Maytag Pet Pro MED6500MBK Dryer Review

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The Maytag Pet Pro dryer features a more rounded design, with a curved lid and console. While the design itself does look nice, the rounded top can make it difficult to balance a laundry basket.

The console itself has a standard layout, with a cycle-selection dial front-and-center and touch controls off to the side for customizing cycles.

Opening up the front-loading door reveals the dryer’s huge, 7-cubic-foot, stainless steel wash drum.

About the Maytag Pet Pro MED6500MBK dryer

• Dimensions: 40.69” x 29” x 28.38” (H x W x D)
• Capacity: 7-cubic-foot wash drum
• Finishes: White, Volcano Black ($90 extra)
• Cycles: Normal, Less Dry, More Dry, Delicates, Bulky Items, Towels, Wrinkle Control, Steam Refresh, Quick Dry, Timed Dry, Air Only, Heavy Duty
• Cycle options: Pet Pro, Wrinkle Prevent, 4 dryness levels, 4 time options (15, 30, 60, 90 min), toggle cycle signal
• Special features: Pet Pro (uses a no-heat, extended dry time to lift pet hair from clothes), XL lint trap (traps and removes a high volume of pet hair), steam cycles (to remove and prevent wrinkling), huge drying drum (ideal for larger families), interior LED
• Matching washer: Maytag MVW6500MBK
• User manual: Maytag Pet Pro MED6500MBK dryer manual

What we like

It dries laundry quickly

If you’re interested in getting dry laundry quickly, the Maytag Pet Pro dryer delivers.

We were most impressed with the Normal and Bulky Items cycles. The Normal cycle was able to get our test load of laundry over 99% dry in just 59 minutes (12 minutes faster than average). Bulky Items was able to get a large comforter over 91% dry at the same time (10% dryer and 8 minutes faster than the average dryer).

The Quick Dry setting removed about 68% of the water in a blisteringly fast 16 minutes. Even though 32% water remaining after a cycle isn’t ideal, this is still an impressive rate of dryness over time. We recommend using this cycle for smaller loads that are only lightly damp if you really need a fast turnaround.

This is about where we would expect a dryer at this price point to perform. Most of its cycles are faster than average and provide better than average drying.

Its gigantic wash drum means fewer trips to the laundry room

If you have a bigger family, the MED6500MBK might be a good option, even if you don’t care about its pet hair features. At a whopping 7 cubic feet, this Pet Pro dryer one of the biggest dryer drums we’ve had come through our labs—for context, most dryers have between four and five cubic feet of space.

This extra space is great for two reasons. For starters, being able to fit in more laundry means you’ll be able to get more done in a single cycle, reducing the frequency with which you need to run cycles.

More importantly for pet owners, the large drum gives normal-sized loads of laundry more room to tumble around, freeing up pet hair and allowing a combination of air flow and static charge to carry it to the lint trap.

Steam features erase wrinkles and sanitize

The MED6500MBK comes equipped with the usual array of steam features, all of which can be game changers if you haven’t had a steam dryer before.

Namely, steam enables two key features: a sufficiently hot sanitize mode that’s safe on your clothes and wrinkle removal/prevention. The sanitize mode is perfect for new parents (of both human and fur babies) to help tackle some of the more unsanitary laundry their beloved little ones are capable of producing.

High temperatures are tough in a dryer, because anything over 150°F will cause threads to become brittle, leading to wear and tear damage. But with steam, you’re able to inject some moisture back into the equation, preventing the fabric from drying out and keeping your clothes in good shape for longer.

The Steam Refresh wrinkle reduction feature is the more valuable feature. Anyone who’s ever ironed anything knows the process can be incredibly time and labor intensive. Fortunately, the MED6500MBK’s Steam Refresh mode handles that job just as well, automatically, and in less time than it takes to complete manually. The way it works is the heat from the steam helps relax fabrics and press out even stubborn wrinkles.

For those who aren’t always the swiftest at removing fresh laundry from the dryer after a load is finished, you know just how quickly hot laundry can crease under its own weight.

Fortunately, the MED6500MBK’s Wrinkle Prevent feature keeps turning your laundry over with heat after a cycle is complete, giving you enough time to retrieve everything before wrinkles can set in.

What we don’t like

Its XL lint trap can be unwieldy

The lint trap, which pulls out through the top right of the machine, is flexible. It is easy to take out and put back in due to the guiding rails along the sides.

Unfortunately, we experienced some lint flying off the trap during testing (it collects on the side that faces down when pulling the trap towards you, so some landed and stayed on the top of the machine), which was minorly inconvenient.

You need the matching washer to really take advantage of pet hair removal

The MED6500MBK's most unique feature is its Pet Pro mode, which claims to be great at removing pet hair from clothes, blankets and bedding.

We tested Maytag’s Pet Pro feature twice: once on its own and once after a wash through the paired Pet Pro washer.

On its own, we found the MED6500MBK is roughly as good as the average dryer when it comes to removing pet hair. However, when combined with the MVW6500MBK washing machine, the pair is able to remove pet hair much better than other washer and dryer sets.

If you are planning on investing in the Maytag Pet Pro washer and dryer as a set, their combined efforts will provide solid value to anyone looking to manage their pet hair problems.

But, if you’re only looking to replace your dryer, just know that you won’t get the full benefit of Maytag’s Pet Pro system.

What owners are saying

The Maytag MED6500MBK is still new to the market and doesn’t have many user reviews posted just yet.

Based on the few that are posted, though, this dryer seems to be performing well overall, garnering 4.5 out of 5 stars across major retailers.

Those who love the MED6500MBK Pet Pro dryer mention how it got their laundry more dry than their previous dryer, and that it seemed to remove most of the pet hair from their laundry. Several users mentioned the internal LED and steam features as high points.

Those who weren’t as happy with their purchase mostly didn’t like specific details, like how the sloped top of the device made it difficult to set down items without them sliding off, or how awkward it can be to use the dryer’s long lint filter.

Warranty

The Maytag MED6500MBK has an industry-standard one year of coverage for parts and labor. The side walls of the drive motor drum have extended coverage: You can get that part replaced for up to 10 years.

Should you buy the Maytag Pet Pro MED6500MBK dryer?

Yes—If you’re looking to buy a new dryer and washer

Overall, we liked the Maytag Pet Pro MED6500MBK dryer. It’s capable of getting laundry dry quickly, and its huge drum means fewer trips to the laundry room.

While we do think it’s a decent dryer on its own, pet owners should really buy this dryer and its paired washer as a set. The washer provides strong scrubbing and efficient cycles, and by combining the two, you’ll get the most out of the Pet Pro system.

Outside of that context, we think the 7-cubic-foot drum does merit consideration for those with larger families and zero pets, simply because it’s rare to find a drum this large.

If you aren’t as interested in the large drum or pet hair removal features, we instead recommend Maytag’s excellent MED7230HW, which is one of the best dryers we’ve had in our labs. Buy now at Lowe's

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.