From what I've been told and seen, quilts were rarely washed. Their primary purpose was warmth. They put them between the sheet and the counterpane, coverlet or bedspread, so they didn't get dirty, quickly.
My elderly friend told me her grandmother hated to wash quilts, as they weren't as pretty afterwards. Apparently, her grandmother was an excellent quilter. She said if someone came to visit and offered to help quilt, she would refuse the offer if she could. If they were insistent, she would remove that quilting after the person left.
bkay