There is a lady that spoke at our guild meeting about this....I have not tried any of these methods:
You can vacuum with a nylon over the end of your hose. Just suck and poke...like you are jabbing at it NOT swiping across the fabric and going back and forth because of the friction.
For a water wash....make a hammock type sling. Our local quilt shop carries a net mesh fabric just for this. You add handles with duct tape-I think that is what she used. Get a friend to help! She suggested an unsuspecting friend that does not know enough to make up an excuse to say "No". :lol: Lay the quilt in the sling and dip it in and out of the bathtub. There is a special soap that the quilt shops carry if you feel you need soap. Drip... DO NOT wring in out because it twists the fibers. Heavy! Heavy! Heavy! That is why you need the friend.
She also said you can dry it outside on your lawn by laying it on a white sheet and placing another white sheet over it. The one on the bottom protects from the grass. The sheet on the top will protect from sun fade.
If you just need to freshen-outside in the sun with the sheets will work. Makes it smell sweet. Something to do with the plants and the sun and chloriform maybe?...to scientific for me to remember.
Pictures????? I have one that DMIL gave me before she passed. She won it in a raffle. Tickets were 25 cents. Had to be in the late 1930's, because it was just after they were married.