GE GTW335ASNWW Top-Loading Washing Machine Review

The GE GTW335ASNWW is a fairly straightforward washer. It comes with one finish—white—and other than some rounded corners, doesn’t have much in the way of aesthetic flair.

It has three dials on its control panel—one for cycle selection, one for temperature controls, and one for water level—and a few buttons for cycle options.

The interior of this top-loader features a pole agitator in the middle of its stainless steel basket. This heavy duty agitator might feel nostalgic, but it doesn’t necessarily lend itself to cleaner laundry.

Increasing the tub’s water level—which you can do on this machine—is an outdated logic. You might think that being able to manually select any water level for maximum cleaning would deliver… maximum cleaning, but the reality is that in most types of loads, adding extra water only dilutes your detergent and makes your laundry less clean. Thankfully for the most part the machine will take the guesswork out of choosing and automatically set the water level with Precisefill.

Still, there are some instances where choosing a specific water level will make sense, such as providing enough clean for your toughest stains—think clothes absolutely caked with mud.

The GE GTW335ASNWW is a relatively inexpensive machine that cleans about as well as we’d expect for its price. It’s a bit harsh on your laundry on most cycles, but the Delicates cycle provides a gentle touch when needed. The machine leaves your laundry a bit wetter after a wash than average (which means more—and more expensive—work for your dryer to do), but we don’t believe this is particularly disqualifying.

Overall, it’s a fine washing machine at an appropriate price. It’s not a particularly complex appliance, where we have to delve into the details to figure out which features add value and which seem to be a marketing ploy. We don't have any real complaints here.

About the GE GTW335ASNWW top-load washer

Dimensions: 44” x 27” x 27” (H x W x D) Capacity: 4.2 cu. ft. Finishes: White Cycles: Colors, Dark Colors, Casuals, Delicates, Cold Wash, Active Wear, Speed Wash, Drain & Spin, Jeans, Deep Clean, Bulky Items, Towels / Sheets, Whites Cycle options:

• Deep Fill—Uses extra water during wash cycles
• Auto Soak—Begins cycle with brief agitation and soaks for a specified time before moving through the rest of the cycle
• 2nd Rinse—Runs two rinse cycles instead of one
• Extra Spin—Provides additional spin cycle time to help laundry come out dryer
• Deep Rinse—Uses extra water during rinse cycle
• Five water level settings
• Six temperature settings

Matching dryer: GE GTD33EASKWW User guide: GE GTW335ASNWW top-load washer manual

What we like

It has decent cleaning for a washer in this price range

Recently we’ve reviewed a lot of premium washers with completely average cleaning performance. It’s our belief that if you’re paying extra money for an appliance, it had better deliver extra benefits, or at least powerful washing performance. In our tests of many premium washers, we found their mediocre cleaning results to be disqualifying. If that same cleaning ability was coming from a washer with an average price point, however, we wouldn't be as harsh.

According to our measurements, the GE GTW335ASNWW performs at either average or slightly below average when it comes to cleaning laundry. The Colors and Speed Wash cycle were able to do an average job at scrubbing out stains, but the Deep Clean and Delicates cycles delivered slightly less clean clothes than we’d expect—about 10% more stains remaining than average.

This isn’t a huge gap in terms of stain-fighting power, and it is about what we’d expect from a washer at this price point. In other words, the GTW335ASNWW gets the job done, but don't expect miracles.

The Delicates cycle is very delicate

Traditionally speaking, top-loaders with pole agitators can be really rough on your clothes. The mechanical action they add can help scrub out stubborn stains, yes, but it puts superfluous stress on the fibers in your clothing, exacerbating wear and tear.

When we first tested the GE GTW335ASNWW’s Colors cycle, it definitely seemed like it fell into this camp. During testing, we measure wash "gentleness" by adding a mechanical action strip to the wash, which lets us count how many threads are pulled free from a piece of fabric during the wash: The Colors cycle pulled about 50% more threads loose than average.

When we tested the Delicates cycle, we were expecting that number to decrease a bit, but not by a lot. Instead, we saw about half as many threads pulled free than average. This is a good thing! Apparently, the GTW335ASNWW can be a very gentle washer when it wants to be.

If you have clothes that require a soft touch, dial this washer to Delicates. Your laundry will come out safe and sound—just don’t use any other cycle.

What we don’t like

It's harsh on clothes, unless you use the Delicates cycle

As mentioned above, the GE GTW335ASNWW tends to be pretty tough on your clothes, except in the Delicates cycle. In fact, our data shows that this washer boasts the largest disparity we’ve seen between its most and least gentle cycles.

The GE GTW335ASNWW’s other cycles were some of the least gentle we’ve ever tested. As mentioned earlier, the Colors cycle was about 50% tougher on clothes than the average washer. Even for a pole agitator-equipped top-loader, this one is pretty rough on clothes—it's currently the least gentle wash we’ve tested.

Sometimes, hard scrubbing is necessary for working out tough stains. In this case, however, the cleaning performance was merely average overall, which either means the machine isn’t cleaning well outside of the mechanical action or the added mechanical action isn’t doing much to get clothes clean. Either way, if you have clothes you want to live a long, healthy life, either stick with the Delicates cycle or maybe look for a different top-loader.

It leaves laundry wet after a cycle

One of the more important energy-saving measures your washer can offer is a good, strong spin cycle. It’s much more efficient to spin water out of clothes than it is to evaporate it in the dryer later.

The GTW335ASNWW disappoints slightly in this regard, with most cycles leaving much more water behind than average. The Deep Clean cycle ended with 7–11% more water retention than other bulky cycles. Speed Wash ended with 16–20% more water left behind compared to other quick cycles. There was an extra 12–27% more water left behind by the Delicates cycle.

While we wouldn’t say the laundry came out soaking wet, these percentages mean you’re left with significantly more water weight. Not only does this make the resulting laundry heavier and more prone to dripping everywhere, but it will lead to more expensive energy bills as your dryer works overtime to heat away the excess moisture.

What owners are saying

Owners typically approve of their GE GTW335ASNWW, rewarding it with an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars across major retailers. Owners praised the machine’s cleaning efficacy, ease of use, quiet operation, and the inclusion of a pole agitator. The most common complaint was the machine’s lack of a gentle touch on most cycles.

Warranty

The GE GTW335ASNWW is covered by a limited one-year warranty for parts and labor. This is the baseline guarantee offered on appliances, with some models including longer warranties, such as the 10 years offered by Maytag and the lifetime warranty offered by Speed Queen on select parts.

Should you buy the GE GTW335ASNWW?

Maybe. We wouldn’t say the GE GTW335ASNWW is a great top-loader, but it is an adequate one. It is sold at a reasonable price for what it offers and probably won’t disappoint if you’re just looking for an inexpensive washer that does the job. It doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles of other models, but if your preferences fall to more old-school styles of washer, you’d probably prefer to save your money instead of wasting it on features you won’t use.

If you’re looking for maximum cleaning performance and a better spin cycle, there are better top-loaders with agitators out there, but most of them cost a lot more.

If you’re looking for a top-loader with a pole agitator that has better cleaning performance at a slight price hike, we’d recommend checking out the Maytag MVWB865GC, which is currently our top-rated washer of this type.

There’s also the GE GTW720BSNWS, which is a great, relatively inexpensive top-loader that cleans just fine without a pole agitator.

If you don’t mind branching out into front-loaders, you can get a much more efficient machine that cleans just as well for about the same price, like the Samsung WF42H5000AW.