i toss my quilts into my washing machine then into the dryer all the time---if the quilt is too big for my washer (thick king) i take it to the laundry mat & use a big washer- but my queens wash up just fine.
you should never hang a wet quilt- the weight of the quilt can cause the threads/quilting to break- if you do not want to dry your quilt in the dryer it is recommended to lay them flat- in the summer time i take a king sized sheet outside & lay it out, then place my wet quilt on top of the sheet, then place a second sheet over the top (to protect it from birds/critters)...they dry quite nicely this way- you may need to turn it over at some point. I've also spread them out across my large hammock & again covered with a sheet to protect from birds....but most of the time i simply toss them into the dryer...i make them to last & hold up to use so expect them to be wash/dryable. even my wool quilts are washed & dried.

I stuff them in one way or the other! About halfway through I'll go rearrange if I remember. I then haul them out and stuff them in the dryer. So far, no problems. I do think I may need help when I get older to get wet quilts out of the washer. I have to stand on my head and they are HEAVY!

I wash my king sized quilt in my front loader and dry it in the dryer -- not a problem.

Thanks; most of what you've all expressed is what I *assumed* would be the case:

• unbalanced load
• feeling like it needs to be hand-agitated in addition to the machine's capabilities (too big, perhaps and just not really getting the sense that it's moving enough in there)
• weight of the (wet) quilt.

I know that even my regular laundry I sometimes have issues getting the items out (like large towels) because that stoopid agitator takes up SO much space in there, and I'm always whacking my knuckles on it (I have issues). So knowing that I have to wrestle NORMAL laundry out of it, I'll be more careful with the quilt so I don't tear it in the process of removing it from the washer.