Got a brand-new Whirlpool WTW5000DW3 washing machine for my house. I’ve gotten wildly disparate quotes on its lifespan. (I don’t have the manual.) One technician say it lasts 1,600 washes. One newspaper suggests it can last 5,000+ washes.
That’s a big deal because it’s the difference between lasting just 3-5 years and lasting well over a decade. Anyone know what’s a realistic lifespan for these things?
We’ve owned several Whirlpool washers (including some Kenmore washers that were made by Whirlpool). In my experience, they last for about 9-10 years of near-daily use.
I have the same machine. It’s more than 10 years old… not sure exactly how old. Over the long haul has probably averaged 4 loads per week.
I had to do a repair a couple months ago. After a couple false starts the actual problem was a worn drive hub. The drive hub links the drive shaft to the tub to make the tub turn. The teeth on the inside of the ring looking thing had worn down such that that the tub no longer turned to agitate the wash. This was probably due to strain by washing a series of heavy blankets and such. Decent Youtube videos showed the repair and it was a 20 minutes job once I had the right diagnosis and parts.
So., overall reasonably reliable. One significant repair in all these years. And after the repair it has been working fine.
However long it lasts, I guarantee that when it breaks your first reaction will be, “We just bought it!” Then you’ll pull out the receipt and say, “Damn, time sure flies!”
TLDR, You have a brand with a very good reputation for lasting a long time.
I do not know about that model, but IME, Whirlpool machines last a long time.
My folks had one that they bought used in 1962. It finally died in the late 70s. My brother had a good used one & he gave that one to them. It lasted them at least 12 years that I know about.
My used Maytag lasted about 15 years. When it developed a major leak, I bought my family a used Bosch that day as I was working a lot of OT & had no time to repair it then. The Bosch is washing clothes as we speak. I did repair the Maytag & now my niece is using it. She has two kids in cloth diapers, so she uses it a fair amount.