Overall score includes:

Washing (70%): includes dirt removal (50%), rinsing (20%), gentleness (10%), water efficiency (10%), spin efficiency (10%).

Drying (30%): includes drying time (40%), energy efficiency (40%), ease of use (20%)

We tested washing and drying performance using a 3.5kg load. Our research has found this is about the average amount people wash at one time regardless of their machine’s capacity.

We washed specially stained swatches attached to a load of sheets, towels and pillow cases using a normal cold wash cycle. After washing, we measured how much dirt was removed from each swatch. We did this with a spectrophotometer (which measures how much light reflects off the swatches). It’s more accurate than the human eye.

We then ran a drying cycle (also with a 3.5kg load) and measured how much energy was used to dry the load as well as how long it took.