Kenmore 69133 Dryer review – CNET

The Good The Kenmore 69133 dryer pulls moisture from wet laundry with astonishing speed and offers a large 8.8-cubic-foot capacity to process hefty laundry loads. The appliance’s control panel is simple to use and flaunts updated styling that’s both modern and attractive.

The Bad The Kenmore 69133 has relatively few specialty cycles, fewer than what other advanced dryers offer. The appliance’s controls are mounted along its back edge, which rules out stacking it above washers to save space. You can’t place the dryer on top of a pedestal accessory either to gain extra storage or put its door within easier reach.

The Bottom Line If you value raw clothes-drying horsepower above all, then Kenmore 69133 dryer’s excellent performance will have you hooked, but take a hard pass on this machine if you plan to stack your laundry machines vertically or drop them onto pedestals.

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Top-loading washing machines and their similarly sculpted clothes-drying counterparts such as the $1,100 Kenmore 69133 dryer used to be the norm. This style of laundry appliance has been upstaged by flashier units of the front-loading variety. Fashionable and more convenient, you can stack them vertically in compact towers or sit them atop pedestal accessories to gain extra laundry room storage.

While the Kenmore 69133 dryer can’t perform any of those tricks, it does boast a few compelling abilities all its own, the most impressive of which are truly outstanding drying power and swift cycle speeds. Decked out in modern styling, this big 8.8-cubic-foot-capacity laundry machine is a real looker as well. However, if you have your heart set on a trendy front-loading model, the Kenmore 69133 won’t satisfy. In that case, the $1,099 Electrolux EFME617S Perfect Steam or $1,400 Kenmore Elite 81072 are better options. But big families and, frankly, anyone who’d like to spend less time doing laundry will love this appliance.

Kenmore’s spacious top-load style dryer serves…
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Design and features

Standing a full 42.9 inches tall, spanning 29 inches wide and reaching a depth of 32.2 inches, the Kenmore 69133 is one very big boy. A major contributor to the dryer’s large footprint is its huge drum, which provides 8.8 cubic feet of capacity. While not quite as accommodating as the Kenmore Elite 81072 (9-cubic-foot capacity), the dryer is spacious and certainly has enough room to process loads from its official washer counterpart, the Kenmore 29133. A monster in its own right, the front-loading washing machine offers 5.3 cubic feet of clothes cleaning capacity.

Made to match its companion aesthetically as well, the Kenmore 69133 mimics the washer’s classic front-load shape and has controls running along its back, topmost edge. Smartly curved, contoured and sporting a surface of glossy black, the control panel cuts a stylish profile.

The curved control panel is mounted on the back edge.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

The panel’s capacitive buttons further heighten the dryer’s modern look. More like a smartphone than a typical home appliance, these keys activate with a mere featherlight touch. The contemporary product design continues with the machine’s sound alerts rendered in soft electronic chimes rather than shrill beeps or mechanical buzzes. All this adds up to an appliance that’s a breeze to use and fun to interact with.

I only have a few control-related complaints. First are the panel’s distinctive blue lights and indicators, which are small, faint and harder to see than the brighter LEDs on other dryers. Secondly, since this dryer’s control panel is back-mounted, you can’t stack it on top of another laundry unit such as a washer or vice versa.

This dryer uses capacitive buttons that activate at a light touch.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

These vertical configurations are a great way to save space or shoehorn bulky appliances into cramped laundry rooms. Additionally, the panel’s location rules out setting the dryer on a pedestal accessory. Pedestals ergonomically raise washer and dryer doors so you don’t have to bend over as much when opening or closing them, but this would make the controls hard to reach.

Compared to the seemingly endless cycle choices many fancy dryers have, the Kenmore 69133 has a relatively tame selection of seven sensor-driven modes (10 counting basic timed cycles). For example, you won’t find exotic options precisely labeled for reducing allergens or treating sportswear or towels. Instead, the machine provides traditional cycles for items generally classified as “Normal,” “Casual,” “Delicates” and “Heavy Duty.”

The panel’s small lights and labels are hard to see from a distance.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET