I like that name. American football here in the US has also historically been referred to as Gridiron, but it is sort of archaic. I wonder how many Americans would know what the term Gridiron means these days if they heard it? Not sure about that. Bill

Score! Bill

Beat me by a split second. LOL. Bill

I'm used to hearing "footy" as a nickname for Australian Rules football, which has some similarities (and differences) with Rugby league and Rugby union. Bill

I took care of my mother during her last year of life. She'd had uterine cancer earlier, which she survived, but the radiation did a number on her colon. At times there were accidents. Having a sanitize mode on the Miele was an absolute godsend, as doing that laundry job was mine alone. Not a pleasant topic to discuss, but I'd have really struggled if not for Miele's fantastic sanitize mode feature, which is stupendously excellent. A sanitize cycle will also eliminate any mildew that might try to take hold. My favorite specialty feature, for sure. Bill

As I side note, I purchased Mrs Spy Car a Miele vacuum back in the day as sort of an engagement present. We each have our own idea of "romantic gifts," but that purchase was one of the best ever. The vac was so great (still runs perfectly) that Miele had a leg up when I needed a set of washer/dryers as a "baby bauble." Those were very sound moves in this household. Thank you Miele! Bill

That would be an iPhone. The Speed Queens of cell phones are the venerable Motorola DynaTac 8000X. Somewhat difficult to source these days. LOL. Bill

Enough to judge the quality of the washing machines. And I'm the one who would head to a laundromat during any down times. But overall my "job" is to make sure that there are outstanding laundry tools at the ready for Mrs Spy Car to enjoy at all times. Having "down time" is a huge drawback. I don't like being in the dog house, and I'm the party who is considered responsible for making sure we have uptime. KWIM? Mrs Spy Car is a lovey, kind, and generous woman, but one does not mess with her ability to do laundry and think that will go over well. LOL. Mieles have been good to me. 17 years. Knock wood. Bill

Here is a link to Miele's authorized service centers just for grins. I would not purchase a Miele washer/dryer if they were not easily serviceable in my area. https://www.service-center-locator.com/miele/miele-service-center.htm Miele does make dishwashers. I have no idea how they stack up against the competition. If it makes you feel better, it seems like the TR line of SQs (like the one I'm guessing you have) that inspired the internet meltdown in 2018, seemed to have steadily rebounded in reputation from the strong hate they received initially. They are recognized as not beating up clothes as badly as the traditional old school agitators in the TC line up. Bill

Spray rinses work well in machines that are engineered to optimize spay rinses. That's not the case with SQ. They need to entirely fill the drum with a full load of water to do a proper rinse cycle and the rep told me that customers commonly need to do two rinses to get the suds out. I dunno. In Heavy Duty/Deep Fill mode it require 60 gallons of water to pull that off. Super wasteful. Trust me, if Mrs Spy Car had to re-wash laundry, we'd be looking at getting new machines. Washing clothes and ironing are practically hobbies for her. Many of us have certain areas of idiosyncratically high interests (I guess) and I have mine. My wife happens to be a laundry and ironing maven. It is "her thing," which she would freely admit. It is definitely in my interest to have a high quality washer/dryer set around here. Happy wife, happy life. Miele adds to domestic bliss in this home. Bill

I'd never get my machines back. They are too good. No way you'd want to let go. And the new ones are supposedly even better. Miele is an innovative company when it comes to advancing practical technology. Bill

Yes, they make no effort to pretend like Normal/Eco mode is anything they would recommend their customers use. No pretenses there. They openly admit that Normal/Eco exists only to evade Dept. of Energy regulations for efficiency. Is openly cheating better than covertly cheating (like Volkswagen and the diesel debacle)? I dunno. Bill

Cold water wash cycles are a speciality use in the laundry industry. The effectiveness (or lack of effectiveness) of cold water vs warm isn't the germain issue. SQ designed a mode they do not recommend customers use and called it their "normal" mode to cheat the system. Likewise, that so-called normal mode doesn't do an actual rinse cycle and instead uses a so-called "spray" rinse that these machine are not designed to use effectively. Talk about gross. It is a marvelous thing to have a real sanitize mode in a washer when it is necessary. To that end, Mieles incorporate a built-in hot water heater that raises the incoming hot water to sanitizing (germ killing) temperatures. it is a specialty mode and a very nice feature to have. SQ machines from my understanding lack internal water heaters, so they will not sanitize clothes as they don't get hotter than the incoming line provides. Also gross. Bill

If manufactures come up with "normal" modes that they know full well won't get the job done, I'd say that's cheating. Clearly cheating in SQs case. They are quite open about their Normal/Eco mode not being up to snuff. Not sure about Whirlpool. Bill

Could be difficult given the situation. I wish you could try one. Bill