GE GTW840CSNWS Top-load Washing Machine Review

The GE GTW840CSNWS features a traditional top-loader design. It has its cycle-selection dial placed front and center on its back console, with a touchpad off to the side for toggling options. Opening up the lid reveals its huge stainless steel drum with an impeller at the bottom. Around the edge of its lip is the opening of its detergent reservoir.

We originally tested the GE GTW840CPN, which is the same washer, but in a black finish, which has since been discontinued.

About the GE GTW840CSNWS top-load washing machine

• Dimensions: 48” x 27” x 27” (H x W x D)
• Capacity: 5.2 cubic feet
• Finishes: White
• Cycles: Colors, Delicates, Whites, Jeans, Active Wear, Towels, Bulky, Quick Wash, Sanitize, Drain & Spin
• Cycle options: Auto Soak, Deep Fill, Deep Rinse (select when using fabric softener), Delay Wash, Extra Rinse, My Cycle, Power Pre-Wash, Warm Rinse
• Special features: Smart Dispense Detergent System, stainless steel tub, smart features via SmartHQ
• User manual: GE GTW840CPN top-load washing machine manual

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What we like

The Normal cycle provides above average cleaning

The GE GTW840CSNWS's Normal cycle is where it’s at, and this is the cycle you’ll want to predominately use. It offers a better quality clean than the Bulky cycle, and it’s also better than the average top-loader.

We found the GE GTW840CSNWS's Normal cycle was able to scrub out 73.57% of our test stains, compared to the average top-loader only getting out 69.2%. This jump in quality won’t likely be noticed after a single wash, but over time you would start to notice a build-up of dinginess between clothes washed in this GE washing machine and those washed in an average top-loader.

We love its automatic detergent dispenser and other extras

To start, it has an automatic detergent dispenser that takes all the guesswork out of supplying suds, and it cuts down on some of the overhead necessary for doing laundry. You just need to refill the detergent reservoir every so often, rather than adding a capful each cycle. It’s a small thing to take off your plate, but still quite welcome.

We are also big fans of this GE washer’s built-in faucet, which allows you to quickly and easily pre-treat your laundry before you begin a cycle. Not only is this convenient, it uses less water than pretreating your stains elsewhere, since the water falls into the wash tub where it contributes towards the wash cycle.

Its huge drum makes it ideal for larger families

The typical washing machine will have a drum that’s around 4.0 cubic feet in volume. The GE GTW840CSNWS has a 5.2-cubic-foot drum, which is absolutely massive by comparison.

If you have a larger family, you’ll likely find this deep drum a boon, since it’s going to let you run fewer cycles each week.

Do keep in mind that a drum this deep on a top-loader can cause problems for shorter users trying to reach items at the bottom—so Mom may have to help the kids do this chore—or vice versa.

Smart features that aid accessibility

GE’s SmartHQ platform delivers a typical smart appliance user experience. You can use the app to start cycles remotely, set up integration with smart assistants like Alexa, set up complex commands via IFTTT and get notifications when cycles are complete.

We tend to like smart features for allowing a different means of inputting commands, which makes the appliance more accessible to more people. In the case of the GTW840CSNWS, we especially appreciate the ability to receive notifications when the machine’s cycles are finished, given how much trouble the machine has estimating when a cycle will complete.

What we don’t like

Testing turned up repeated balancing issues

Washers with larger drums and top-loaders in general sometimes have issues where a load becomes unbalanced, stopping the cycle until you redistribute everything.

Know that our testing procedures are standardized across the board. This includes the types of laundry we use in our test loads to how we load the machines themselves. For example, if we lump a comforter up in a ball on one side of the drum, the cycle won’t be balanced, and this can have effects ranging from an inferior clean to outright interrupting the cycle.

With the GE GTW840CSNWS, we kept having issues where the loads weren’t balanced despite our best efforts at distributing our test loads evenly. The machine would stop, beep, and we’d have to manually redistribute the laundry to ensure the cycle could finish properly.

According to our senior manager of lab operations, Jonathan Chan, this is “an issue we've seen on other GE washers and top-loaders in general.”

Most of its cycles offer lower-than-average cleaning performance

In general, top-loaders trail behind front-loaders in terms of overall cleaning power. This gap isn’t huge—typically any given cycle will be about 5% less effective on a top-loader when compared to a front-loader—but it is consistent.

The top of our best washing machine rankings is almost exclusively front-loaders.

Except for its Normal cycle, where it excels, the GE GTW840CSNWS managed to scrub out between 3% and 5% fewer stains than the average top-loader, while being priced higher than the average top-loader.

What does this mean in real terms? Over time your clothes will get gradually dingier compared to clothes washed with another washer, but it’s unlikely to be super noticeable after any given wash. Even though the difference here isn’t huge, you’re still overpaying for a substandard experience.

The Delicates cycle leaves laundry soaked

Traditionally, a washer’s delicates cycle doesn’t tend to spin out as much water as other cycles, in an effort to remain gentle.

Here, however, barely any water got spun out of clothes during this GE washer’s Delicates cycle. On average a top-loader will retain 76.8% of the laundry’s dry weight in water after a delicates cycle. After the GE GTW840CSNWS ran its own, we recorded water retention rates of 175.64%. The most we typically see is 97%, meaning the laundry was almost double its dry weight, i.e. it’s dripping.

While we understand the idea is to keep this cycle as gentle as possible, this laundry was soaked to the point you’d want to hand-wring it before you hang it up to dry further.

What owners are saying about the GE GTW840CSNWS

Owners generally like their GE GTW840CSNWS top-load washer, awarding it an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars across major retailers.

Those who are happy with their purchase cite the detergent dispenser, large drum, and app for easy access to cycle status and notifications.

Most of those who are unhappy with the GE GTW840CSNWS mention balancing issues or clothes getting torn up by the washer. We did see some issues with balancing, but those are more endemic to top-loaders in general than this GE in specific. Regarding clothes getting destroyed, we did see that the Delicates cycle was about 50% more rough than other top-loader delicates cycles, but what we saw would cause wear and tear over time, not rip clothes to pieces over the course of a single cycle.

Warranty

The GE GTW840CSNWS is covered by a limited one-year warranty, and the motor is covered for up to a decade.

The industry standard is just a single year, and the motor is one of the most critical parts that can wear down over time. This extended warranty goes a long way to ensuring your purchase will last.

Should you buy the GE GTW840CSNWS?

Yes, if you’re committed to a top-loader, have a family, and mainly use the normal cycle

The GE GTW840CSNWS is an average top-loader that’s elevated somewhat by some great extra features and its large wash drum. We like its automatic detergent dispenser and built-in wash faucet, and its 5.2-cubic-foot drum will accommodate the laundry needs of a family.

The main criticisms we have of the GE GTW840CSNWS are that, apart from the Normal cycle, its wash cycles are weak, and it’s more expensive than its comparable peers.

If you’re looking for an alternative, check out the LG WT7100CW. It’s a great top-load washer for cheap that also manages to scrub out stains like a pro. If you don’t mind spending a bit more, the Whirlpool WTW8127LC has an even larger drum, a built-in faucet, and significantly higher cleaning power.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.