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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Controls

  • Interior

  • Sides

  • Back

  • Conclusion

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Controls
  • Interior
  • Sides
  • Back
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Still, we're glad we stopped by the gleaming fortress that is Miele's booth at IFA -- not for what we got to see, but for what we got to smell.

Miele has introduced a new option on their dryers that lightly perfumes the laundry inside. By placing a dispenser not unlike a Glade air freshener inside of the dryer's vent, the hot air passing through the dryer gently wafts one of three fragrances over the tumbling laundry. It leaves a very light scent without any of the build-up that dryer sheets can sometimes cause.

The perfume option debuts for the European market this year, and a Miele representative told us that we may someday see it on US-bound models as well. Of course, the American launch hasn't yet been confirmed and no date has been estimated. The representative also let us know that the updated lint traps with perfume dispensers won't fit in older Miele dryers.

To see how the feature works, we took a close look at the Miele Softtronic T 8867 WP, one of the pleasantly perfumed models that Miele had on display at IFA.

Front

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On the outside, the Softtronic T 8867 WP looks no different from any of the other 24" dryers Miele's built in the last 25 years. It's a classic design, and the company obviously sees no need to update it. One concession to the modern era that some lower-end Miele dryers lack is a countdown timer that displays how much longer a cycle is expected to take.

Controls

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Interior

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The interior of the CDWT980VSS.

We've never written so much about a lint trap on a dryer, and we probably never will. That's because the Softronic's lint trap features a holder for a small plastic perfume dispenser. As hot air passes through the trap, it imparts the laundry load with one of three scents: Nature, which smells kind of like grass and flowers; Aqua, a fresh and more invigorating scent; and Cocoon, which we didn't get to sample but can only imagine smells like Wilfred Brimley.

If you want more scent, less scent or no scent, just close the baffles on the perfume dispenser. About half of our appliance team said they couldn't detect the perfume at all, which means they're the ones who have the dullest sense of smell and therefore need perfumed laundry as a backup plan.

Personally, this writer was able to detect the scents in clothes that had been dried in the machine, but only vaguely. Just as luxury hotels have their signature aromas and high-end cars have that ever present smell of fine leather, the dryer's fragrance added but a whiff of sophistication -- even though we're sure some users will use it in lieu of a proper wash.

Sides

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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS side views

Back

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Conclusion

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It's said that smell and memory are closely linked. Miele must want consumers to remember them in the appliance showroom, because one of their biggest debuts at IFA 2012 was a dryer that gently wafts perfume over clothes in order to give them a subtle scent.

Though we're sure some consumers will use it to mask the odor of a furtively smoked cigarette or a sweatshirt that hasn't been washed in weeks, this is no dryer sheet or deodorizing spray. The three scents -- Aqua, Nature and Cocoon -- were formulated by a well-known parfumerie in France's famed Grasse region, and Miele's positioning fragrance as a premium option on its high-end dryers

We found the perfumes to be extremely subtle -- so subtle, in fact, that they're barely noticeable. Like a luxury hotel that lightly sprays a signature scent in its lobby in order to remind guests that they're staying at an exclusive property that's removed from the rest of the world, Miele's fragrances are pleasant because they are not overpowering.

Expect to see the option debut on European models this year. If Americans ever get dryers with a fragrance feature, they'll have to wait -- and they'll only be able to get it on a 24" European-style machine.

Meet the tester

Keith Barry

Keith Barry

Former Editor in Chief, Reviewed Home

@itskeithbarry

Keith was the Editor in Chief of Reviewed's appliance and automotive sites. His work has appeared in publications such as Wired, Car & Driver, and CityLab.

See all of Keith Barry's reviews

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