I have runners on all my bedroom furniture and my sofa table in my living room. I wash them right after I make them just like I do my quilts. There should be no reason they would get ruined. I do not pre-wash my fabric but I do use color catchers and have never had a problem with color running. I think it is really important if you use starch like I do. In my low humidity area so it probably doesn't matter about getting bugs from the starch but I want the table runner to be soft and wrinkled.