How to Clean Your blinds and Shades
Three popular methods to clean your blind and shades
Dusting
To maintain a like-new appearance,dust lightly and regularly with a feather duster.
Spot Cieaning
Spot clean with a soft cloth or sponge,a mild detergent and warm water.Blot gently and allow to dry completely.Be careful not to crush or wrinkle fabric shades.
Vacuuming
For deeper cleaning,lightly vacuum with the upholstery attachment of any vacuum cleaner.
a. Gather your materials:
- You will need to gather up cleaning supplies to tackle the blinds,including:
- Vacuum cleaner with soft brush attachment
- Microfiber cloths
- Dishwashing Liquid
- Warm water
- Baking Soda
b. Close the blinds
- Begin by fully lowering the blinds.Wood and faux-wood blinds can be completely close;
- The slats of vinyl and aluminum blinds,which often overlap,should be tilted downward but not completely closed.
c. Dust the blinds
- 1. For vertical blinds,hold the bottom of the blind in one hand to stabilize it.Wipe the blinds with a microfiber cloth,starting from the top and working your way down.Wipe in a downward motion or they could com unhooked.You can also use your vacuum cleaner with a soft dusting brush attachment and a low-suction setting to remove dust.
- 2. For horizontal blinds,the process it exactly the same except that you wipe from side to side. Work from the top slat to the bottom slat so dust doesn’t fall on areas you’ve already cleaned.
d. Flip the blinds and repeat
- Flip the blinds so the other side is facing you and repeat the process with your microfiber cloth or vacuum.
e. Use a damp cloth on heavily soiled blinds
- If dusting isn’t enough to clean your blinds,use a microfiber cloth dampened with warm water.
- If you have wooden blinds,be careful not to get them too wet.
f. Vacuum away excess dust
- 1.If you just ran a damp cloth over your blinds,open them and let them air-dry.
- 2.Vacuum any remaining dust that fell onto the windowsill or the floor while you were dusting.
g. Extra Tips and Tricks
- 1.Clean your blinds regularly Clean your blinds once a month and the dust will never get too bad. Blinds that are well taken care of should last for decades(even though most only have a warranty of fiver years).
- 2.No microfiber cloth?No problem Cloths are great,but an old(clean) sock will work just as well.Put the sock over your hand,dip it into water,and you will be able to clean all the window coverings in your house.
- 3.You can clean your shutters and fabric shades too If you have shutters,you can use the exact process outlined above to clean them. If you have fabric shades,such as Roman or honeycomb shades,you can clean those at home too,but the process is a little different.Lower the shades,then use the soft brush attachment and the low suctionsetting on your vacuum cleaner to go over the shades starting from the top.When you’re done with one side,maneuver behind the fabric shade and vacuum the other side.Vacuum the back of the fabric shade as well.
- 4.If there are stains ,spot-treat them with a mixture of clean liquid dish soap and warm water in a bowl (and a teaspoon of baking soda for a heavy stain.)
- 5.Wet a microfiber cloth with the solution and wring it out,leaving the cloth damp but not soaking. Dab at the stain with the damp cloth.Do this multiple times depending on the stubbomness of the stain.
- 6.Repeat with a clean cloth moistened with plain water and let the shade air-dry.
- 7.If spot cleaning is not enough to clear up the stain,you can take the fabric blinds to the dry cleaner for a thorough refresh.