Maytag MHW6630HC Washer Review

The Maytag MHW6630HC is immediately attention-grabbing with its dark, translucent face. It's a striking design—definitely something that separates it from a sea of white-painted metal. And you can't miss its cycle-selection dial, which reads "Extra Power." In our testing, performance definitely lived up to the claim: it will get your clothes clean—though it may get a little rough in the process. Therefore it's a great machine if you're looking to break in some new jeans or get remove tough stains, but potentially problematic if you rely on the Delicates cycle.

Overall, though, our complaints with the Maytag MHW6630HC are fairly minor. So long as you're comfortable with the level of scrubbing, the Maytag MHW6630HC is a great washer.

About the Maytag MHW6630HC washer

• Dimensions: 38.62 in. x 27 in. x 32.94 in. (H x W x D)
• Capacity: 4.8 cu. ft.
• Finish: White, Metallic Slate
• 10 wash cycles: Normal/Regular, Quick Wash, Heavy Duty, Delicates, Whites, Wrinkle Control, Sanitize, Colors, Towels, and Bulky Items
• Cycle features: Four spin speeds, four soil levels, four temperature settings, extra rinse, and a steam-plus-extra-power button.

What we like

It'll clean your stains

Pretty much across the board, the Maytag MHW6630HC put up solid performance numbers, cleaning an above-average 71.2% on the Normal/Regular cycle, and a stellar 82.84% on the Heavy Duty cycle. It also had respectable stain removal on the Delicates cycle—performance was more in line with our testing average of 65% clean. The Maytag MHW6630HC will handle just about anything you throw at it, especially on the Heavy Duty cycle. "Extra Power" indeed.

Doesn't confuse users with too many options

Let's be honest—you don't really need 100 different cleaning settings to get your clothes clean. Based on our discussions with manufacturers, the overwhelming majority of users just set their appliances to whatever Normal is and let it ride. They'll occasionally use a heavy or quick cycle. That being said, even if you're a neatnik (or just someone with garb that's more temperamental than basic T-shirts and jeans), the Maytag MHW6630HC still has some settings to allow you to customize the spin speed and temperature settings. We found this to be a good compromise between complexity and usability—just enough settings to let you do what you need, but not so many you feel like you're programming the washer in machine language.

What we don't like

It's a little rough on your laundry

It's true: The washer with "Extra Power" printed across its dial in large font isn't particularly gentle on your clothes. To test wear and tear, we use mechanical action strips, swatches of fabric with holes stamped out of them. We throw them in with the laundry, then count to see how many threads get pulled away during the wash cycles. For normal cycles, we can see anywhere from 16 to nearly 80 threads pulled away, with the median being around 50. With the Maytag, we saw 66 pulled threads: solidly more than average. On delicates cycles, we've counted as few as four threads and as many as 70—the Maytag had 58 pulled threads, which was again much higher than the average of about 40.

It's common for highly-effective scrubbers to do poorly on this test. If you have a lot of laundry that requires special care, it might be best to look elsewhere.

The quick cycle is subpar

For those who like using the faster cycles, keep in mind that you're really not going to be getting the best stain-erasing out of this machine. The Quick Wash cycle cleaned about 62% of stains, which is slightly below our testing averages. So if you just need to get some clothes freshened up, it'll do the trick—just don't expect much in the way of stain-fighting with this setting.

What owners think

Owners are positive about the Maytag MHW6630HC, awarding it an average of 4.3 out of 5 stars across major retail sites. Users praise its quiet operation and efficient use of water (from our test results, it's about average in both regards, compared to other modern washers) as well as its overall aesthetic. The majority of users who mention its cleaning performance are pleased with it. In fact, the few negative comments—which tend to focus on cleaning efficacy, noise, or water retention—are from folks who appear to have received a lemon.

Warranty

Maytag's warranty covers one year of parts and labor, as well as a 10-year guarantee for the wash motor and stainless steel drum. We love it when companies go above and beyond a single year, so we're happy Maytag offers up to a decade for several core components.

Should you buy it?

Yes. This is our new top-rated Maytag washer and it really doesn't have much to complain about. Sure, it's not the most gentle on clothes, but as long as you know that up front and it doesn't bother you, we don't foresee many issues with this machine. It has great cleaning performance, is made in the U.S., is fairly efficient with its water and electricity usage, and has a unique look.

If you're looking for a washer that's a bit gentler on clothes and about the same price, we'd recommend checking out the Samsung WF45R6300AV, which is currently one of our our top-rated front-load washers.