I wash all my quilts before they go out the door. Unless they are a wall hanging. I throw them in my front loader and (gasp) I use a very small amount of Tide and some Downey. I figure that whoever I give the quilt to will wash it "normally" too. I toss them in my front loader dryer at a lower setting and when done I spread them across a chair to make they are fully dry before going to their new home. Most of the time I throw in a color catcher as well.