Kenmore Elite Gas Dryer

This review was published on June 14, 2012. Since then, this product may have been discontinued or replaced. Pricing and availability may differ from what is stated in the review.

Introduction

The Kenmore Elite 81472 does a superb job. It offers effective drying, especially with its excellent Bulky cycle and Express Dry feature. It also has a great variety of customizable options, as well as a control panel that's very easy to use. Its main drawback is an MSRP of $1299.99. For that price—or even a $1130 sale price—we'd expect perfection. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

For those interested in buying this item as a pair, the Kenmore Elite 41472 also performed very well. Like its wetter counterpart, this particular dryer is an updated model based on the LG DLEX3470V. Since it's a Kenmore, you're dependent on Sears to find a sale price. Without the benefit of any discounts or competitive retailing, the comparable LG may actually turn out to be a better value.

Elegant design meets sleek navigation.

The Kenmore Elite 81472 looks modern, not to mention expensive. The blue tinted backing for the controls and the gray and steel highlights make this appliance more elegant and visually interesting than the average white dryer. That said, this machine commits one important design faux pas. Having white enamel instead of stainless steel for the interior is very disappointing, given the enamel's proclivity for flaking and rusting over time.

Though the attractive controls for extra features are a little hard to read, the two-column layout for the preset cycles, highlighted by blue indicator lights, is very easy to see, and the cycle knob is also quite sturdy.

More often than not the door would bounce back open.

The massive door on this Kenmore may be sleek and shiny, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work as well as it looks. Sure, it opened easily enough, but when we went to close it, more often than not the door would bounce back open. Inevitably, we just began slamming the door shut to ensure closure—a frustrating design flaw in an otherwise attractive machine.

This dryer does more than just get the job done.

With consistent drying times and excellent overall results, this Kenmore is a very adept machine. All three of the preset cycles that we tested consistently finished in about an hour, and every cycle got almost all the moisture out of our materials. It also managed to do this in a reasonable amount of time, which means that you won't be spending your entire day doing laundry.

• Used Gas Dryers
• Sears Gas Dryers
• Roper Gas Dryer
• Installing Gas Dryer