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At a Glance
I was at my folks over the weekend, and the washer is clearly on its last legs. After 16+ years, its time for a new one. Yet, the dryer is going strong.
It made me wonder. Do dryers last longer than washers? Obviously, the data of one person is not exactly compelling.
Laundry Display at Yale Appliance in Boston
In this article, you will learn the fail rates of electric and gas dryers based on the 34,687 service calls our service department logged last year.
Then we will look at the fail rates of both top load and front load washers to know what laundry pair is right for your home.
How We Calculate Appliance Reliability
Our appliance reliability formula is simple. We look at service calls and divide by sales within 12 months.
We try to correct customer education calls with techs over the phone. However, if we have to dispatch a truck to your home, it counts as a service call.
We track the first year only because we provide free warranty service. After that, it's hard to know if people use us (or know too).
Most Reliable Full-Size Electric Dryers
|
Service Qty |
Shipped Qty |
Service Ratio |
|
|
GE Appliances |
0 |
1 |
0.0% |
|
Whirlpool |
50 |
1564 |
3.2% |
|
Frigidaire |
3 |
65 |
4.6% |
|
LG Electronics |
51 |
1088 |
4.7% |
|
Samsung |
25 |
429 |
5.8% |
|
Maytag |
152 |
1893 |
8.0% |
|
Speed Queen |
67 |
317 |
21.1% |
|
Electrolux |
254 |
962 |
26.4% |
|
Fisher & Paykel |
8 |
7 |
114.3% |
|
Grand Total |
610 |
6326 |
9.64% |
Most Reliable Full-Size Gas Dryers
|
|
Service Qty |
Shipped Qty |
Service Ratio |
|
Fisher & Paykel |
0 |
2 |
0.00 % |
|
Whirlpool |
10 |
128 |
7.81 % |
|
LG Electronics |
26 |
284 |
9.15 % |
|
Maytag |
39 |
414 |
9.42 % |
|
Speed Queen |
10 |
73 |
13.70 % |
|
Samsung |
6 |
38 |
15.79 % |
|
Electrolux |
63 |
49 |
128.57 % |
|
Grand Total |
154 |
988 |
15.59 % |
Electric dryers appear to be lower in repair than gas at 9.64% versus 15.59%. Whirlpool is more reliable in this comparison, but their numbers are geared towards lower-end, builder-grade products.
I am not sure the homeowners all know to call us with issues. Maytag is the same product as Whirlpool. Their rate is what you should expect from a Whirlpool appliance with features.
What Are The Most Reliable Dryer Brands You Should Consider?
The 3 best electric dryers are:
- LG
- Samsung
- Whirlpool/Maytag
The 3 best gas dryers are:
- LG
- Whirlpool/Maytag
- Speed Queen
Now let's look at the most reliable washers if you're searching for both a washer and dryer.
What Are The Most Dependable Laundry Pairs?
Most Reliable Front Load Washers
| Service Qty | Shipped Qty | Service Ratio | |
| Samsung | 8 | 178 | 4.49 % |
| LG Electronics | 72 | 1246 | 5.78 % |
| Whirlpool | 30 | 293 | 10.24 % |
| Maytag | 204 | 1470 | 13.88 % |
| Electrolux | 112 | 281 | 39.86 % |
| Frigidaire | 4 | 9 | 44.44 % |
| Speed Queen | 19 | 14 | 135.71 % |
| Grand Total | 455 | 3494 | 13.02 % |
Most Reliable Top Loads Washers
| Service Qty | Shipped Qty | Service Ratio | |
| Samsung | 0 | 7 | 0.00 % |
| Amana | 0 | 6 | 0.00 % |
| Whirlpool | 15 | 409 | 3.67 % |
| Maytag | 36 | 231 | 15.58 % |
| Speed Queen | 65 | 243 | 26.75 % |
| LG Electronics | 2 | 4 | 50.00 % |
| Frigidaire | 1 | 1 | 100.00 % |
| Fisher & Paykel | 2 | 1 | 200.00 % |
| Grand Total | 121 | 902 | 13.41 % |
For front load washer and dryer pairs, LG and Samsung are the best by percentage, followed closely by Whirlpool and Maytag.
For a top load, basic Whirlpool/Maytag is fine. Even the Frigidaire we no longer sell is OK. The more advanced and more expensive HE and Speed Queen washers are not as reliable statistically.
Click here to learn more about the best washers, buying tips, major features, and more.
What To Know Before Buying A Dryer
Samsung/LG both have exploded in popularity, but their service has struggled to keep up. Be sure you know who can fix your appliance before you buy it.
We service what we sell and will log more than 38,000 service calls this year with 35 techs. There is no difference in parts and fixing each brand.
You need to ensure there is an actual service department.
If there isn't adequate service available on a brand, then opt for another manufacturer. The reliability numbers are close enough where service should be the deciding factor.
Additional Resources
Have more questions about laundry? Get the Yale Dryer Buying Guide with features, specs, and capacities of all the major brands. Well over 560,000 people have read a Yale Guide.
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WHY SHOULD YOU TRUST US?
A few review sites have placed this at the bottom of their articles. So here is our take: Our mission is to find reliable products for you to buy. Other review sites may say this as well.
However, we don’t love every product. Quite frankly, it costs us way too much money in repair costs to support less reliable brands.
In fact, we sell fewer brands than most appliance stores. Here is why:
We feel it is our responsibility to repair your appliances after you buy them.
We now have 30 service technicians, each averaging 8-10 calls a day Monday through Friday, plus another 110 on Saturday. That's over 30,000 service calls logged in one year.
The labor rates of fixing an appliance do not come close to the true cost in any product’s warranty period.
That is why no major retailer has a service department. It costs too much labor, money and time.
Our Blog is a bit different than most others you will read. We cannot write glowing reviews of unreliable products.
Hopefully, the bloggers and organizations who write such glowing product reviews for every brand consider servicing these products first. Only then they will understand the consequences of their marketing.
A Note About Pricing
Pricing on this blog is for reference only and may include time sensitive rebates. We make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at time of publishing. Please call the stores for most accurate price.
