SusieQOH, That's why I hope others would talk about what they do when laundering their quilts. Many of us, myself included, are just starting out, and haven't gotten to that point. We're just trying to figure out how these fancy sewing machines work, and how to put things together.
Eventually, probably within a few months, I will have to wash the quilt on my sofa, and the table runner I made recently. I live in the high desert of southern California where you can dust in the morning, and by the afternoon it looks like you never dusted at all. I live in a 1970's house which is basically just a larger cabin (750 sq ft). So the construction techniques aren't like they are nowadays. Nothing I do slows down that dust, so everything left outside of boxes or plastic bags gets coated, and has to be washed to get rid of the dust embedded in it.