Summary of Principle Accounting Policies (Narrative) (Details)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) country $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) segment country $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2018 USD ($)
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Number of countries in which entity operates (in countries) | country	14								14
Number of reportable segments | segment									4
Restricted cash	$ 40,000,000				$ 97,000,000				$ 40,000,000	$ 97,000,000
Unfunded commitments	0								0
Depreciation									570,000,000	575,000,000	$ 584,000,000
Gain (loss) on sale of property, plant, and equipment									0	0	0
Impairment of long-lived assets									0	0	0
Goodwill, impairment loss									579,000,000	0	0
Intangibles, impairment loss									168,000,000	0	0
Accounts payable outsourcing	1,400,000,000				1,500,000,000				1,400,000,000	1,500,000,000
Research and development expense									572,000,000	596,000,000	604,000,000
Advertising expense									343,000,000	330,000,000	366,000,000
Decrease in net sales	(5,660,000,000)	$ (5,326,000,000)	$ (5,140,000,000)	$ (4,911,000,000)	(5,702,000,000)	$ (5,418,000,000)	$ (5,347,000,000)	$ (4,786,000,000)	(21,037,000,000)	(21,253,000,000)	(20,718,000,000)
Decrease in net earnings	$ (170,000,000)	$ (210,000,000)	$ 657,000,000	$ (94,000,000)	$ 268,000,000	$ (276,000,000)	$ (189,000,000)	$ (153,000,000)	$ 183,000,000	$ (350,000,000)	$ (888,000,000)
Decrease in diluted earnings per share (USD per share) | $ / shares	$ (2.64)	$ (3.22)	$ 9.50	$ (1.30)	$ 3.74	$ (3.72)	$ (2.52)	$ (2.01)	$ 2.72	$ (4.70)	$ (11.50)
Other liabilities decrease	$ (463,000,000)				$ (632,000,000)				$ (463,000,000)	$ (632,000,000)
Machinery and equipment
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Retirement of machinery									100,000,000	63,000,000
Other Current Assets
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash	40,000,000				48,000,000				40,000,000	48,000,000
Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Level 3 assets and liabilities	0				0				0	0
Asia
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Goodwill, impairment loss									0
Decrease in net sales									(1,587,000,000)	(1,539,000,000)	$ (1,490,000,000)
Latin America
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Sale leaseback, net proceeds	133,000,000								$ 133,000,000
Annual rent payment	$ 11,000,000
Lease term	10 years								10 years
Options to extend lease	2
Lease renewal term	5 years								5 years
Sale leaseback, deferred gain	$ 69,000,000								$ 69,000,000
Goodwill, impairment loss									0
Decrease in net sales									$ (3,618,000,000)	(3,946,000,000)	$ (3,731,000,000)
Out of Period Adjustment | Asia
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Decrease in net sales										35,000,000
Increase in other operating expenses										8,000,000
Decrease in net earnings										$ 16,000,000
Decrease in diluted earnings per share (USD per share) | $ / shares										$ 0.22
Whirlpool India | Elica PB India
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Equity method investment, percentage	49.00%								49.00%
Equity method investment, amount									$ 22,000,000
Whirlpool India | Elica S.p.A.
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Equity method investment, percentage	12.54%								12.54%
Retained Earnings | Accounting Standards Update 2016-16
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Cumulative effect of new accounting principle in period of adoption													$ 56,000,000
Accounts Receivable
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Outstanding accounts receivable transferred under arrangements where the Company continues to service the transferred asset	$ 161,000,000				$ 137,000,000				$ 161,000,000	$ 137,000,000
Scenario, Forecast | Accounting Standards Update 2016-02
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Other liabilities decrease												$ 78,000,000
Scenario, Forecast | Minimum
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
ROU assets recognized												800,000,000
ROU liabilities recognized												800,000,000
Scenario, Forecast | Maximum
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
ROU assets recognized												900,000,000
ROU liabilities recognized												$ 900,000,000