You can't compare today's HE top-loaders to anything that called itself "HE" or had an impeller back in the 90's. Those machines, much like the small portable washers made by Haier like we had to use when we were in Australia last year. They can't even be considered the same type of machine. The "impellers" they use aren't designed in any capacity to roll or move the clothes around each other; instead they simply spin violently one direction, then reverse, twisting the load and spinning them around, which DOES cause damage and tangling of the fabrics. This isn't the greatest footage available but being out and about means going with the first hit when searching Youtube.
Properly designed true high-efficiency top loaders don't cause wear or damage to the clothing when loaded and used properly. There's no way that my machine in particular is harder on fabrics than an agitator machine, because the impeller's "vanes" are broad, rounded, soft plastic. The clothes basically just roll over the humps. An agitator, however, consists of vanes that are wide paddles with narrow spatula-like edges that are yanking back and forth, particularly with a full load. The newer Whirlpool VMW designed agitator washers are a bit gentler because the agitation is slower with a wider arc, rather than the Shredmore choppy action the old DDs had, but it's still rougher on fabrics than the BravosXL has ever been in the two years owning it. In fact, the VMW machine actually did pull an old towel nearly apart because of a small hole that got yanked and twisted by the agitator. The Bravos hasn't even so much as pulled a thread loose on any clothing so far.
As far as lint and sand/sediment removal, I'm not understanding where anyone gets that an HE top-loader is incapable of dealing with such. The basket and impeller in the Cabrio/Bravos are designed with holes in both that allow lint and dirt to fall down beneath the basket, and the sump and bottom of the outer tub are visibly designed to funnel heavier sediment down to the drain ports. After almost two years with this machine I removed the basket to check and see what it would look like, and found nothing. Not even fabric softener build up. No lint balls, no wads of hair, no coins or loose items, and no sand or dirt, even after washing numerous backpacks/gym bags that did have beach sand in them. All of this has been paired with deliberately avoiding running "Clean Washer" cycles, and simply washing all towel/whites loads with hot water, using quality detergent, and using very minimal fabric softener. Clearly they're doing something right.
