Free Tool
Appliance Age Lookup
Pick the brand, enter the serial number off the rating plate, and get the manufacture date.
Why the manufacture date is the number that matters
A homeowner rarely knows when an appliance that came with the house was actually made. The label on it does. Once you know the manufacture date, you know how old the appliance really is, roughly where it sits on its expected lifespan, and whether a repair quote makes sense or a replacement is the better call.
Appliance Intelligence does this for every appliance in a home at once, straight from a photo of the label, and keeps watching for recalls over time. This tool is the same decode, one appliance at a time, free and without an account.
How to find your serial number
- Refrigerators and dishwashers: check the inside edge of the door frame.
- Washers and dryers: check the back panel, or behind the door on front-loaders.
- Water heaters: check the printed label partway down the side of the tank.
- Furnaces and AC units: check the rating plate on the unit, often behind an access panel.
- Copy the serial number exactly, including letters, dashes, and spaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the serial number on an appliance?
For refrigerators and dishwashers, check inside the door frame. For washers and dryers, check the back panel or behind the door. Water heaters carry it on a printed label partway down the tank. Furnaces and AC units carry it on a rating plate on the unit itself, often inside an access panel.
How accurate is a serial number decode?
It depends on the brand. Some manufacturers publish their date-code scheme; for others it is commonly reported and reverse-engineered from many real units, so it can be a year or two off. The result card shows a confidence label so you know which kind of answer you got.
Does this check for warranty coverage or an open recall?
No. This free tool only decodes the manufacture date. HouseFacts checks recalls against the appliances you track in the app, and shows warranty status once you add the coverage details yourself, but neither is part of this lookup.
What if my appliance’s brand isn’t listed, or the serial doesn’t decode?
Brand coverage keeps growing. In the meantime, you can add the appliance in HouseFacts by hand with the make, model, and serial number, and it’s tracked the same way going forward.
Now that I know the age, how do I know how much longer it should last?
Expected lifespans vary widely by appliance type, from about 9 years for a dishwasher to 15–20 years for a furnace. Our room-by-room lifespan guide breaks down the standard ranges.
More on appliances: how long appliances typically last, how to check for an open recall.
One appliance decoded. Want the whole house done for you?
HouseFacts reads the label from a photo, no typing required, and keeps watching for recalls after that. Free for 14 days.
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