600 spin speed then the same wash using the cotton eco mode. The choice
of an 80% load is more in tune with a genuine load as very few people
stuff their washing machine to maximum capacity. We included a test
stain strip in the first wash, stained with dried on ketchup, coffee,
blood, red wine and engine oil. To keep the test balanced with other
machines tested we used a major brand non-biological detergent washing
powder for all tests. We ran an additional cycle with Miele’s supplied
TwinDos detergent just to assess the results with that, too.

The
Miele’s timings proved to be extremely accurate, the best we have yet
tested with the first wash completing within one minute of the suggested
time, 2hrs 34mins, indicated at the start. The second half-load wash
came in 10mins earlier than the 2hrs 34mins advised and the final eco
wash finished 2mins earlier than the indicated 3hrs 19mins.

Left
to right: Juice, coffee, blood, wine, ketchup and oil. This excellent
result was with our normal testing detergent. A following test using
Miele’s TwinDos system rendered even the oil almost invisible.

As
you can see from the stain strip, the wash performance is the best we
have seen in testing so far. All stains have been removed completely
save an echo of the engine oil visible on our test strip. Again, in an
endeavour to level the playing field we did not use any of Miele’s
dedicated stain removal options for the main test. But we did the final
test using Miele’s own TwinDos detergent, and the results were
absolutely excellent with even the engine oil rendered almost invisible.

At this point in the review you probably won’t be surprised to
hear that the Miele WMR560WPS went on to deliver excellent spin results
in all three washes. All performed either exceptional or well above
average with the first wash leaving 1.7kg (24%) of water from a dry
7.2kg weight of clothing, the second and third washes leaving 1.3kg
(36%) and 1.1kg (34%) respectively from a 3.6kg dry weight of clothing.
This is especially good in the eco wash as we have found these
programmes tend to shirk a bit on the spinning (to save electricity)
therefore leave more water in the clothing. Not the case with this
little beauty.

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The TwinDos system automatically injects the liquid detergent and
fabric conditioner at just the right time, and each one can last up to
three months. You can fill the bottles with your preferred brand if you
prefer.

Miele WMR 560 WPS: How noisy is it?

“Is it actually running?
Well I can see the washing going round” was the opening remark upon
setting it running. The Miele is by far the quietest washing machine we
have ever tested and gave us serious testing issues.

Ambient
noise in the test facility during daytime is around 45dB and on a
typical wash cycle the Miele didn’t even register above that despite
Miele’s claim of 46dB wash noise. Revisiting the test in the dead of
night, the wash indicated around 44-45dB, which is a whisper in a
library quiet. To put that in perspective we have tested noisier fridge
freezers!

The spin cycle is just as fantastic too. Miele claims
72dB but even on maximum 1600 spin we only measured a staggeringly low
67dB. Again this is by far the quietest washing machine we have tested
on any maximum spin, let alone one as fast as 1600rpm – our previous
quietest, the Samsung WF90F7E6U6W, ‘only’ spins at 1,400rpm.

During
the wash and the spin the machine itself was absolutely solid and
didn’t wobble or vibrate to any appreciable level at all. Washing
machines simply do not get any better built, better featured or quieter
running than this.

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A selection of Miele’s own CapDosing washing capsules, each designed for a specific type of wash or fabric.

Miele WMR 560 WPS: What is it like to use?

Fabulous. The easy to read four-line white text digital display logically takes you through all the options and we almost immediately became a big fan of the TwinDos system for its convenience. The detergent is injected at the perfect point in the cycle, up to three times per wash depending on the program, and allows the Miele to promise the perfect wash for up to 19 different garment types.

The fascia is a little old-school but benefits from it combining the absolute simplicity of a dial selector from program and an LCD control panel for the add-ons and fine tuning of the wash. The display has an accurate countdown timer and indicates what stage the wash is at and to let you know when it will finish. It also offers information about energy and water consumption, state of the detergent dispensers and so on. Miele has gone to some lengths to make the operation idiot proof and as we managed to use it without even looking at the manual, job done.

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The enormous porthole is easy to load and the double-glazed door opens and closes with the sort of solid surety you would expect from a premium car. The bright LED drum lighting is stunning and will stop those rogue socks getting lost in the dark recesses of the drum, too.

The drum itself is a Miele SoftSteam Honeycomb design and, along with the pre-ironing option, promises to gently smooth clothes for easier ironing. The whole machine comes with proper battleship build quality throughout, with every component feeling heavily over-engineered. Miele is pretty confident in its longevity too, offering a five-year guarantee as standard.

Miele WMR 560 WPS: What programmes does it have?

Well we couldn’t find a program to make the tea but it does have a program for almost everything else. There are the standard cotton, woollen, delicates, mixed and sportswear on the control knob together with denim, minimum iron and shirts. There is an Express 20, which is a super-fast wash to refresh lightly soiled clothing and a Quick Power wash that does a full wash in an hour.

There is also a further programmes position on the dial that will open a plethora of extra pre-set wash programmes, 14 to be precise, for all manner of things including duvets, curtains, pillows, silks and dark garments. Add this together with the ability to save up to 10 ‘custom’ user-made favourite cycles and all the different options including up to three stain-removal options per wash, and you can see that this is the most comprehensively program-rich washing machine on the market today.

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Each bottle should last for up to three months, so you don’t even have to fill it with detergent before each wash.

Miele WMR 560 WPS: How much will it cost to run?

Ironically, not very much at all! That is of course very good news as your purse will be aching significantly from buying this product in the first place. The figures we achieved would indicate around £30.82 per year in electricity. If you were paying for metered water, there would be an extra £20-or-so in water over the year too. The Miele’s eco mode was a true eco by saving you water – 10 litres per wash to be precise – and was marginally cheaper to run. If you were to take advantage of the 24hr delay start option and had an Economy 7 electricity tariff, you could set this to run when the electricity was cheaper and make even more savings

All figures were based on an average UK household use (200 x 40°C 80% max load and 40 x 40°C 40% half load with a 50/50 split on normal and eco programmes).

Specific figures for power and water use are available on the Miele WMR 560 WPS specs page

Should I buy the Miele WMR 560 WPS?

If you can afford it yes, definitely! Other than the fairly outrageous asking price we can find absolutely nothing to fault with this machine and many, many things to celebrate. It is fantastically well built, offers class leading features, the best noise output and wash performance results we have seen, and does all this in a properly environmentally and economically friendly way.

If the WMR560WPS was a car it would be a top-spec S-Class Mercedes, boasting outstanding quality and plenty of tricks up its sleeve but being discreet about them. Yes, OK, it is very expensive, but the Miele WMR560WPS is simply the best washing machine in the world right now.

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