Having chronicled her favorite food and foodie destinations, latest lifestyle discoveries, new products from her eponymous home line, and family vacations in her popular blog The Spoilt Mummy, Grace Barbers-Baja lives a life laid bare. Or something close to it.

“My husband doesn’t know this,” she admits with a smile, “but all my clothes are hand-washed, while his and the kids’ clothes are put in the washer.”

A longtime advocate of hand-washed laundry, Barbers-Baja feared that a washer would make her garments lose their shape, color and almost-like-new appearance.

Then she tried the Miele W1 washing machine and T1 tumble dryer. Barbers-Baja, who has been using a Miele oven for 11 years (as well as other home appliances from Miele’s local distributor, Focus Global), was intimidated at first by the washer and dryer’s sleek panel with the push button and dial controls.

Eventually, she discovered their user-friendly quality. “They’re idiot-proof. You can’t make a mistake,” she assures.

‘Immer Besser’

The Miele W1 boasts a minimalist design, scratch-proof exterior and durable parts built to last for 20 years of use. It has come a long way from the first washing machine created by the family-owned and operated premium home appliance brand in Germany in 1899—a wooden, manually operated, barrel-shaped contraption inspired by a butter churner.

Guided by the company’s goal, “Immer Besser” (German for “Forever Better”), Miele’s research and development team outdid itself by consistently coming up with new and improved iterations of its appliances.

Its latest laundry machines are impressive examples of intelligence and efficiency integrated in a compact form. It covers all bases of washing clothes—from ridding garments of stubborn stains, preserving their shape, size and fabric quality to keeping water, power and detergent consumptions down. The Miele M1 has a range of unique and exclusive innovations.

Twin Dos is a liquid detergent system that automatically dispenses detergents at the precise time and ratio of your laundry load. Expect as much as 30-percent savings in detergent, as well as clothes that are neither under- nor over-washed.

While the first detergent (Miele UltraPhase 1) eliminates surface dirt, the second and more potent detergent (Miele UltraPhase 2) rids clothes of deep, hard-to-remove stains.

For clothing made of special and delicate fabrics, there’s CapDosing, little containers of material-specific detergents formulated for sportswear, outdoor apparel, wool care, down fabric and even silk care.

Subtly scented fabric conditioners (Aqua, Nature and Cocoon), a Booster additive (for tougher stains) and a Reproofing agent (to reinforce water-resistant clothing and give it a dirt-repellent finish) are also available.

Meanwhile, the turn of a dial and push of a button take care of the actual washing. Flick the knob to launder denim, delicates, cotton, silk or wool, or achieve the look and feel of minimal ironing.

A Power Wash system works in tandem with a special drum rhythm and rotational speed for a more intense kind of clean. And a Quick Power Wash program, a first for Miele and laundry history, gets the job done in less than an hour.

The brand’s patented honeycomb drum has also evolved. Its optimized sculpted surface and broader channels between hexagons protect delicate fabrics from snags during washes.

Such innovations convinced Barbers-Baja to use Miele W1 and the brand’s tumble dryer for her own garments. “When you hang your clothes out to dry, you not only depend on our unpredictable weather, you also expose your garments to air pollutants and other natural elements,” she says.

“On two occasions, I thought my clothes were clean, only to find out they’ve been stained with bird droppings!”

Miele’s T1 tumble dryer has the appropriately named Perfect Dry system, which adjusts its level of drying according to the calcium content in the water. Calcium in water affects drying results, and the Perfect Dry function takes this into consideration, leaving you with clothes that are dried just right.

The T1 even does away with ironing with its Steam Finish command: Heated water from the machine’s condensate container creates steam that gently flattens fabrics and removes their wrinkles.

Complete the chore by infusing your laundry with one of four scents (Rose, Aqua, Cocoon and Nature) from Fragrance Dos. The scents, which come in a container that is fitted into a holder inside the T1, can last up to four weeks.

Suddenly, washing a pile of laundry becomes easy and fun—even for a Spoilt Mummy. “Having a good washer and dryer that care for your clothes is definitely worth the investment,” says Barbers-Baja. —CONTRIBUTED

Miele domestic appliances are exclusively distributed in the Philippines by Focus Global Inc. For more information, visit www.focusglobalinc.com