Oh, I know I have always been told that these raggy quilts are very hard on our washer and driers. Sometimes I take mine in to the laundramat for that very reason. We live in the country and everything goes to our septic system and I am afraid the threads might be bad for that, as well. And I have never thought about there being a difference between the top loading and the front loading washers. Hmmmmm...you may be on to something there. No matter where you wash and dry, you do need to clean out the filters very frequently during the cycles. And, I do think drying in a drying will help to get that fluffy look. Let us know how it turns out after you do your trimming!