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Writer's pictureQueen Blinds

Ultimate Ways to Easily & Efficiently Clean Your Window Blinds



We love our home.


We love keeping it clean and beautiful.

Every inch of it. Right?


But, when it comes to cleaning it, mmm, it feels like a punishment to all homemakers. Worst of all is cleaning the window blinds. Because blind cleaning is time-taking, laborious, and it is one of the most dreaded chores.


As the makers of one of the most loved best blinds brand in the UK, it’s on our daily chart of things to advise our customers on how to clean blinds with lesser effort and clean them really well too. And this time, we wanted to put all our experience in cleaning window blinds at one place and make your life easy with homemaking.


So, why wait? Let’s go!


There’s something to remember, first!

Not all window blinds are made equal. As they come in different shapes and made of different materials, we need to be careful about how we clean them (and what we clean them with.)

The first step in managing this issue cleverly and saving blinds from damage due to wrong cleaning is to consider all these factors beforehand.


We’ll also consider other critical things, such as why it is not advised to machine wash blinds as you would do for curtains.


So, let’s learn how to clean some of the most used window blinds.


Major Types of Window Blinds

  • Vertical blinds

  • Roman blinds

  • Roller blinds

  • Venetian blinds

  • Wooden blinds

  • Faux Wood blinds

Types of Material Used in Making Window Blinds

  • Aluminum

  • Fabric

  • Leather

  • Wood

  • Bamboo

  • Vinyl

  • Faux Wood

The General Type of Blinds and Material Used -- both need to be considered while cleaning the blinds.


How To Clean Vertical Blinds Most Efficiently


Vertical Blinds are, as the name suggests, are made up of vertical lengths of fabric (natural or synthetic), wood, plastic, or metal.


Of course, blinds are made up of synthetic polyester fabric. However, some blinds manufacturers avoid the fabric completely and use wood, aluminum or vinyl as well.


Firstly, how NOT TO clean vertical blinds:

  • Don’t machine wash

  • Don’t dry clean (unless they’re made of natural fabric)

  • Do not immerse in water

Note: If you had to put them in water due to heavy grease, insect debris or stains, dry them properly before you put them back to the window.


Types of Cleaning for Vertical Blinds made of Synthetic Polyester Fabric


1. Use a smooth, dry cloth - for a light cleaning

  • Tilt the slats to expose its both sides

  • Surround the slat with the dry cloth and hold it lightly on both surfaces

  • Apply light pressure on both surfaces (so that you don’t pull the slat from the window) and drag the cloth top down

  • Do the same with the strings

2. Vacuum Cleaning (cleans only dust) [alternatively, you can have this done after rough dusting as well)

  • Tilt the vertical blinds in to allow the maximum light

  • Add a brush to the vacuum

  • Clean top down on both sides of the slats

3. Wet-cleaning with a clean, moist cloth (cleans such as grease, insect debris, in case of kitchens)

  • Once you dust off the blinds using Vacuum Cleaner, take the antibacterial solution in half a gallon of water

  • Soak a dry cloth in the solution, wriggle it enough to lose dripping, and hold the slats with it

  • From top-down the slats, slide the damp cloth

  • Rinse the cloth every time you see it get soiled and clean the other slats

  • Let the slats dry

  • If the pull strings are discoloured

Add a little amount of bleach to a damp cloth

Keep all the slats at one place, so that you can clean the strings

Grip the strings with the damp cloth

Slide the full length of the strings from top to down a couple of times

Let the strings dry

Caution: DO NOT spill the antibacterial soap/solution directly on the slats, as it can damage the blinds material. Spill it on the damp cloth first and use the cloth to clean the blinds


Types of Cleaning for Vertical Blinds made of Natural Fabric:

  1. Dry-cleaning (advised only for natural-fabric-made blinds)


How To Clean Roman Blinds Most Efficiently


Roman Blinds are, as Google defines it, “a window blind made of fabric that draws up into pleats.” So, they are made of fabrics that can pleat, such as faux silk, midweight cotton, linen, taffeta, damasks, synthetic fabrics like polyester, and Jacquard fabrics.


Now, let’s see how we can clean dingy roman blinds the right way, without damaging the fabric


Cleaning Methods for Roman Blinds

  • Vacuum Clean

  1. Get a hose-attached vacuum cleaner (attach a brush to the hose),

  2. To clean the dust and dirt on the surface of the blinds, lift the vacuum brush, keep support on the other side of the fabric and gently vacuum it

  • Spot Clean

  1. Now, we use Spot Cleaning to remove the stains that are we couldn’t vacuum clean

  2. Have a clean and dry microfiber cloth, warm water and mild dish soap

  3. Mix a small amount of mild soap in warm water

  4. Dip the microfiber cloth in the solution and blot the stain away from the fabric

  5. Use a dry microfiber cloth to absorb the wetness from the cleaned surface (helps prevent water rings)

  • Machine Wash

  1. Use this only when your roman blinds are too dirty and it’s been a long time they had a cleanup

  2. Make sure the fabric used in your blinds is machine washable

  3. Pick a sunny day

  4. Remove the blinds from the window and take off all the delicate plastic and metal attachments

  5. Use a mild detergent and wash them in the washing machine

  6. Avoid spinning and do not tumble-dry the fabric

  7. Hang the fabric for natural drying

  • Steam Clean

  1. Use when you’re afraid that the blinds might have collected disease-causing bacteria or other organisms

  2. Especially, soft fabrics are recommended to be steam-cleaned


How To Clean Roller Blinds Most Efficiently

Roller Blinds are made of a single piece of fabric which is wrapped around a casing. They are made of standard fabric, dimout fabric, blackout fabrics, waterproof fabrics, and pollergen fabrics.


We can use Roller Blinds for

  1. Controlling the Sunlight

  2. Thermal Insulation

  3. Privacy Control

  4. Retarding fire etc.

Cleaning Methods for Roller Blinds

  1. Vacuuming and Wiping

  2. Washing in Tub

  • Detach the roller blinds

  • Vacuum clean them for surface dust and dirt (use a hose attached vacuum cleaner with a soft brush)

  • Fill the tub with warm water and mild detergent (dishwasher)

  • Soak the roller blinds in the water for 2-3 hours

  • Later, use scrubbing to remove any hard stains

  • Change the tub with clean water and rinse the blinds a couple of times

  • Dry the fabrics naturally

  • Hang them back on


How To Clean Venetian Blinds

Venetian Blinds are “a window blind consisting of horizontal slats which can be pivoted to control the amount of light that passes through it.” They’re usually made of metal or plastic.


Cleaning Methods for Venetian Blinds:

  1. Light cleaning by dusting off

  2. Vacuuming with a hose-attached vacuum cleaner with a brush

  3. A deep cleaning by washing in the tub

How To Clean Wooden Blinds

Wooden Blinds are basically Venetian Blinds, except for the fact that the slats of Venetial Blinds is less than a millimetre in thickness and that of wooden blinds is approx. 2.5mm in thickness -- and made of wood.


Cleaning Methods for Wooden Blinds:

  • Dusting

  1. Manual dusting with a soft and clean microfiber cloth

  2. Vacuum dusting (with a brush attachment)

  • Washing

  1. Fill the tub with warm water and mild detergent (dishwasher)

  2. Dab a microfiber cloth in the solution

  3. Keep the slats in an almost-closed angle and tighten the string

  4. Clean each slat individually

  5. Then use a dry cloth and clean the wet surface of the slats

  6. Repeat the same cleaning process by putting the slats in almost-closed angle on the other side


Bonus Tip: Use olive oil, lemon oil or a wood preservative to make the wood look shiny


How To Clean Faux Wood Blinds Most Efficiently

Faux means “made in imitation”. So, Faux Wood Blinds are made in imitation of Wooden Blinds.


They’re usually made of composite wood material or entirely of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Sometimes, the slats of faux wood blinds are made by coating composite polymers on the surface of wooden slats.


Faux Wood Blinds are some of the easiest blinds to clean.


Cleaning Methods for Faux Wood Blinds:

  1. If faux wood blinds are dusty, we can clean it well enough with a microfiber duster

  2. To prevent future build-up of dust on blinds, use a dusting spray

  3. Use soapy water and duster to clean sticky slats

  4. To disinfect the blinds, dip the duster in a 1:1 solution of vinegar and water, and clean the slats


Conclusion

By now, you may understand that selecting the method to clean your window blinds efficiently and really well depends on the amount of 1) cleaning needed, 2) shape of the slats, 3) material of the slats and 4) when to clean them (don’t tub wash fabric slats when it’s rainy).


And we hope you’ve got the little tricks and tips such as using a brush with your vacuum cleaner, drying the tub-washed slats before hanging back to windows, using the right tools, and using olive oil to shine the wood blinds.


If you still have any queries about how to clean blinds, you can always contact blinds experts at Queen Blinds by dialing 0800 907 8631 or dropping an email to info@queenblinds.co.uk


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