Commitments and Contingencies - Guarantees (Details) - USD ($)	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Customer Lines Of Credit For Brazilian Subsidiary
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]
Guarantor obligations, maximum exposure, undiscounted	$ 255,000,000	$ 258,000,000
Guarantee of Indebtedness of Others
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]
Guarantor obligations, maximum exposure, undiscounted	2,400,000,000.0	2,400,000,000.0
Line of Credit
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]
Guarantor obligations, maximum exposure, undiscounted	39,000,000.000	40,000,000
Guarantor obligations, current carrying value	$ 45,000,000	32,000,000
Guarantor obligations, term	5 years
Guarantor obligations, fair value	$ 0	$ 0

Fair value of obligations measured on a recurring basis.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66048111&loc=d3e19207-110258

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66048111&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The current carrying amount of the liability for the freestanding or embedded guarantor's obligations under the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82913245&loc=d3e12069-110248

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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees before reduction for potential recoveries under recourse or collateralization provisions.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82913245&loc=d3e12069-110248

+ Details

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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Guarantor Obligations, Duration Term

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	whr_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
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- Details

Name:	us-gaap_GuaranteeObligationsByNatureAxis=us-gaap_GuaranteeOfIndebtednessOfOthersMember
Namespace Prefix:
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- Details

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