Solved
Miele
W1515

Why is Miele W1515 heating water on cold cycle?

KAkarlinamillion
Asked over 3 years ago 3,409 views
0

I have a Miele Polaris W1515, sometimes it does not fully rinse so I run and 'Express wash', with the temperature set to cold.

But, after the first fill it starts to heat the water, I can see this on my electricity monitor, which jumps to about 1.2 Kwh. It is definitely the washing machine doing this.

So any ideas why it is heating water when 'Cold' is selected as the wash temperature?

Thanks in advance

Solution Summary

AI-generated from this discussion

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

Miele W1515 appears to heat on 'cold' wash because cold setting is around 20°C

The problem
On a Miele Polaris W1515, selecting 'Express wash' with temperature set to cold still caused a noticeable power draw and the machine appeared to heat the water. The same behaviour was then seen on several different wash programmes set to cold.
Likely cause
The discussion supports that the machine's 'cold' wash setting is likely treated as approximately 20°C rather than unheated incoming water. A stuck-on heater was suggested as a possibility, but the measured water temperature did not support a significant overheating fault.
What fixed it
The user checked other cold wash programmes and measured the water temperature after the heater had been on. The water reached 20°C, leading to the conclusion that this model's cold setting is effectively a 20°C wash. No repair was required or confirmed.
Checks to try
  • Compared behaviour on a few different wash programmes set to cold
  • Observed electricity monitor showing about 1.2 kWh during heating period
  • Measured water temperature after heater operation and found 20°C
  • Checked similar W1512 manual, which did not clarify the behaviour
Parts or tools mentioned
  • Electricity monitor
  • Instruction manual for Miele W1512
Cause identifiedGenerated 15 Aug 2026 · AI summaries can make mistakes — read the full thread below.
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3 Answers

Accepted Answer
0
WH
WhitegoodshelpVerified Engineer
Answered over 3 years ago

Hello. Do you have the instruction manual? I'm wondering what it says in the manual about the express wash cycle? Obviously if you have a manual temperature control and set it to cold you would not expect any heating to occur at all. Not unless by any chance some cycles have a set temperature that cannot be changed.

Another possibility is that for some strange reason the heating element is stuck on. This would be a very unusual fault though. Have you checked how long the heating element stays on for, and what temperature the water reaches? And double check that the heating element is definitely not running during the rinses for example?

Whitegoods Help — appliance repair expert and forum host.
1
KA
karlinamillion
Answered over 3 years ago

So, couldn't find the book, but the manual for the 1512, which seems to be identical bar different max spin speed, didn't mention anything.

I tried 'cold' on a few different wash programmes, all the same, with the heater coming on. So I measured the water temp after the heater had been on, and the water was 20° C.

This seems to be regarded as cold by a lot of the laundry fluid makers, with phrases such as 'cleans at 20°' etc.

I'm guessing in the world of washing machine 20°C is 'cold'

A rince and spin cycle would be nice, but hey....

0
WH
WhitegoodshelpVerified Engineer
Answered over 3 years ago

Yes, now you mention it, I've seen references to cold water washing that doesn't use cold water and quotes 20°C. This is clearly ridiculous and an abuse of the English language. Cold water is clearly water that has not been heated. They should call them cool washes or just low-temperature washes.

Whitegoods Help — appliance repair expert and forum host.

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