Maytag MED8230HC dryer review

The straightforward Maytag MED8230HC dryer has a traditional back panel with a large cycle selection knob located front and center, as well as some touch controls for customizing cycles off to the side.

Inside, you’ll find a larger-than-average, though typical looking, drum. You’ll notice holes for setting up the included shoe rack and four paddles along the interior for agitation.

The lint filter is in the usual spot, but this one boasts an easy-to-empty design.

About the Maytag MED8230HC dryer

Dimensions: 42.75” x 29” x 32.75” (H x W x D) Capacity: 8.8 cubic feet Finishes: Metallic slate Cycles: Regular, Quick Dry, Heavy Duty, Delicates, Whites, Wrinkle Control, Sanitize, Steam Refresh, Towels, Normal, Bulky Items, Jeans, Timed Dry, and Custom Cycle.
Cycle options: Four temperature settings, three dryness levels, multiple steam options, sanitize, timed dry (highly granular), wrinkle prevent, included shoe rack Matching washer: Maytag MVW8230HC Gas version: Maytag MGD8230HC User manual: Maytag MED8230HC dryer manual

What we like

It dries your clothes quickly

When it comes to analyzing a dryer’s performance, our standards are fairly basic: How much and how quickly can it remove water from your laundry.

This Maytag responds: “all of it” and “much faster than average.” Across the board this dryer put up solid results.

Its Regular cycle removed 100% of the water in just 55 minutes, compared to an average dryer’s cycle time of 1 hour 11 minutes.

During testing, the Bulky Items cycle also finished in a faster-than-average 56 minutes, compared to an average dryer’s cycle time of 1 hour 8 minutes. Again, the laundry was 100% dry afterwards.

The Maytag MED8230HC’s Quick Dry cycle only removed about 65% of the water but it finished in an incredibly fast 15 minutes, compared to the average cycle length of slightly over 27 minutes. This means that the rate of dryness per minute that the Quick Dry cycle offers is actually pretty good. It seems like this cycle tends to stick to a 15-minute timer as opposed to any internal humidity sensors. If you have some lightly damp laundry you need dried super fast, this cycle delivers.

The Delicates cycle ran for 69 minutes—dead average—and removed 100% of the water. Importantly, it ran the coolest out of all the cycles, never climbing higher than 140°F.

We only experienced one small downside: The Quick Dry and Bulky Items cycles get a few degrees too hot. Anything hotter than 150°F will exacerbate wear and tear damage, reducing the lifespan of your clothes, with hotter temperatures causing more damage, faster. In the MED8230HC’s case, where it was either 2°F or 3°F too hot, this temperature discrepancy is by no means a dealbreaker.

The dryer lets you know when you need to rebalance a load

While consumers (and us testers) have mixed feelings about the usefulness of smart features, Maytag's smart software helps you get your laundry dried properly.

As we were running a bulky cycle during testing, the MED8230HC beeped and notified us with a clear message on its display to re-adjust the load. Who likes emptying a load of larger items only to find that they are balled up with a damp center? No one.

As far as other standard smart features, the MED8230HC can notify you when a cycle is done, offers a remote start, and sends diagnostics and repair info when something goes wrong.

A shoe rack changes your footwear game

While not completely unheard of, a shoe rack accessory is rarely bundled with the dryer.

The shoe rack looks like a grill grate, connecting to the front and back of the drum and sitting separately from the spinning sides and offering shoes a stable platform to sit on and absorb radiated heat without tossing around on the paddles making a racket.

If you live in a place with a lot of mud or snow, and you have to wash your shoes or boots somewhat regularly, this is a huge bonus. No only does it gives you the quality of life improvement of “dryer no longer creates freestyle syncopated rhythms for an hour,” but not having shoes ricocheting around the drum will increase the lifespan of your drum’s paddles and motor.

What owners are saying

Owners seem to love their Maytag MED8230HC dryer, awarding it an average of 4.7 stars out of five.

Common points of praise center around how quickly it can dry laundry, and there were a few positive allusions to “its great features.”

The only negative reviews we saw seemed to be lemons or from folks who had trouble setting it up on WiFi.

Warranty

First year limited warranty. Second through tenth year warranty on drum motor and drum (labor only).

Should you buy the Maytag MED8230HC dryer?

Yes. The Maytag MED8230HC is one of the best dryers we’ve tested. Although it is expensive, its cycles are quick and dry efficiently without relying too heavily on unsafe temperatures. It has steam and sanitize, as well as some helpful smart features. The dryer also comes backed by one of the industry’s best warranties.

If you want to shop around a bit or want to buy a washer-dryer pair, check out the Electrolux 627 set. The Electrolux EFME627UTT dryer has similar features, drying capability, and price—and the Electrolux EFLS627UTT washing machine also performs much better than the MED8230HC’s companion washer.