About Kenmore
Kenmore traces back to 1913, when Sears first put the name on a sewing machine. The brand expanded into washing machines in 1927, and by 1976 Sears had extended the Kenmore name across refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers, making it one of the most recognized home-appliance nameplates in American households for most of the 20th century.
After Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2018, the Kenmore brand was acquired by Transform SR Brands LLC (Transformco), an affiliate of ESL Investments, which owns and licenses it today. Kenmore no longer manufactures its own appliances in-house; it contracts with outside manufacturers to build appliances to its specifications, and one of the top load washers we tested is built on LG's Direct Drive platform under the Kenmore nameplate, giving buyers that engineering at a lower price than the LG-branded equivalent.
Brand website: kenmore.com
What Kenmore makes
Kenmore's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Front load washers
steam-capable front loaders with Accela Wash and Sani Rinse cycles (featured on DIYRated) — featured on DIYRated
Top load washers
Triple Action Agitator and Triple Action Impeller top loaders in multiple drum sizes (featured on DIYRated) — featured on DIYRated
Dishwashers
24-inch built-in dishwashers with heated dry and Sani Rinse (featured on DIYRated) — featured on DIYRated
Dryers
electric and gas dryers sold to match Kenmore's washer platforms
Refrigerators
French door, side-by-side, and top-freezer refrigerators
Air conditioners & dehumidifiers
window and portable air conditioners plus room dehumidifiers
Why we recognized Kenmore
The DIYRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Kenmore earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, put to work on real jobs, and judged on merit.
Kenmore products we rated highly
Kenmore 24-Inch Hybrid Tub Dishwasher
A full-size 24-inch dishwasher that ships and sells directly from Amazon, holding 3.9 stars across 39 verified reviews. A heated dry element with a Sani Rinse option gets plastics genuinely dry, and the MoreSpace adjustable upper rack drops for stockpots and raises for tall stemware.
Read the 7 Best Dishwasher Brands of 2026 guide →
Kenmore 4.5 cu. ft. Front Load Washer with Stain Removing Steam Treatment (White)
Carries an Amazon's Choice badge with 113 verified ratings, the deepest review base of any steam washer in our testing. Steam Treat plus a dedicated Sani Rinse cycle pre-treat fabric to loosen set-in stains, Accela Wash cuts full-load cycle time by up to 26 percent, and it's ENERGY STAR certified with a Cold Clean cycle that uses up to 90 percent less energy than a warm normal cycle.
Read the 7 Best Front Load Washers of 2026 guide →
Kenmore 4.4 cu. ft. Top Load Washer with Triple Action Agitator
Posted a 4.5-star average across 100 ratings, the highest star average of any machine in that roundup. The Triple Action Agitator cleans from three angles, Accela Wash cuts full-load cycle times by up to 51 percent, and a 55-decibel spin cycle runs quieter than most agitator machines at its price.
Read the 7 Best Top Load Washers of 2026 guide →
Kenmore 4.1 cu. ft. Top Load Washer with Triple Action Agitator
The narrowest-footprint Kenmore we tested at 25.5 inches wide, built around the same Triple Action Agitator as its larger sibling so the smaller drum doesn't mean a downgrade in wash action. It holds a 4.3-star average across 28 ratings, with Express Wash clearing small loads in about 28 minutes and a soft-close tempered glass lid.
Read the 7 Best Top Load Washers of 2026 guide → Kenmore 4.5 Cu Ft Top Load Washer with Triple Action Impeller
Built on LG's Direct Drive motor and core wash mechanism under the Kenmore nameplate, giving buyers that engineering at roughly 30 percent less than the LG-branded equivalent in our comparison. The Triple Action Impeller fits about 20 percent more clothes per load than agitator-style top loaders, installs on a standard 120V outlet, and holds a 4.3-star average across 259 reviews.
Read the 7 Best Washer and Dryer Brands of 2026 guide →What earned Kenmore the recognition
- A home-appliance nameplate dating to 1913, expanded into washing machines in 1927 and across the full home by 1976 under Sears, one of the most recognized names in American laundry rooms and kitchens for most of the 20th century.
- Now owned and licensed by Transform SR Brands LLC (Transformco), an affiliate of ESL Investments, keeping the Kenmore nameplate active after the 2018 Sears Holdings bankruptcy.
- The front load washer we tested carries an Amazon's Choice badge with 113 verified ratings, the deepest review base of any steam washer we reviewed, backed by a dedicated Sani Rinse cycle and ENERGY STAR certification.
- The 4.4 cu. ft. top load washer we tested posted a 4.5-star average across 100 ratings, the highest star average of any washer in that roundup, using a Triple Action Agitator design.
- Featured across three separate categories in our home-appliance reviews, front load washers, top load washers, and dishwasher brands, with five distinct Kenmore models earning a spot.