These 4 American Brands Come Recommended By Our Appliance Repair Expert (& Ones To Avoid)

There's something exciting about buying a shiny and new appliance for your home. The problem is, that excitement is often drowned out by the stress of picking the right one. To help narrow down your decision, you may focus on purchasing products created in your home country. After all, there are many benefits of buying American made appliances, including supporting the economy. Thankfully, Andrew Kuznetsov, president of ADRIUM Service Solutions, spoke exclusively to House Digest to recommend some ones he's seen hold up the best. The American appliance brands he recommends are: Speed Queen, Wolf, Sub-Zero, and KitchenAid.

"First of all, a product needs to do its job well, right? But the real advantages of local production lie in the availability of spare parts, supply chain support—from the manufacturer all the way to home delivery—and the availability of technical support for both the end user and the repair company. Not only a quality of the products," says Andrew. However, you can't just randomly pick one. "I would recommend to choose products by category rather than choosing one brand for the entire house," explains Andrew. Though these brands are reliable and American-based, there are some caveats before choosing one for your next replacement. After all, it's unlikely that one brand has great appliances across the board. For example, a company known for excellent dishwashers may make low-quality dryers. So when picking out the best one to fit your needs, think carefully about what you actually want.

Andrew breaks down the American appliance brands he recommends by what role they best fill. For example, when it comes to a premium kitchen, "I would recommend Sub-Zero refrigerators and Wolf cooking appliances," he says. They make more luxurious options that tend to come with advanced smart technology and greater precision. The price is higher, but if you have the money, they can make certain chores around the house a lot easier, and these brands of appliances can last longer. 

For example, Sub-Zero is costly, but it uses high-quality materials and has good customer service. The company's production sites are in states like Arizona and Wisconsin. As for Wolf, while their ranges are nice, the ovens are where they seem to shine for customers. They make it easy to cook or bake and give you reliable results. They also offer customizable features, like custom knob and bezel colors.

Both Wolf and Sub-Zero are some of the most trustworthy and reliable appliance brands, according to experts as well. They are also under the same parent company, so you will find that many of their products are made together. If you want something you can depend on for years to come, it may be worth investing in one of these two, especially when it comes to your larger kitchen appliances. 

If you're looking for laundry-based appliances that excel at what they do, consider Speed Queen. According to Andrew, this brand has "residential models built in Ripon, Wisconsin." They are also pretty pricey, but last longer than other washers. Some reviews mention that they feel these machines do a better job of cleaning. They aren't necessarily the most high-tech and feature-driven, but they work hard to do a job well with fairly simple machines that are fast and thorough. Speed Queen focuses on what it's good at, and solely makes washers and dryers, though they offer a lot of variety. In fact, Andrew is not the only expert that names Speed Queen as a laundry appliance brand worth the hype, especially the TC5. 

The fourth company recommended by Andrew is KitchenAid — known for doing a particular appliance very well. "KitchenAid stand-alone mixers are another example of U.S. manufacturing." And, its products are durable and long-lasting. There are dozens of appliances everyone should have that are easy to use, and a mixer is one for those who bake or mix ingredients a lot. But if you want something reliable and sturdy, KitchenAid is an expensive purchase that can be worth it, just like the Speed Queens. They are assembled in Greenville, Ohio. It does make other products, but their stand mixers and accompanying attachments are what they are best known for.

Of course, just because a brand is based or made in the United States doesn't mean it's worth buying. In addition to the good ones above, there are also some you want to avoid. Mostly, he says to stay away from brands that don't support many past models. "ZLINE range hoods often become impossible to repair after ten years because spare parts are no longer produced," he says, as an example. "Zephyr comes to mind as another company with similar issues."

If the four Andrew recommends don't have quite what you're looking for, then he has two runners-up as well. They are worth consideration, but don't fully fit the bill for "American brands." He says, "For mainstream appliance I would consider selected Whirlpool and Maytag models, but it's really hard to find models built [in the U.S.] not at Mexico or other countries." Whirlpool is best known for its washers, dryers, and fridges. Maytag is owned by the same parent company and does laundry and dishwashers pretty well.

He also warns that even with the four brands he recommends, it pays to get a slightly older model, and not jump straight into something with the newest bells and whistles. "It's always gambling when you are going to buy new product on the market. As [with] cars, it's better to buy a current model that has been on the market for a while, when small issues after first release were already fixed by factory."

He also says that while buying American gives you benefits like letting you buy your appliances straight from the manufacturer, faster shipping times, and discounts, you shouldn't necessarily exclude others. "Best example is GE. It's still [made in the] U.S. but it's Chinese ownership. It's also not means that this brand is bad." He goes on to explain that focusing on supporting American brands is not as important or distinctive as it once was. "We are living in global [economy.] There are almost no borders anymore when it comes to manufacturing. [An] American brand doesn't mean exactly high quality anymore. As well as [how an] American brand doesn't mean that it was made on American soil." 

So if these four brands don't have exactly what you're looking for, don't be afraid to expand your horizons a little. For example, though Hisense is one of the best kitchen appliance brands based on reviews, it isn't one you'll ever see recommended for those looking for an American brand because it actually comes from China. You may not get the local support and replacement parts, but the quality can be worth waiting a little longer for if something goes wrong. And, as Andrew points out, an American brand may end up shipping out work to other countries, which means it may still be a struggle to get parts and fixes, leaving you without as big an advantage.