The GE HydroWave: One of the worst washers ever

[whirlpool862]

Lately one person has been defending GE’s HydroWaves and their Model-T machines, but they were terrible machines.

I’d much rather even use a Samsung machine than a GE HydroWave, at least when a Samsung gets off balance it’ll redistribute, while a HydroWave will destroy itself before of the lack of balance sensors.

I’d much much rather use a modern VMW Maytag than any GE HydroWave.

I’d also much rather use the newer GE than the HydroWave. The newer GE’s, when off balance, redistribute the load, while HydroWaves will just destroy themselves.

The mode shifter was also a common failure, whether it was the bearings or the coil. Either it would wash the whole drum, or the bearing failed making it really loud.

The DAA ones and the infusor ones both didn’t clean properly, but the Infusor variant of the Hydrowave was even worse.

The reason why bearing failure was so common with these was the upper seals often failed, causing water to leak down into the bearings. The HANNING pumps on the HydroWaves and Model-Ts were rather loud as well as the motor.

Another common failure with these was that the washer would often rub against the bottom, causing it to make a loud scraping noise on agitation modes.

When the more shifters failed, it often caused it to bang or squeak on agitation.

When the mode shifters worked, it sounded like chains rattling when engaging.

Some people even reported stories where their HydroWave got so out of balance that it flung the cabinet of the washer open or made the control panel fall off.

Another common failure of the Hydrowave or motor T was if the overflow tube got clogged, it would flood your either house. On a modern Whirlpool VMW, the washer will drain out the excess water by running the pump.

There were also issues with the inverter motors where the internal bearings of them would fail, causing it to make a horrible noise on spin, or the inverter motor failed.

They also used this system on commercial washers, which was an otter disaster because this system didn’t even perform well on a residential setting, let alone a commercial setting.

Overall, the HydroWave was one of the worst washing machines GE ever made, after just 3-6 years, the mode shifter often failed. They also didn’t have good cleaning performance and they weren’t that quiet on a spin cycle.

 

[Chetlaham]

I cast my vote for Hydro-wave. Not only did Hydrowave lack durability and longevity, but their cleaning was worse than the model T. I'd go to further say a 2025 BOL VMW impellar washer can out clean a Hydrowave which is just shameful for me to admit. 

 

[whirlpool862]

I have one of those VMW Impellers from 2014, and I heard that these older ones actually have decent blooming since mine has the tall impeller. Mine is WTW4900BW0.

The flat impeller versions (like the WTW5000DW) I heard didn’t clean as well. I do think the dual action agitator models do clean better.

But almost every washer is better than the HydroWave, even a 2025 top of the line Whirlpool VMW impeller smart washer I bet has better cleaning performance than a GE HydroWave.

Although top of the line Whirlpool VMW’s really don’t have the best cleaning performance.

Bottom of the line Whirlpool VMWs (like the Amana NTW4516FW) have a dual action agitator. The older versions of the cheaper VMW’s (like the WTW4800XQ) were even better as older models like that used full water and a dual action agitator.

The older VMW’s in general have better cleaning performance than the modern ones. Impeller machines do better with low water, not too high.

A major issue with the newest Whirlpool washers is the cleaning performance, and the higher end the model is, the worse the wash action is.

The “agipeller” machines are just impeller machines with a stick. Don’t be fooled by those.

The newest GE machines and the Whirlpool VMW’s are a lot better than the HydroWaves. Even a Samsung top loader is.

I hate to admit this, but even a flat impeller Whirlpool WTW5000DW probably cleans better than a Hydrowave.

 

[whirlpool862]

And older BOL VMWs had a water level switch, and they weren’t high efficiency. But those were discontinued due to some 2015 regulations. So now all VMWs use auto sensing to save water.

The HydroWaves were so problematic and most broke down at just 5 years. When the HydroWave came out techs would warn you to not buy GE.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

GE!

I can testify to this. I have done a full sized dark load and the load didn't even turn over. I had to spend a dollar to do a full cycle. In other words, I had to run the machine twice just to get the load washed and rinsed properly. And this was in a college dorm. The model T my dad had did a much better job than that stupid hydrowave. What made the hydrowave worse was the fact that it did a shower rinse. That's why I had to run a second cycle to allow the fabric softener to mix through. Bad idea.[this post was last edited: 5/12/2025-14:17]

 

[panasonicvac]

Give this a rest already

That person likely created a new thread defending the Hydrowaves and T series in response to your other thread being against them. It makes no sense creating another thread discussing the same topic all over again. We get you and some users don't like them and that's fine. But you should respect to other users myself included that actually like them especially to those that are still using them today.