How to Clean Curtains and Blinds?

You can clean your windows all you like, but as soon as you pull those curtains or blinds for the late part of the day, your true home cleaning skills will shine. Many people overlook their curtains as just something that covers up the window until it is changed for a more theme-appropriate colour or style for your new home decor. A costly mistake, once the dust starts piling up. And what about if you have an energetic kid that really, really likes chocolate? The grubby hands go to all surfaces and who’s to say your next curtain design won’t be one with plenty of hand-prints at the bottom? Curtains and blinds should be cleaned every few months at least – that is the schedule. And here are the best ways to do it:

1. Consult with the label.
Whenever you are buying a curtain, keep the label. Many people cut it off so that it doesn’t stick out, but it is there for a reason. The label tells you basically everything about how the curtain should be handled. Machine wash, tumble dry, detergents, temperature, ironing – it is all there. So when you are ready to give your curtains a cleaning, read the instructions. They are not there just for show.

2. Vacuum.
If there is going to be a thorough cleaning for the curtains, you first need to get rid of all the dust. And even if you are not going through a whole house cleaning, you still need to maintain them if you are not using the washing machine. Take the vacuum cleaner and use a lighter setting. Go over the curtains or blinds to get rid of the dust and prevent respiratory problems every time you pull them at night.

3. Stain removal.
The easiest way to do this is to take an old toothbrush and apply baking soda and water. Scrub the problematic spot and most of the stains will go away almost immediately. If the fabric of the curtains or drapes is of the gentler type, then apply baby powder instead. The soft substance will not damage the fabric and will do wonders.

4. Washing machine treatment.
Most curtains and drapes can easily be clean just by occasionally shoving them in the washing machine. Every couple of months just take them down and place them in your machine without anything else. Add just a little detergent and set the temperature at 30 or 40°C. After the machine is done, lighter drapes can be immediately hung, and ones that absorb water need just a little drying out before they are perfectly usable again.

5. Cleaning the shades and blinds.
Blinds are incredibly easy to clean as they mostly require dusting. Just take a feather duster, or whatever duster you have in store and brush off the dust off the blinds. If there was any moist, the dust might leave annoying stains. Those require a moist microfiber cloth, or a rag and an all purpose cleaner. Spray the blinds and gently, gently scrub the surface as they are very fragile and you don’t want to warp them. The results will be immediate.

6. Cleaning special types of blinds.
Some blinds are made of wood or fabric. For those you need a sponge and an all purpose cleaner, a wood cleaner, or a dish cleaner. Spray, apply, squirt on the blinds and then gently scrub away the dirt. It is quite simple.

Cleaning up the blinds, drapes and curtains is a simple task – a much simpler than, say, window cleaning, or carpet cleaning. You just need the basics, you need to know how to deal with the material of the object, and then the cleaning comes natural.