Quarterly Results of Operations (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 5,702	$ 5,418	$ 5,347	$ 4,786	$ 5,656	$ 5,248	$ 5,198	$ 4,616	$ 21,253	$ 20,718	$ 20,891
Cost of products sold	4,717	4,503	4,471	3,960	4,696	4,308	4,229	3,793	17,651	17,026	17,231
Gross Margin	985	915	876	826	960	940	969	823	3,602	3,692	3,660
Operating profit	267	331	274	264	341	374	368	285	1,136	1,368	1,242
Interest and sundry (income) expense	18	21	23	25	(10)	30	41	32	87	93	46
Net earnings	(272)	272	179	158	186	244	342	156	337	928	822
Net earnings available to Whirlpool	$ (268)	$ 276	$ 189	$ 153	$ 180	$ 238	$ 320	$ 150	$ 350	$ 888	$ 783
Per share of common stock:
Basic net earnings (USD per share)	$ (3.74)	$ 3.78	$ 2.55	$ 2.05	$ 2.40	$ 3.14	$ 4.20	$ 1.94	$ 4.78	$ 11.67	$ 9.95
Diluted net earnings (USD per share)	(3.69)	3.72	2.52	2.01	2.36	3.10	4.15	1.92	4.70	11.50	9.83
Dividends (USD per share)	1.1	1.1	1.1	1	1	1	1	0.9	$ 4.3	$ 3.9	$ 3.45
Market price range of common stock
Stock price, high (USD per share)	190.73	200.61	202.99	192.00	185.24	194.10	193.59	180.59
Stock price, low (USD per share)	158.80	167.03	164.81	168.14	145.91	159.55	152.19	123.60
Stock price, closing price (USD per share)	$ 168.64	$ 184.44	$ 191.62	$ 171.33	$ 181.77	$ 162.16	$ 166.64	$ 180.34