Appliance Brief does not run a lab. We do not buy, install, or run appliances ourselves before writing about them. What we do is compare manufacturer specifications, gather published measurements and safety listings, and analyze what verified owners report after months of daily use. This page explains exactly how that works, so you can decide how much weight to give our conclusions.
What We Actually Do
- Compare manufacturer specifications. Capacity, dimensions, energy use, noise ratings, cycle counts, and similar figures are pulled from official spec sheets and product listings, not estimated.
- Gather published data and certifications. Where relevant, we note independent certifications such as UL or ETL listing, Energy Star and DOE efficiency ratings, AHAM capacity standards, AHRI cooling ratings, NSF food-contact certification, and CSA or ANSI Z21 certification for gas appliances.
- Analyze verified owner feedback. We read through owner reviews on retailer and manufacturer sites, looking for patterns in what breaks, what owners wish they had known before buying, and who a product does not suit.
Selection Criteria Come First
Every guide states the criteria used for that category, such as capacity, budget, noise level, or installation requirements, before it states any picks. That way you can judge whether a recommendation fits your situation even if you disagree with how we weighed the tradeoffs.
The Brief Score
Products we cover in depth are rated on a 0 to 10 scale we call the Brief Score. Every product within a category is scored against the same published criteria, so a 7 in one refrigerator guide means the same thing as a 7 in another. The full scoring formula and category weights are being finalized and will be published on this page before scores appear on product pages. We are not publishing a formula ahead of time to avoid changing it after the fact.
What We Don’t Do
- We don’t claim to have tested, installed, or run products ourselves unless that is explicitly true of a specific piece of content.
- We don’t accept payment in exchange for a favorable review, a higher ranking, or inclusion in a guide.
- We don’t recommend a specific model that is under an active recall with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
- We don’t write guides with only positive points. Every product entry includes drawbacks and, where relevant, who should skip it.
Balanced Coverage
Every product entry we write in depth lists both strengths and weaknesses, and states plainly who is not a good fit for it. A guide made up entirely of positives is advertising, not a review, and we treat it as a defect if one of our articles reads that way.
Keeping This Current
This page will be updated as our process changes, including once the Brief Score formula is finalized. See our Editorial Policy for how we handle affiliate relationships, corrections, and AI-assisted content.
Contact
Questions about our review process can be sent to [email protected].