1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
The washing machine is celebrating its 100th birthday: In 1901 Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann made and sold their first wooden tub washing machine and so made probably the most important step in the development of domestic appliances. Put bluntly they started the chain of events that freed the housewife from the drudgery of the washboard. A 100 years ago, "washday" was hard physical work. Already on the evening before the dirty laundry would be sorted and soaked in wash soda. Early on the dreaded day itself, wood and coal would have been brought in, as was water the day before, and fires lit.Work then continued with backs bent to the task: The soaked laundry would be wrung out, soap applied and stains scrubbed. Finally everything could be added to the boiler where the boiling water was. Now the load had to be stirred by hand and pressed down in the steaming suds with a wooden paddle (and a great deal of muscle power). After boiling, each individual item of laundry had to be rubbed on the washboard – by hands that were already suffering the effects of endless wringing out and
long exposure to the suds solution. This was followed by rinsing – repeated again and again until the soap residues were thoroughly washed away. Then there was blueing, carrying outside to bleach in the sun, dampingand then rinsing again later, pressing out woollens in lather and cleaning the boiler. Finally after drying there followed ironing and pressing, and (then considered essential) starching of collars and table linen. This shows how one washday in actual fact stretched into several!So this new wooden produc from the young Miele company, at this time based in Herze-brock, a small town near Gütersloh, greatly reduced the heavy washday workload. This first washing machine though was really little more than a further developmentof the butter machine which had already been introduced to the product range a year before. Both machines had a wooden agitator on the inside– on one this churned the butter and on the other it agitated the laundry load. This first washing machine was of course hand operated – strong arms and stamina were still required to turn the agitator. In 1904 this was no longer the case: A drive mechanism via a leather drive belt from an external motor was introduced. Then in 1914 the Miele washing machine finally gained its independence: It was fitted with its own electric
motor.
100 years M i e l e washing machines
A reader's letter in the "Daheim" magazine from 1901. Miele... There must be something in it Kurt Hentzschel from Sinzig, Germany, has had a lifelong experience of Miele products –
his first memories of Miele machines date back to the Thirties. This is a translation of an account that he wrote regarding his memories from the last century sent to Rudolf Miele. At the start of the Thirties when I was only four or five years old my mother owned a Miele woodentub washing machine which was manually operated with a handle. I often used to help her with this to ease her workload. I don't know when this machine was technically improved but I do know that my mother bought a better model in 1936/37. This Miele machine had a so-called pony motor that had to be started by hand to turn the paddles. It also had a wringer attached with two rubber rollers to wring out the wet laundry and naturally we also had a Miele mangle.
In addition a Miele vacuum cleaner ensured that our carpets were kept clean. In 1936 I learned to ride a bike on a Miele bicycle. We were five children and my father had bought my older brothers and sisters a Miele bicycle. I remember it clearly and can still see it in my mind's eye as if it was here today. It was a black lady's model with the typical Miele emblem, and the wheel
rims were yellow with a black stripe around the circumference. It's a shame that it vanished when the Americans marched in during April 1945 and our house was requisitioned. Back then, when I was a small boy, quality did not mean much to me. I first learned its value as a young man when I started work. I looked back and asked myself "Miele, Miele..., why did our father always buy only Miele domestic products? There must be something in it." In January 1961, before our first child was born, I bought my wife a washing machine. Naturally it had to be a Miele model. This was a particularly heavy machine and I'm sure people would laugh at it today. This machine though taught us the meaning of quality and what is hidden behind the Miele name. This machine worked solidly for 19 years and 9 months without any problems or repairs.
During this time there was considerable technical development so in October 1980 there was no question of repairing our old machine and we bought a new one, the W 459 with sensor control and, tocomplement it, a vented dryer, the T 351. Then in May 1998, after 17 years and 8 months, we had to change to a W 973 washing machine. Our Miele vacuum cleaner, the S 224, bought around 1975 or 76, still works perfectly, even though its cable rewind mechanism is no longer at its best and showing its age of 25 years. There have also been some changes in our kitchen. In about 1980 or 81 we bought a dishwasher. In January 1986 our kitchen was thoroughly renovated and modernised, naturally with a built-in kitchen from Miele.
It was designed by the Miele sales centre in Coblenz and everything fitted exactly to the millimetre. The specialist kitchen fitter was particularly careful and thorough. I watched him
working sometimes and was astonished at the care that he took and the precision of his work.
Our two daughters, who have both been married for a number of years,
first learned to appreciate Miele products in our house. They have been using washing machines and tumble dryers from your company since 1994 and are delighted with their efficiency and reliability. Their households also include Miele dishwashers,
and as both are keen cooks they each naturally had to have a Miele ceramic hob,
just like their parents. Of course there are people who say that Miele is expensive.
In my eyes though these are people who are not thinking economically.
I'm sure that if you check the prices we paid for our machines and consider the exceptionally long time that they lasted, even you would be amazed at how little it has cost us
over the years to wash and dry our laundry. I would like to wish your company continued success in the future and I can personally confirm that your motto "forever better" is really true! Ture of Miele washing machines today. In the Fifties the washing machine made ever greater inroads into the home. Up until then soaking wet laundry had to be transferred from the washing machine into a spin dryer by hand – an inconvenient and wet process, particularly in
flats. This all changed in 1956: The first fully automatic washing machine with
both washing and spinning in one unit was introduced.
A few years later this was followed by single-knob control, which, even today, still remains a superb method of control. Another important milestone was set by Miele in its search for ever better technology in 1978 with the introduction ofmicroprocessors and sensor electronics.
Today the electronic unit is the brain of In the Thirties the wooden tub was first replaced by a
metal version. However, this not withstanding, durable wooden tub machines continued to be produced right up until the early Sixties when metal finally took over completely. Back in 1938 though the first metal casings were already being enamelled. And a perfect, enamelled finish
still remains an important quality fea-
1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
The "Hera" – The first series-produced washing machine manufactured by the then
infant Miele & Cie. company. 100 years Miele washing machines every washing machine (and all other major domestic appliances from Miele). Computer chips, complicated circuits and customised software make such major innovations as the hand-washable woollens or silks programmes possible. Electronic control made a major contribution to the reductions in water and energy consumption that have been achieved over the last 20 years. In that time both
have been reduced by some 70%. Thanks to the Update feature for later modification of wash programmes, a Miele washing machine is now even futureproof. This function means that today, 100 years after the invention of the first wooden tub model, a Miele washing machine operates with the efficiency and reliabilitythat has become a byword for the company's products.
H i s t o r y
1901 - "Meteor" washing machine
1902 - "Hera" washing machine
1904 - Belt drive
1914 - Electric motor
1956 - First fully automatic washing
machine
1962 - Miele single-knob control
1978 - Microprocessor control
1981 - 1200 rpm spin speed
1984 - Little giant washing machine
1985 - 10 million washing machine
1991-world record: 1600 rpm
1995 - Update feature
1997 - Hand-washable woollens pro
gramme
1999 - Micro-perforeted drum. Silks programme
2001 - Honeycomb drum in Miele
Softtronic washing machine W 487
