The Best Quality Top-Load Washer Brand Isn't LG, According To JD Power

There are many factors to consider when you're shopping for any new appliance. When it comes to a washing machine, those factors are arguably even more important, as that appliance will be cleaning your clothes, towels, and bed sheets for as long as you own it. Once you've made decisions concerning some of the more obvious choices, like going with a front-load or top-load washer, those concerning overall brand quality are sure to follow.

In that category, washers from major brands like LG, Whirlpool, and Bosch are likely to come up in your research. According to a recent JD Power study on quality, however, when it comes to top-loading washers, those brands can't hold a candle to those bearing the iconic General Electric logo. 

Just for the record, the same is apparently true for GE's front-loading washers, signaling that it may be the brand to beat in the general washing machine market. Those quality numbers are culled in large part from Problems Per 100 (PP100) ratings, which technically tabulate reliability by recording problems reported per 100 machines per the included brands. By that measure, a lower PP100 score indicates higher-quality devices. In the top-loading washing machine category, GE machines earned the top spot with a score of 60 PP100. Maytag placed second with a score of 70 PP100, and Whirlpool landed in third at 71 PP100. The study does not specify exactly where LG ranks in these standings.

With washers from General Electric taking the top honors in both major washing machine categories, it's worth noting that devices from the brand, whose product line extends well beyond appliances, placed quite well across all appliance categories. That isn't entirely surprising, as GE is often ranked among the more popular manufacturers of home appliances. Even so, we'd wager that few would have tabbed the brand as so dominant in the reliability ratings. 

Consumers will no doubt take notice of the brand's impressive quality ratings when reading through the results of JD Power's appliance study, too, as GE devices took the top spot in every reliability category except for dishwashers. KitchenAid ultimately claimed the top spot there with a score of 63 PP100, but GE tied for second in that category, sharing the slot with Bosch at 64 PP100.

As for the other categories, GE scored 45 PP100 in the clothes dryer category, 52 PP100 in the side-by-side refrigerator section, and 65 PP100 for French Door fridges. The brand was scored at 51 PP100 for its top-mount freezer refrigerators, and took the top spot in cooking appliance reliability with a score of 37 PP100. Perhaps most importantly, General Electric also earned top marks for service experience, claiming 778 points out of 1,000 from JD Power. So, if the GE appliance you purchase does happen to experience an issue, most customers appear to be as satisfied with the repair process as they are with the devices themselves.