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  • Features and Options

  • Wash performance

  • What users are saying

  • Should you buy it?

  • Features and Options
  • Wash performance
  • What users are saying
  • Should you buy it?

Pros

  • Tumble care prevents mustiness

  • Internal water heater

  • Can make Normal cycle shorter

Cons

  • None that we could find

After spending several weeks learning the ins and outs of this machine, we've come to the conclusion that GE has been listening to consumers. The GFW450SPMDG is the antidote for families that feel like they're losing the battle against dingy stuffed animals and ever-growing mounds of laundry. This GE comes with a whole host of features to get tough stains out and save time.

Features and Options

The controls let you customize your laundry the way you want.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

The controls let you customize your laundry the way you want.

The three best features you need to know about on the GFW450SPMDG are the internal water heater, the Time Saver setting, and Tumble Care.

The internal water heater allows it to do something most washers can't: sanitize. A sanitize cycle is super important to families with small children, as well as people with certain skin conditions. During testing, our sensors picked up a maximum temperature of 160°F on the Sanitize cycle with steam enabled. Combined with detergent, temperatures that high can kill most harmful bacteria and denature common allergens.

With an internal water heater, this GE can sanitize clothes and add steam to select cycles.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

With an internal water heater, this GE can sanitize clothes and add steam to select cycles.

The second big feature is the Time Saver option. When enabled, we saw the hour-long Normal cycle reduced to 37 minutes. The GFW450SMDG achieves this by using more hot water, tumbling harder, and spinning faster. That makes it more expensive to run, but hey.. sometimes you're just in a hurry. While this isn't the fastest Normal cycle we've ever seen—that honor belongs to an LG washer we loved—it's still a big deal to save 23 minutes per cycle, especially on a busy laundry day.

But we think Tumble Care is the unsung hero of this washer, a small but useful feature. When a wash cycle is complete, it makes the drum tumble for up to eight hours, preventing clothes and sheets from getting musty. Just because you forget your laundry sometimes doesn't mean you should have to do it again.

Wash performance

A picture of the GE GFW450SPMDG drum
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

The drum is where the magic happens.

When it comes to stain removal, the GE GFW450SPMDG ranks in the middle of the pack, especially at this price point. It gets beat out by the similarly priced LG WM3770HWA but does better than the more expensive Maytag MHW8200FC.

The Towels cycle proved itself to be by and far away as the best cycle, removing 75 percent of the stains we placed out for it. However, if you want to shave 10 minutes off the 70 minute wait time, try the hour-long Normal cycle, which removed 71 percent of the stains. If you're in even a bigger rush, the 37-minute Normal with Time Save enabled also delivered similar results.

The Stain Guide can help take the guesswork out of laundry.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

The Stain Guide can help take the guesswork out of laundry.

Saving time is all well and good but what happens when you don't know what cycle to use? Well, this GE has your covered. The Stain Guide lives up to its namesake by providing solutions to common shirt ruiners like blood, grass, and tomato sauces. We've tested this feature on numerous other GE's and found that it provides the correct temperature profile to get rid of the selected stain. For example, to get blood out, you have to use very cold water first, otherwise, the red stuff gets set into the fabric.

What users are saying

A sweep of larger retailers shows that the GE GFW450SPMDG has positive user reviews. On Home Depot, this washer gets a 4.4 out 5. We looked through the comments and found generally people like the control layout, the ease of use, and stylish design. However, verified purchases were not enamored with the volume of the spin cycle.

Should you buy it?

After a week of testing, we think the GE GFW450SPMDG is a family friendly washer.
Credit: GE

After a week of testing, we think the GE GFW450SPMDG is a family friendly washer.

As far as front loaders go, the GE GFW450SPMDG is a solid choice. It's stylish and the stain removal performance is more than adequate. The steam feature allows for true sanitization, perfect for families with young kids. Time Saver and Tumble Care are great for fitting washing around your schedule rather than the other way around. It has some complex customization with five levels for spin, temperature, and soil, meaning you can set your cycles exactly the way you want. We it give a big thumbs up.

Meet the testers

Jonathan Chan

Jonathan Chan

Senior Manager of Lab Operations

@Jonfromthelab1

Jonathan Chan currently serves as the Lab Manager at Reviewed. If you clean with it, it's likely that Jon oversees its testing. Since joining the Reviewed in 2012, Jon has helped launch the company's efforts in reviewing laptops, vacuums, and outdoor gear. He thinks he's a pretty big deal. In the pursuit of data, he's plunged his hands into freezing cold water, consented to be literally dragged through the mud, and watched paint dry. Jon demands you have a nice day.

See all of Jonathan Chan's reviews
Kyle Hamilton

Kyle Hamilton

Product Tester

Kyle Hamilton is a product tester at Reviewed, specializing in home appliances and technology.

See all of Kyle Hamilton's reviews

Checking our work.

Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.

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