Batting in older quilts?
 

Is there anyway to tell what type of batting may have been used in quilts that I inherited? They need cleaning and I am worried that some may contain wool.

Do you know how old they are? What area of the country are they from? I have an old one from TX that you can feel the seeds from the cotton in the batting.

wool batts wash up beautifully...why are you afraid they may be wool?
do you know how old they are? if they are new enough for poly batts to be on the market i might be concerned- but before polyester- wool & cotton were the normal choices- and both are washable-
if the quilt is old and fragile launder it very gently---why do they need cleaned? would it be possible to do a spot clean? if it is to freshen the whole thing there are tutorials & recommendations available- search for (caring for your quilt) or cleaning your quilt-
some soak them in a bath tub- pushing them up & down- then squeezing out the water & laying them out on sheets to dry-
it all depends on the age- the condition- were they heirlooms (packed away) or were they utility quilts- used on beds? if they were used- they were probably cleaned in the past-
sometimes vacuuming is recommended...if your search doesn't answer enough questions contact a (specialist) who can look over the quilts and tell you what you need to know- you can usually find them at large quilt shows- or through the American Quilter's Society-

To add a note to ckcowl's excellent post, when older quilts are washed in a bath tub, a sheet is often spread out in the tub before adding the water. When finished with the soaking, drain the water from the tub and use the sheet to gently roll/press the water out of the quilt...like you were making a jelly roll (the food kind, not the fabric kind). Unroll the quilt while it's still in the tub and use the sheet to lift the wet quilt out of the tub so no stress is put on the quilt itself.

My Mother used wool in her quilts, we always just washed them and later on, when electric dryers came on the scene, we put them into the dryer. They didn't shrink.... I think she used old wool blankets for the batting.