The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ is a mid-range 36-inch standard-depth side-by-side refrigerator. It boasts an inverter-controlled compressor and a single evaporator in the freezer cabinet. It features a filtered water and ice dispenser built into the freezer door, which also has in-door ice storage as to not cut into freezer space. Its near 18 cu ft of refrigerator capacity is unusually high for a model of this type. In terms of storage solutions, it has a movable pull-out deli drawer and a pair of crisper drawers stacked two high.
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Our Verdict
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ is a decent option for everyday usage. While food storage is traditionally a bugbear for many side-by-side units, the WRS588FIHZ offers excellent overall capacity by virtue of its deep cabinets, which can accommodate things like larger casserole dishes in the fridge or value-sized packs of chicken or fish in the freezer cabinet. However, this can be a double-edged sword, as items placed at the back of the cabinet are hard to reach and may cause accessibility issues for some people. The crisper drawers also do little to keep produce crispy, with the low ambient humidity causing delicate greens to wilt in relatively short order. On the upside, temperatures are quite uniform throughout the fridge cabinet, with the exception of the lower door bins, which are best used for beverages or condiments.
Impressive fridge capacity.
Remarkably spacious freezer cabinet.
Good temperature consistency in main fridge cabinet.
Crisper drawer retains little moisture.
Deep fridge and freezer cabinets can make it difficult to access some items.
Higher-than-expected temperature fluctuations in freezer.
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ's produce preservation performance is mediocre. The crisper drawer does a poor job of maintaining a high level of ambient humidity, and the main cabinet is quite dry. As a result, moisture evaporates from delicate greens like spinach, lettuce, or celery, causing them to wilt substantially faster than they would in a fridge with a greater degree of humidity retention.
Crisper drawer retains little moisture.
Dry main fridge cabinet.
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ's refrigerator cabinet capacity is impressive. The cabinet is quite deep, allowing you to fit larger casserole dishes or bigger boxed items without too much difficulty. That said, as is to be expected of any side-by-side unit with a deep cabinet, reaching items at the back of the compartment can be a hassle. The door bins within the fridge also offer a fair amount of space, being wide enough to accommodate things like milk jugs, though you might still have to remove a bin to fit taller, narrow-necked bottles inside.
Impressive fridge capacity.
Deep fridge and freezer cabinets can make it difficult to access some items.
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ provides a remarkable amount of space for frozen food. It offers remarkable freezer capacity thanks to its in-door ice bucket, which frees up space inside. The cabinet is deep and can easily accommodate family-sized meals or multiple larger meal-prep containers. That said, the narrow but deep design can make it hard to reach items that you've placed at the back of the cabinet.
Remarkably spacious freezer cabinet.
In-door ice maker frees up space in freezer.
Deep fridge and freezer cabinets can make it difficult to access some items.
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ's temperature uniformity is good. Temperatures in the fridge compartment are impressively consistent from the top to the bottom shelf, so you won't need to be picky about placing items like sour cream or milk. Things are a little less rosy in the door bins, with the lowest ones trending a few degrees warmer than the rest of the cabinet: use those to chill beverages or store less easily spoiled condiments. Freezer temperatures fluctuate to a greater degree than one would expect for a fridge with an inverter-controlled compressor, which can result in a less consistent freezing process for some items, though this shouldn't have much of an impact on already-frozen items.
Good temperature consistency in main fridge cabinet.
Higher-than-expected temperature fluctuations in freezer.
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ does a good job of making ice. Its ice production rate and ice bucket capacity are both well-suited to a moderately sized gathering of four to six people, though with anything beyond that, it's best to fill a bag or separate container with ice well in advance. It's also worth noting that the ice maker in this fridge has been noted as being especially failure-prone, with blockages in the fill tube and damaged wiring from freezer door openings both being likely culprits.
Good ice production rate.
Ice bucket can hold enough ice for moderately large gatherings.
Ice maker has a few obvious failure points.
Performance Usages
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
This fridge is available in four different color schemes, each with a different model code.
| Model Number | Color |
|---|---|
| WRS588FIHW | White |
| WRS588FIHB | Black |
| WRS588FIHV | Black Stainless Steel |
| WRS588FIHZ | Stainless Steel |
We tested the Stainless Steel model, and for those interested, here's the product label.
Let us know in the comments below if you come across another variant of this fridge.
Popular Refrigerator Comparisons
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ is a mid-range 36-inch side-by-side refrigerator. It provides excellent capacity for a unit with this kind of form factor, with deep fridge and freezer cabinets. In fact, the cabinets are so deep that it can be a hassle to reach items at the very back of the fridge, especially for those with mobility issues. The in-door ice maker also frees up room at the top of the freezer cabinet compared to alternatives like the Frigidaire FRSS2623AS. While temperatures in the fridge are pretty uniform, barring the warmer lower door bins, the freezer experiences somewhat significant temperature swings during normal operation, drastically more so than that aforementioned Frigidaire or the similarly-sized Samsung RS27T5200SR.
If you want recommendations for other side-by-side fridges, take a look at the best side-by-side refrigerators we've tested, or to look at another refrigerator type, read our picks for the best French door fridges or the best refrigerators overall.
Test Results
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ offers impressive storage capacity in its refrigeration cabinet. The cabinet is relatively wide for a side-by-side unit, though you still can't place two large casserole dishes next to one another. Where the WRS588FIHZ truly pulls ahead is in the depth of this compartment, as it extends nearly to the back of the unit. It's so deep that accessing items at the back of the fridge may be challenging for some people.
You can reconfigure some sections of the refrigerator cabinet, too: the main shelves and even the deli drawer can be moved around depending on your needs. That said, placing the deli drawer in the lowest slot effectively reduces shelving space, as you won't be able to place items on top of the topmost crisper drawer any longer. On that topic, the deli and crisper drawers aren't especially spacious, just a natural consequence of the refrigerator's narrow side-by-side design.
There are a total of five door bins, which offer a good amount of space to work with. They're deep enough to hold things like milk jugs, full-size condiment containers, and four or six-packs of glass bottles. That said, you might have to move a shelf higher or simply remove one altogether to fit taller, narrow-neck bottles.
This unit features a remarkable amount of freezer storage space. Just like the fridge compartment, the space is narrow but remarkably deep. The shelves are spaced far apart, making it easy to fit taller items or stack shorter ones on top of one another. Moreover, the in-door ice bin frees up a ton of space compared to other side-by-side units like the Frigidaire FRSS2623AS, which tend to have ice bins in the main freezer compartment. It's worth noting that while this in-door design gives you an additional shelving space at the top of the cabinet, it also thickens the door, meaning that these upper shelves are a little shorter than the lower ones. You also only have three door bins for storing smaller items. Since the bins sit closer to the bottom of the freezer, you'll need to crouch or bend pretty deeply to get to them, which is a concern if you have mobility or joint issues.
Unlike the smaller, cheaper Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ, the Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ features an inverter-controlled compressor. This allows the compressor to modulate depending on the required cooling demands, instead of simply cycling on and off to maintain the setpoint. In real-world terms, this results in greater energy efficiency and, in theory, a marginal improvement to temperature stability, though this isn't necessarily the case for this particular fridge.
The single evaporator is tucked away at the rear of the freezer compartment. The freezer cabinet's substantial depth and relatively narrow size can make it difficult to reach during repairs.
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ's ice maker resides within the top half of the freezer door. This differs from more conventional side-by-side fridges, like the Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ, which usually have their ice maker and ice bucket in the main freezer cabinet. The WRS588FIHZ's design frees up shelf space in the upper section of the freezer cabinet.
This is far from a perfect design, however, with some users on social media (see user example 1 and user example 2) indicating that the ice maker can simply stop operating. There are a few root causes for this. These range from the fill tube clogging with ice due to damaged heater wiring, to the wiring for the ice maker itself being damaged from opening the freezer, as it runs along the bottom of the fridge and is stretched every time the door is opened.
The ice maker itself uses a twist-tray design. Traditionally, these sorts of ice makers have a lower expected lifespan than ejector-style units. Twist-tray models work by their namesake, with their flexible plastic mold being twisted by a motor to force ice out. Over time, that plastic mold can be rendered brittle by the constant thermal cycling from cool water being frozen into ice and the mechanical stress of being twisted.
As with any in-door ice maker, it'd be a good idea to dump out the ice bucket if you lose power, shut off the fridge, or expect the unit to be powered off for a while, as ice can melt and leak out of the dispenser.
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ has a combination ice and filtered water dispenser. This dispenser has a Measured Fill function that allows you to set a precise quantity of water you want to dispense, whether that be in ounces, cups, or liters.
The ice dispenser also has an ice-crushing function, which reduces the ice from cubes to relatively large chips.
The temperature uniformity in this unit's fridge compartment is great. Despite the tall fridge cabinet, temperatures remain consistent from the top to the bottom shelf, so you don't need to be particular about placing more sensitive items like sour cream or milk. The door bins do trend a few degrees warmer, with the lowest one being a particular outlier. As a result, you should use that space for items like non-dairy beverages or more stable condiments.
Freezer temperature uniformity is only reasonable. Despite the inverter-controlled compressor, temperature swings are greater than those in considerably cheaper models with fixed-speed compressors. This certainly isn't to the point where frozen food will thaw, but it can result in slightly uneven freezing for room-temperature items placed inside.
In terms of actual consistency, the lower section of the freezer is noticeably warmer than the middle and top shelves, making it a bad spot for items like ice cream or meat, which are particularly susceptible to temperature inconsistencies.
The produce preservation performance is mediocre. Humidity levels both inside the crisper drawer and in the main fridge cabinet are low. As a result, moisture evaporates from delicate greens like celery or lettuce relatively quickly, causing them to wilt within a week.
The Whirlpool WRS588FIHZ's ice production rate within a 24-hour span is very good. It's more than sufficient for supplying ice for drinks at a moderately sized family dinner. For bigger get-togethers, you'll want to fill a bag with ice well in advance.
