Sears, once the place to purchase home appliances, will soon have a smaller inventory to offer the few customers it has left: After a nearly century-long relationship, Sears and Whirlpool have cut ties. [More]
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Whirlpool Recalls 15K Microwaves After Reports Of Three Fires
By 8.30.16
Microwaves are supposed to heat up your leftovers or make popcorn, not catch fire. So after learning about a handful of Whirlpool microwaves going up in smoke and/or flames, the company says it will recall more than 15,000 of the kitchen appliances. [More]
Whirlpool’s “Smart” Appliances Now Come Equipped With Amazon Dash Buttons
By 1.4.16
When Amazon introduced the Dash Button, it claimed customers could easily reorder products with the simple push of a button. While the small gadgets have expanded in recent months to cover a slew of household items, the e-commerce giant’s technology can now be found built-in to an array of actual appliances, namely those from Whirlpool’s Smart Kitchen Suite. [More]
Ohio Jury Finds Whirlpool Not Liable For Moldy Front-Loading Washers
By 10.30.14
For the last six years, appliance-maker Whirlpool has fought the prospect of class action lawsuits filed by the owners of early front-loading high-efficiency washing machines. When the Supreme Court declined to hear Whirlpool’s case for the second time earlier this year, actual suits could go forward. The case on behalf of Whirlpool washer owners in Ohio went to trial this month, and a jury found the company not liable. [More]
Whirlpool Threatens To Leave Energy Star Program If Class-Action Suits Continue
By 7.21.14
When consumers purchase a big-ticket item with hopes that it will make their home more energy-efficient, and the product doesn’t live up to its promises, should there be an option for redress? Newly introduced legislation essentially says “no.” Oh, and if that bill doesn’t pass, one manufacturer say it will say “so long” to the Energy Star program all together. [More]
Supreme Court Won’t Stop Class-Action Lawsuits Over Front-Loading Washing Machines
By 2.24.14
After several years of shutting down class-action lawsuits or affirming businesses’ ability to preempt such suits with forced arbitration, the U.S. Supreme Court today chose not to hear challenges to a trio of class actions about supposedly defective washing machines from three leading manufacturers. [More]
Home Depot Sells Woman Imaginary Refrigerator
By 7.31.13 — Updated: 6.26.14
When you hand over $1,400 for a new refrigerator, you sort of expect to get a new refrigerator. Home Depot sold a California woman a fridge in early June, promising delivery in early July. Only the specific appliance that they had sold her wasn’t sitting in a warehouse somewhere, waiting for delivery. It hadn’t even been manufactured yet. Oh. [More]
My KitchenAid Oven’s Self-Cleaning Cycle Is A Self-Destruct Sequence
By 5.21.13
Harry bought a KitchenAid oven back in 2006, but he doesn’t use his oven very much. He was deployed in the military, and hasn’t even been home for much of the time that he’s owned the appliance. Cleaning his house in preparation for his upcoming wedding, he tried out the oven’s self-cleaning feature for the first time. This turned out to be a bad idea. [More]
Sears Saves The Day When Self-Cleaning Oven Fails And Whirlpool Shrugs
By 2.20.13
A few weeks ago, we shared some photos that reader Susan sent us of her new Kitchenaid oven. Its new-fangled self-cleaning system was pretty terrible at a key function: actually self-cleaning. “So… every time you want to clean your cool new oven, you’ll be scrubbing it yourself!” she wrote. That’s not a very good feature. [More]
My Advanced New Self-Cleaning Oven Needs A Lot Of Help To Clean Itself
By 2.8.13 — Updated: 2.20.13
Susan’s new Kitchenaid gas range is pretty nice, but she writes that exciting advancements in self-cleaning oven technology aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Whirlpool’s Aqualift self-cleaning system seemed to be a technological advance comparable to see-through dishwashers, but she reports that her oven only cleans the bottom center, and not the sides or the corners. You know, the parts that you want your self-cleaning oven to take care of for you. [More]
Should Appliance Makers Pay To Replace Stainless Steel Appliances That Rust?
By 12.10.12
One of the more widely held beliefs about stainless steel appliances is that they will never rust. Alas, this isn’t necessarily true, as the alloy’s corrosion-resistance depends on its level of chromium and nickel. As the demand for stainless steel has risen in recent years, more customers are learning this the hard way. [More]
Whirlpool Welcomes Me To The Era Of Disposable Appliances
By 10.17.12
What’s worse than an appliance breaking down and having to pay for the expensive repair? When it happens and the appliance is only a few weeks out of warranty. That’s what happened to Jonathan. His Whirlpool refrigerator broke down when he had owned it for thirteen months. Yes, a repair was possible, but cost only $300 less than he originally paid for the fridge. What’s with all of these disposable appliances? [More]
Lowe's Tries To Replace Busted Fridge, Whirlpool Says No
By 9.10.12
We’ve written before about people who, after having no luck getting an appliance fixed by the manufacturer, successfully turned to the retailer for a replacement. But here’s the story of a New Jersey woman who thought Lowe’s had thrown her a lifeline to pull her out of the hellish swirl of Whirlpool’s horrid customer service, only to find that even the hardware giant was no match for the appliance company’s incompetence. [More]
Owner’s Manual Error Made My Steam Cleaner Self-Destruct
By 7.27.12
The Whirlpool Fabric Freshener is a device that lets you steam clean your clothes at home, or just quickly get wrinkles out of a piece of clothing without ironing it. The contraption isn’t cheap, but is easy to store and very useful. Andrew purchased one last year, and used it quite a bit. He followed the instructions given for cleaning the system with vinegar every few months, and then….it stopped working entirely. What did he do wrong? He called up Whirlpool to find out. [More]
Leaky Dishwasher Wrecks Hardwood Floor And Ceiling Below, Sears Shrugs
By 7.2.12
Sometimes, you buy a defective appliance and your only problem is that that the appliance doesn’t work. It’s sad, but you replace the item, either using a warranty or by purchasing a new one. Sometimes the company will stand in your way, and you have to fight them for a replacement. And then sometimes your defective appliance warps your hardwood floor, leaks through to your basement ceiling, and causes more than $4,000 worth of damage. That’s what happened to Nachos Grande and his wife (not his real name) when they bought a defective Whirlpool dishwasher from Sears. [More]
Class Action Lawsuit Seeks Recall Of Whirlpool Dishwashers For Alleged Fire Hazard
By 5.10.12
Doing the dishes is no fun (for most of us, at least), which is why having a dishwasher is super great. But if that appliance starts to smoke and burn inside while it’s running, well, that’s not so fun. Just such a fiery experience is what one man claims happened with his Whirlpool dishwasher, prompting him to seek a recall from the company. [More]
You Can't Fix A Washing Machine With A Microwave Door
By 1.5.12
Lori’s front-loading Whirlpool washing machine is broken, and has been since the end of November. This would be less infuriating if Lowe’s hadn’t sent six large boxes of the wrong parts to her house, as well as two repairmen who can’t do anything because the correct parts still haven’t shown up. She wrote to Consumerist in what is clearly a laundry-induced rage. [More]
Man Gets Freezer Burned On Defective Maytag Fridge
By 6.9.11
Frank has had to use up five days of timeoff because of his leaky new Maytag fridge that they just can’t seem to ever repair correctly. Like when he told them to bring out the UV light since the last tech had installed a dye so you could find leaks. The rep said oh yeah, we’ll make a note of that. Then the guy shows up with only a mulitimeter and says, hm, we’re going to have to send another guy out here with more tools. No kidding! [More]
