GE 4.6 Capacity Top Load Washer Review
GE Top Load Washer | Here are just part of the controls for the GE Top Load 4.6 cu ft capacity washer. Model GTW500ASNWS Copyright 2019 Tim Carter
GE Top Load Washer - 4.6 Cubic Feet of Clothes
July 12, 2019 - The washer has been installed for just 48 hours. Testing is commencing. There are more photos below the videos. (This was so popular, it was shared in Tim's July 14, 2019 AsktheBuilder Newsletter.
The good news is it works well on the first few loads of normal clothes. I'll have much more information after I perform long-term testing.
May 21, 2020 UPDATE: Look below for the update. It will really PAY OFF for you to watch the videos just below and view my photographs BEFORE you read my update!
CLICK or TAP HERE for the official specs and features page in the meantime. You'll be BLOWN AWAY by all this washer can do. It's magic in a white steel box.
WATCH THESE TWO VIDEOS to get a small taste of what this machine has:
Here are more photos:
This is the gigantic stainless-steel drum. Notice the infusor impeller at the bottom. You don't need the old-fashioned tall agitator that BEATS your clothes TO DEATH. Copyright 2019 Tim Carter
This is a wide shot of all the controls. You can control every aspect of your washing cycle. This is a DREAM MACHINE. Copyright 2019 Tim Carter
May 21, 2020 Update:
I'm happy to report after using this machine for almost a year, it's far better than I thought it would be. Everyone in the family loves it.
Is it Getting Clothes Clean Without the Giant Agitator?
Yes! Giant agitators destroy clothes over time, especially delicates. This newer technology is really getting my clothes clean. I've been doing my own laundry since age 8, so I know a thing or two about laundry.
Is the Machine Easy to Use?
Yes! All you do is just start with the controls on the left and make a selection with each one what you want. The machine has inner intelligence and will make sure you don't make the WRONG selection and ruin your clothes.
Is the Machine Noisy?
No. This machine doesn't make the racket that a traditional machine makes.
Is the Tub Big?
It's HUGE! Wait until you see what you can fit in it.
What Other Appliances Have You Tested?
Read about my Sharp Steam Countertop Oven. It's amazing!
My wife will never buy another washer without an agitator. She says the clothes do not come out as clean as her old ones with agitators. I wish that all the dials were the same size. I think the large dial costs about $40 plus dollars to replace when stripped(and they will) and the smaller ones run about $20.
Dear Tim,
I've been reading your stuff for years, and I hope and Kathy remains happy with this machine for years.
Mine actually went to THE CURB for the trash man just this very morning! The same machine(with the agitator like the the first video)! One year, four months. Control panel quit. Wouldn't drain. And, since the parts all come from CHINA, the part wouldn't have come in until SEPTEMBER FIFTH. I was able to get a complete refund from Asurian, the outfit that holds protection plans from Home Depot, and I am waiting on my new LG front loader to be delivered in two days. Korea. Still not USA.
I suggest that you get away from that creaky machine that you just bought and look for any other brand! I'm an old lady who gardens and I have a dog and two cats, and that GE never cleaned my dirty stuff well. It's all marketing mumbo jumbo!
Tim, I totally hate my three year old Maytag. So I’ll be anxious to hear your comments after using this GE for a while. I hate that impeller. It gnaws at my loads and tangles them up. I have to add water to every load. By bucket from my nearby sink. About the only thing I do like is the glass lid that allows me to see the load. That’s how I discovered that mid-cycle, some of the load wasn’t even wet! And why have a very deep tub when clothes just won’t get wet! In fact, I had an LG for two days that we returned because I couldn’t reach the bottom to retrieve the clothes! And I’ve already had the repairman replace something underneath that was leaking oil. My husband mimics me frequently when he says, “I hate that washer!” So I hope this new washer works terrifically well for you so I can replace my hated machine with a Tim recommended one!
Tim, if the sales person you bought the wash machine from was honest with you he would have told that most of all the machines sold today have a average life span of 5 years. This is due to electronic control panels which can not be repaired and the high speed spin cycles which cause the machines to self destruct. If you want a good old fashion top loading machine that will twenty years or more, is made in America and has a repairable common sense control panel find a dealer who sells Speed Queen washers. Their main business is laundromat machines but they make a heavy duty line for use in the private home, the salesman I bought our machine from claimed he has customer who has a small horse farm washes horse blankets in their machine. These are your basic machines that wash clothes period we have had ours for 3 years and no problems, we expect our kids will fighting over it when we are gone.
Speed Queen's are good, except BIG problems with the TR models, which were eventually replaced with the TC models. The issue I have is that all their residential models are little...like 3.5cu, or so. The have nothing over 4.0. Can't fit a cal-king blanket/comforter in such a small machine.
I've also had the cheapest speed queen made for,4yrs.plus it's a tank, no issues
I bought an LG top load machine 5 years ago and it is working now as good as the first day I installed it. People tend to overload their washers and have problems with it not fully cleaning their loads. My LG uses about 140 to 270 watts and can run on an inverter and RV battery during a power outage. My old maytag clothes grinder would not work on my 2.2kw generator. Very happy with my LG.
Hopefully you bought extended warranty for both.
We purchased a fancy Samsung washer and I thought all the bells and whistles and flashing lights on that thing would drive me NUTS! Within days I was researching on line for a washer that was basically...on and off. That is all you need. Speed Queen was the answer. Lowe’s would not pick up the Samsung for returns but Speed Queen was happy to drop it off for us.
Three years in now and going strong. All metal parts....no plastic.
Mary
We bought a brand new GE Washer and Dryer and disliked it very much. The open tub without agitator performs terrible. We went back to the agitator and a different brand and love it! Too old school, I guess. To each their own.
I stuck with the old agitator Whirlpool about 5 years old now. Your type needs special soap. Had trouble with the control panel as brand new. They ordered a new board. Still off. The rotating dial did not correspond to the printed type of cycle. Whirlpool picked up this washer and unboxed a brand new one. Made sure it was not a refurbisned one. They will anilize it at the factory. The service man told me that he gets less calls on GE's. I was looking at GE's at the time but thought they may have less experience at making washers. Not completely happy with the Whirlpool. I never have them serviced after warranted. I know 5 yrs is a normal life span and will not waste money on an expensive service call. It's not a strong machine but I adapted my loads to it's limits. Could be worse.
Hi I have since 5 years a washer and dryer from Samsung, Not the type that burst into flames.Both have been performing well and clothes come out clean and whites are not yellowing or a bit grubby. I dry in summertime the clothes and stuff outside
in sunlight for an period of an hour. Helps with economy and keeping whites white.
Tim,
We originally had a WHIRLPOOL CABRIO washer with the short agitator. My wife hated it from day one because the clothes never seemed to come out clean , especially the whites. It used more water and after the rinse cycle the clothes were wet. After five years of pain it died. We purchased a GE washer with the agitator from LOWES during one of their sales for $400.00 and the extended 5 year warranty for $99.00. My wife loves it . There was an immediate improvement in the clothes washing and how dry they came out after the rinse cycle.
Thanks for the review Tim! We bought an almost identical model of washer about a month before you did. So far, we love it! Ours has a water lever dial (instead of the soil level on yours) and a soak dial (instead of stain pretreat on yours). My wife is a big believer in soaking, so she really likes the ability to set the soak time at the beginning of the wash cycle and just walk away. With our old-style washer she had to stop the wash cycle herself and remember to go back and get it restarted after the soak time. This machine cleans our clothes very well. I have to admit I was skeptical about there not being an agitator, but I agree with you that this machine works well without one.
Chad,
She would REALLY LOVE Stain Solver then! She should be using Stain Solver as a pre-soak to make all clothes look brand new. https://stainsolver.com
Tim, I have had two washers without agitators and HATED both of them. I finally bought the GE with an agitator and love it! Easy to use and my clothes are very clean. If you put delicates in a washing bag they don't seem to be getting beat up. Hope you continue to love yours.
About the Speed Queen comments: Whenever Consumer Reports has tested washers, the conclusion about SQ is that it is very reliable, as many of your commentors have said, but it just doesn't do as good a job washing clothes as many of the other machines do.
It might need restating here that Consumer Reports buys machines on the open market just as the rest of us do and does not take advertising. You can disagree with their conclusions, but you can't accuse them of commercial bias.
Don Coombs says:
About the Speed Queen comments: A couple years ago (maybe model year 2017 or 2018) Speed Queen simplified its top-loaders. They kept the agitators but attached the bottom of them rigidly to the tubs. On the wash cycle the tub moved back and forth and so did the agitator. Result: Cloths never circulated. Certainly never got clean. So Consumer Reports was correct.
I searched for and found a hardly-used model from the previous year and I love it. Everything about it is super-solid and clothes get clean.
I understand Speed Queen has gone back to their traditional design, so now the agitators truly agitate and the washers once again deserve consideration.
Another point in Speed Queen's favor: My machine was easy to hack so it keeps on working when you lift the lid. You shouldn't defeat what is a safety feature if children or truly stupid adults are going to be around, but sometimes it's useful to check on what's happening.
I vote for Speed Queen!
It's built in Ripon, Wisconsin. Right there, that's good enough for me. Watch the video:
https://youtu.be/YFfaTWIE4jg
I definitely don't agree with Consumer Reports about its cleaning ability. My clothes are cleaner than they ever were. I wonder if Consumer Reports overloaded the machine. That could be.
I was turned on to Speed Queen two years ago by a local, independent service man. I was reluctant at first because I had never heard of Speed Queen, but I'm glad I listened and bought the machine.
There's an old appliance repairman on AM radio, WJR, Detroit, at 6 to 8 AM, Saturday and Sunday. He's cranky, but good, and he recommends Speed Queen. You can get WJR on Alexa, or you can get podcasts at:
https://www.wjr.com/appliance/
we had Speed Queen washer and dryer for about 30 years and then the washer just got to the point of no return as far as maintenance. Still using the dryer after 50 years. Replaced drum rollers, a high temp limit switch & belt in 50 years. Washer was replaced with a Maytag, that wife hated, after 2 years Maytag replaced with a Staber made in Columbus Ohio. This is a unique machine that is a top loading horizontal axis unit. Now about 20 years and running fine. Very simple and easily maintained.
Hi Tim. bought one of these washers over a year ago to replace a new whirlpool machine that did not clean like it was supposed to. (I'm being nice). could not get my money back for it either. The GE machine is Great! does everything it is supposed to and is running strong. My wife likes the Bulky items setting for doing couch covers and rugs. does a fantastic job on everything. it actually allows you to set the water height in the tub. The @%^$ machine did not allow that and that is why the clothes did not get clean.
I must agree that when my wife first began looking at washers without an agitator, I was skeptical. She was looking at the volume of bedding that could be loaded, eliminating her quarterly trip to the laundromat.
After a full year of use, I can say that most clothes and bedding are just as clean as with an agitator machine. It took a while to discover how to properly fill the tub over and above the default settings, but once we did, the cleaning was as impressive.
What I can say is that the machine does not clean whites such as sheets and underwear as well. I don't know if the bleach dispenser doesn't hold enough bleach, or its a function of the lack of agitator. I'd love to see a long term study by CR on the issue.
Hey! I just got the agitator-less model and wondering if you could share what settings you have found are best to use? Thanks!!
Easy. Just work your way left to right across the dials and select what you're washing. I'd also read the manual.
I actually purchased this machine a few months ago, except I got it with the agitator. It’s louder than my previous machine and goes off balance quite easily thumping like it’s going to destroy itself. I don’t expect it to last very long, but I wanted something cheap without a computer and a gazillion useless choices.
I have a whirlpool (sears kenmore) that I bought in 1998. I do laundry at least 5 days a week, 2-3 loads per day. Yes, I have had to make a couple of repairs through the years (transmission seal [once] and a rubber coupler that seems designed to break when you accidentally overload the washer [multiple times]). But overall this has been a workhorse of a machine, gobbling up sheets, towels, jeans, rugs, draperies, quilts, etc. etc. The only problem I foresee is the one that finally did in my previous whirlpool/kenmore which was 15 years old- the company obsoleted the parts I needed to repair it.
My Ge washer works but I hate that I have to run it with it with AFresh 100% hot water and not clothes or else it stinks like a sewer.
I'm trying to figure out why the washer is adding water when I have the setting on "drain and spin." It's very frustrating!
All the washers I've ever had always squirt some water in the spin cycle to ensure all the soap is out of the clothes.
Where is this laundry machines manufactured, please?
I have been using the deep fill option. Holding the deep fill button until I hear the tone. I get 6 inches of water which is great for a small load. I have model number GTW500ASNIWS