What Are the Reviews on a Maytag Electric Dryer Medb835dw

The enquiry

• Why you should trust u.s.
• Who should get this
• How we picked
• Our option: Maytag MEDX655DW
• Flaws but non dealbreakers
• Runner-upwardly: Whirlpool WED5000DW
• Besides bang-up: Whirlpool WED75HEFW
• What well-nigh heat-pump dryers?
• The competition
• How to make your dryer terminal 12 years

Why you lot should trust us

I've been writing about appliances in full general for nearly half dozen years—first as a reviewer at Reviewed.com and at present equally a staff writer for Wirecutter. My editor as well wrote our guide to washing machines.

I spent more than 50 hours talking to experts and combing through specs for 100 different dryers. To exist clear, nosotros did not test any of these models. These picks are based on research and a little chip of easily-on fourth dimension in a showroom.

I also read tons of reviews. Practiced reviews based on tests, published past Consumer Reports and Reviewed.com, were somewhat helpful, though they tend to focus on very minor differences in drying times and moisture content. More important, I looked at user reviews for all of the models I seriously considered.

Who should get this

Our picks are for people who need a new full-size vented dryer and don't intendance if information technology matches their washer.

Vented dryers all have similar, simple designs—basically a heating element, a fan, and a motor. Drying times and drying accuracy (whether material is over- or nether-dried) are pretty consistent from model to model. So it actually doesn't matter, from a performance standpoint, which dryer you lot buy.

We settled on our picks considering they feel sturdy, take good reputations for reliability, and aren't too expensive. Pricier vented models, like those that match the best washing machines, have extra bells and whistles (like Wi-Fi or steam options) that don't dry your clothes any better.

Virtually of these machines are 27 to 29 inches wide, between 38 and 44 inches alpine, and effectually 30 inches deep. They also need an additional 6 to 8 inches backside the machine for the vent hose. And don't forget that yous need somewhere to vent the dryer, preferably through a wall cutout or a window.

Nigh dress dryers in the United states run on electric power (from a 220-volt outlet). Most every model also comes in a natural gas-powered version. If yous have the option to use gas, exercise it. While they typically cost $100 more than than electric dryers, gas dryers work a little quicker, cost less to run, and are more energy-efficient overall.

If you lot need to stack a dryer on top of a front-load washer, our picks probably won't work for y'all. You need a dryer that'due south at least from the same brand as your washer, if non the aforementioned model twelvemonth or even the exact matching model.

And just to exist clear, information technology's totally absurd to get a matching washer and dryer set because you prefer the way the pair looks together. But if you want to salvage a little coin and don't mind the mismatch, become with one of our picks.

Want a total-size dryer just have nowhere to vent information technology? Or you want to save a clamper of free energy? You could get a heat-pump dryer. They are not the obvious choice for almost people, only some people know that they want them. Nosotros'll cover the details later in this guide.

How nosotros picked

Based on what we learned from talking to repair technicians and brand representatives, nosotros identified a few basic features that nosotros recollect every full-size dryer should take:

• Chapters in the range of 7.0 to 7.6 cubic feet: This is enough to hold a total load from a typical new washing machine. Anything larger is usually overkill and tends to be actually expensive. If you're 1 of the few people with a truly massive washer, your best bet is to get the matching dryer. For a smaller dryer that fits in a tighter space, bank check out our compact laundry guide.
• Moisture sensor/auto wheel: A wet sensor takes the guesswork out of drying by monitoring how much wet is left in a load and automatically shutting off once it'due south evaporated. It's pretty much standard in dryers these days.
• Reversible door hinge: Moving laundry from the washer to the dryer is then much easier when you don't have a door in the mode. With a reversible hinge, yous can prepare your dryer on whichever side of your washer you prefer and conform the door to open up whichever way is convenient.

Every adept we spoke to agreed that the features that make a dryer more expensive don't make it any amend at drying clothes. According to Tina Giordano, a technician at Boston & Cambridge Appliance Repair, higher prices are the outcome of "bells and whistles and brands." Paul Hleovas, of Reliable Apparatus in Colorado Springs, was more than blunt: "Yous're drying clothes—it's not rocket science. If you want to get 12 years out of a dryer, you're going to get the aforementioned out of $350 equally y'all are $1,200." The hardware that really dries your clothes—the oestrus element (or gas valve), the blower wheel to circulate air, and the motor to plow the drum—are all the same regardless of the price.

Features like Wi-Fi, NFC, touchscreens, steam generators, and more cycles than yous tin count on two hands aren't worth it. "Those things suspension, and they're costly and difficult to diagnose and repair," Giordano said. "We would propose less is more than."

A few actress features are useful, including an end-of-bike alert, an interior drum calorie-free, and a contraction-forbid mode (which tumbles the drum after each cycle to prevent wrinkles from setting in). But they don't tend to add together much to the cost—even cheap dryers accept these features much of the time.

If there's a legitimate reason to spend more than the bare minimum on a dryer, we retrieve information technology'southward for the following characteristics:

• Quality build/structure: Everything should experience robust and secure. The door swivel should exist tightly bolted to the auto, with the door swinging open on a shine axis—non wobbling up and downward. It should shut firmly without too much force, but also open easily. The control knobs and buttons should be securely fixed to the console. The pulsate should be made from a stiff material—ideally stainless or coated steel rather than plastic.
• A reputation for reliability: Consumer Reports surveys its subscribers every twelvemonth and publishes each dryer brand's estimated five-yr breakage rate. The most-reliable brands include LG, Speed Queen, and Whirlpool (including Amana and Maytag). Brands at the bottom include GE, Electrolux, and Samsung. J.D. Power ranks LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, and Maytag as the best for combined "performance and reliability." Drawing on this data, also as input from repair technicians and what we already know virtually appliances, we decided to requite preference to Maytag, Whirlpool, and LG dryers.

Taking all of that into account, we institute that the sugariness spot for price is around $600 or $700 (though that tin drop to $500 or even lower a few times per yr when they proceed sale). These are elementary only sturdy dryers that can handle big loads of laundry from most washing machines. Cheaper models don't feel equally sturdy, and their capacities can be smaller.

We don't think it's worth worrying over slight variations in dryer performance. Examination outlets like Reviewed.com and Consumer Reports observe some variance from model to model. Only it's unremarkably just a few minutes of drying fourth dimension or a few percent water content in the apparel that business relationship for big differences in rankings. Any vented dryer you lot buy is going to work fine, and none volition save you from the familiar headaches of doing laundry. You lot're nonetheless going to have to deal with wrinkles, over-drying, and under-drying if y'all overload the drum or mix too many cloth thicknesses. You'll notwithstanding need to clean the lint trap after every load and clear out the vent hose every year.

And they are all equally inefficient, give or take. Until recently, Free energy Star did not even listing clothes dryers in its efficiency ratings, mainly because they were all such free energy hogs. We have establish through feel that the energy-saver modes that qualify a dryer for Energy Star merely don't work very well. Yous might save $xx a yr if you utilize that setting, simply you lot might as well abound then frustrated with the longer drying times (sometimes past upwards to 40 minutes) and all the same-damp clothes that yous avoid using information technology altogether.

Our pick: Maytag MEDX655DW

Photo: Maytag

Our choice

We retrieve the Maytag MEDX655DW (or the MGDX655DW gas version) is the best dryer for most people considering it is simple, feels sturdy, and doesn't cost besides much. It has enough capacity (vii.0 cubic feet) to agree a total load from most washers, and the brand has an to a higher place-average warranty and a proficient reputation for reliability. User reviews are quite expert, as are reviews from testing labs. Many other dryers we looked at either felt cheaply built or had likewise many unnecessary extras, which ultimately can bulldoze upwards the toll and bulldoze downwardly the reliability. This dryer is a sensible choice that we think volition work well for a lot of people.

The Maytag MEDX655DW is a elementary machine, with all the controls and features that yous actually need and very little bloat like Wi-Fi, touchscreens, or steam cycles. Information technology has a sensor bike that shuts off the machine when your clothes are dry, or you lot set a timer manually. Temperature options range from air-dry up through the super-hot sanitize. The wrinkle-preclude option will automatically tumble the clothes every few minutes for upwards to ii hours after the cycle ends, if you're unable to take them out of the dryer immediately. It has a drum light and an finish-of-cycle alert. That'south all great. It does have 11 cycles, which is overkill, just nearly of those are timed settings, and you can just ignore the ones you don't desire.

While we didn't test the MEDX655DW for any extended corporeality of fourth dimension, we did get our hands on it at a Home Depot in Boston. It'south ane of the everyman-cost machines we looked at that'southward as well well-congenital and reliably constructed. The controls (a punch and knobs) felt sturdy and securely stock-still to the console. The door hinge seemed tightly bolted to the frame (and is reversible), and the door swung smoothly without wobbling. The 7.0-cubic-foot pulsate is fabricated from coated steel (rather than cheap plastic) and is large enough to hold a full load of laundry from pretty much any washing auto.

Maytag is one of the most reliable brands in laundry. Consumer Reports ranks the visitor's dryers favorably, with ten percent of units expected to interruption later five years of ownership. Accounting for the margin of error, that means Maytag could be the nigh reliable make and is definitely non among the to the lowest degree reliable. J.D. Power ranks Maytag third in functioning, reliability, and overall customer satisfaction. Nosotros spoke to a number of repair technicians who said they prefer Whirlpool Corporation's laundry products, including Maytag-brand machines. Maytag has the standard one-year parts and labor warranty similar nigh appliance brands, plus a 10-year parts warranty on motor and pulsate parts, which is more coverage than most others.

The MEDX655DW has consistently positive user reviews, with an average Domicile Depot rating of 4.5 stars out of v.0, fatigued from more than 4,000 reviews. At Best Buy it has a slightly higher average of iv.6 out of 5.0 stars. Consumer Reports (subscription required) gives it a rating of 66.

Flaws only not dealbreakers

We couldn't observe any flaws other than a few subjective things some people might want to avoid. At that place aren't a whole lot of extra features, like Wi-Fi or a steam cycle, merely those things just add to the cost of the dryer and might increment the risk of something breaking.

The lint trap slides out of the top of the dryer rather than sitting inside the door. We've heard some people say that they're more likely to retrieve to clean the trap if they run into it every time they open up the door. Others find the front-facing lint traps easier to clean. Functionally, there's no deviation.

The controls are positioned on the top rear of the machine. Some people who have front-load washers might prefer front-mounted controls, just for the looks. Just information technology doesn't affect the functionality at all. It's a totally subjective, aesthetic choice.

Runner-up: Whirlpool WED5000DW

Photo: Whirlpool

Runner-up

If our superlative pick isn't available or y'all adopt a hamper-style door, you should get the Whirlpool WED5000DW (or the WGD5000DW gas version). Information technology's essentially the same straightforward, durable, low-cost, no-frills machine as the Maytag (both brands are office of the same parent company), simply with a different make label, control panel design, and door design.

The most meaning difference between the WED5000DW and our main pick is the hamper-style door. It opens from the bottom, on a horizontal axis, which some people find more convenient to use with a summit-load washer than our master pick. You can only drop the clothes into the dryer without bending over. Some people like the power to utilise the door every bit an extra surface for folding.

Otherwise, the WED5000DW is a lot like our superlative pick—just with unlike branding and aesthetic features. Information technology has the same vii.0-cubic-foot coated steel drum, the same rotary dial controls with the same features, and substantially the same build quality and terminate (the command panel felt a picayune flimsier than the Maytag's). Fifty-fifty the lint trap is in the same location.

Whirlpool, no surprise, rates about as highly as Maytag for reliability in Consumer Reports's rankings, with an expected breakage charge per unit of 10 percent later on five years. J.D. Ability gives Whirlpool slightly less favorable ratings, ranking it 5th overall in both reliability and customer satisfaction. We remember that says more nearly J.D. Ability'south methods than the car itself—once again, Whirlpool and Maytag laundry machines are essentially identical. The WED5000DW just has the i-year parts and labor warranty, not the x-year parts coverage for the drum and motor.

The Whirlpool WED5000DW also has consistently positive reviews. With more than 2,700 reviews at Home Depot, it averages a rating of 4.6 out of 5.0 stars. Best Buy users give it 4.5 out of 5.0. Consumer Reports (subscription required) gives it an overall score of 64 out of 100, with "very practiced" marks for convenience and drying operation.

Also great: Whirlpool WED75HEFW

Photograph: Whirlpool

Also great

If y'all prefer the wait of front-facing controls, or want a piddling more capacity than our main option, check out the Whirlpool WED75HEFW (or WGD75HEFW gas version). Information technology'south withal a sturdy, affordable, no-frills dryer with a practiced reputation for reliability, but with a unlike wait. It'due south likewise a little more expensive.

The about popular reason to get a dryer with front end-facing controls is considering it looks more like a front-load washer—purely aesthetic.

Compared with our main pick, the WED75HEFW has a slightly larger drum (7.4 cubic feet versus 7.0). Very big items like king-size comforters might dry faster because they have more room to breathe. But otherwise, it barely matters—y'all'll inappreciably ever dry enough in 1 become to notice a departure.

Otherwise, we similar it for the same reasons as our principal pick: The command panel and door felt sturdy (well, the door had a slight wobble, but we think it was because it was a floor model). The brand has a good reputation for reliability. And the reviews are solid. Drawn from more than 700 user reviews on Home Depot, it has an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. Consumer Reports (subscription required) gives it an overall rating of 70 (out of 100), with "very good" marks for drying performance, convenience, and noise. Reviewed.com gives it an 8.1 out of ten.

If you take a Whirlpool front loader, you might be able to stack this dryer on top of it, just check with Whirlpool to run into if it'south compatible earlier you buy. Information technology has a one-twelvemonth parts and labor warranty.

What about heat-pump dryers?

Rut-pump dryers don't require a vent and are much more efficient than standard vented dryers. They work a bit like an air conditioner in opposite, using a compressor and a refrigerant-filled coil to cyclically heat, then dehydrate, the air inside the dryer. Since they're not blowing heated air out of a hole in your house, estrus pump dryers use about half the energy of a vented dryer per wheel. On average, that tin can salve almost $75 per twelvemonth—or much more in places where electricity is expensive. They also don't go as hot as vented dryers, so they're gentler on your clothes, especially delicates.

They have plenty of downsides. The average cycle time is about double that of a regular vented dryer. Full-size estrus-pump dryers are also expensive, costing anywhere from $1,200 to $1,600. On average, it would have eight years to make up the upfront toll of the cheapest heat-pump dryer, the $1,200 Whirlpool WED7990FW, compared with our favorite vented dryer. And that's assuming you lot don't need repairs. The models that are currently available in the US have been around for only a few years, and then we have no clue how they hold upwards. User reviews are middling, typically falling well beneath 4.0 out of 5.0 stars.

That said, for some people a heat-pump dryer could exist the right choice. Electricity is expensive in some parts of the country—in Massachusetts, for case, we pay about 23¢ per kilowatt-60 minutes, which is nearly double the national boilerplate. A estrus-pump dryer could pay for itself in energy savings relatively quickly. And if you tin can't vent your dryer, only withal desire a total-size, 27-inch-broad dryer, a rut-pump model is the just mode to go.

We're not going to recommend ane model in particular because nosotros don't know enough virtually any of them, but your options include the $ane,200 Whirlpool WED7990FW, which is pretty much the same as our Also great pick except with ventless heat-pump tech. There's also the Whirlpool WED9290FW, which has a few more cycle options that tin be curated to your preferred dryness and efficiency levels. Both dryers have so-so user reviews, with a lot of people lament nigh racket, lengthy cycles, and fault codes. LG also used to sell a full-size estrus-pump dryer, just it's at present discontinued and has non been replaced with a new model.

The competition

We don't think yous should worry also much virtually whether you're getting the best dryer for your money—at least not equally much every bit you lot would with other appliance purchases. Just option one. If y'all have a washer already or another one in listen, merely get whichever dryer comes with it. They're all pretty much the aforementioned on the inside, and all those ancillary features just hike upward the price while doing aught to improve drying operation. The most important differences are normally merely a question of toll, brand, or build quality. We compared 45 dryers and sorted our favorites by those factors. While we dismissed all of these for reasons that we remember about people will concord with, it should be clear that they're still perfectly decent dryers.

The GE dryers we looked at (GE GTD42EASJWW, GE GTD65EBSJWS, and GE GTD33EASKWW) were all unproblematic, straightforward, and extremely affordable, but we were turned off by their somewhat cheap build quality. GE's lackluster reliability ratings from Consumer Reports and J.D. Power further discouraged u.s..

LG (LG DLE1501W and LG DLEX3570W) gets tops reviews from both Consumer Reports and J.D. Power, only they are often considerably more expensive than other machines. They tend to take over-the-top feature sets and command systems, besides.

Electrolux dryers (Electrolux EFME517SIW and Electrolux EFME617SIW) take a good warranty, only their long-term reliability is doubtable, according to Consumer Reports and J.D. Power. We too thought their control design was a bit too digital and unintuitive.

The simply other Whirlpool we looked at (Whirlpool WED92HEFW) is a step up from our Likewise neat—pretty much the same matter with a steam choice. We didn't retrieve that extra was worth the higher cost.

How to make your dryer terminal 12 years

Dryers are supposed to concluding most 12 years, but a lot of them suspension down sooner because of improper intendance, co-ordinate to the experts we spoke with. To maximize the lifespan and minimize the demand for a technician, do the following:

• Don't overload the drum: A load of laundry should never exceed half the drum capacity. Consistently doing so stresses the suspension system and, according to technician Paul Hleovas, shortens the lifespan of the dryer. Suspension rebuilds are ane of the near common service calls he makes, often going to the same customer every half dozen years because they keep to overload the machine.
• Clean the vents at least one time a year: The number-one cause for dryer failure is clogged vents. This restricts airflow, increases drying times, and overheats the machine. Yous should clean it at least once a year, depending on how often yous do laundry. That includes cleaning both the venting tube and the duct on the outside of your firm. This isn't merely a thing of sustaining dryer performance; it'south a safety concern. According to the The states Fire Administration, dryers are the cause of almost 3,000 fires each year, and clogged vents are the crusade of well-nigh a third of them.
• Articulate the lint trap before each utilize: Another safety concern, the lint trap or filter needs to be cleared every fourth dimension yous run a cycle. This improves performance and helps preclude overheating.
• Put but clean laundry in the dryer: Soiled clothes or fabrics can spread dirt and grime throughout the interior of the machine, which can end upwards clogging the vents or corroding the hardware.
• Provide at least 6 inches of infinite behind the dryer: This is some other venting event. Dryers draw in air from the area around it (usually through the back) and if there'south not enough space it may take trouble performing its duties. Also, the vent typically requires enough space to exit the dryer and perform a ninety-degree turn on its way exterior. You need enough space to prevent the vent hose from kinking.

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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-dryers/

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