ASK THE EXPERTS.

AWhitegoods expert Ashley Iredale: No, gentleness does not equal fluffiness - rather, it's a measure of how much a washing machine beats up and damages your clothes (or how little). Modern washing machines, particularly front loaders, can spin your laundry much faster than washers of yore. We test gentleness by washing 100 x 100mm loose weave fabric swatches (it's actually cross stitch fabric, as specified by the Australian standard). [Extracted from the article]