How To Clean Your Window Blinds

With blinds becoming more popular in every room of the home, knowing the best way to clean them is vital to keep your property feeling clean and fresh. Thanks to their construction, some blinds collect more dust and grime than others, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t purchase them just because their care requires a little more thought. It’s easy when you know how, so here’s our no-nonsense guide highlighting how to clean blinds of all varieties.

 

Benefits of Cleaning Your Blinds

Before we start, let’s just cover some of the major reasons you might want to keep your blinds clean and work them into your regular cleaning routine:

– Cleaning blinds properly will improve the overall atmosphere and cleanliness of your home

– Freshen the air by removing contaminants and allergy triggers

– Restore and refresh blinds

– Improve the lifespan of your blinds

So, now we know why cleaning your blinds is important, how do you go about it?

 

What is the Easiest Way to Clean Blinds?

It might be frustrating to hear, but the best way to clean blinds really depends on the type of blinds you’re dealing with. For example, the best way to clean Venetian blinds isn’t necessarily the best way to clean roller blinds. Following overarching advice could lead to you damaging your blinds or using cleaning substances on one style that might be disastrous to another.

It also depends on what type of cleaning you’re doing. Regular cleaning of your blinds will include removing everyday dust that might settle in the environment and impinge on the aesthetic quality of the blinds. However, just as you’d remove curtains to give them a comprehensive cleansing from time to time, removing blinds and performing a deep clean will keep them healthy in the long term.

 

How Often Should I Clean My Blinds?

Again, when you’re thinking about how to clean blinds and how often to clean them, it very much depends on the type of cleaning you’re doing. Keeping blinds dust-free, especially blinds with slats which can easily acquire dust and passing grime. So, dusting them regularly to ensure lingering dust doesn’t become a bigger issue is important. A good pattern would be to dust them once a month or so, more often during periods where dust is circulating more such as summer when the windows are open.

As for how often you should deep clean your blinds, the accepted wisdom is not to leave it more than a year to have take them down and clean them thoroughly. It goes without saying, though, that if feel there’s an urgent need to clean them properly between times due to sticky fingers or a spillage, bump your timetable up a little.

 

What is the Best Way to Clean Blinds Without Taking Them Down?

Roller blinds are some of the most common blinds in the UK, especially in kitchens and bathroom. These rooms are also the ones most likely to accumulate dust and grime given the amount of food preparation in the former and skin particles in the latter.

As long as stains aren’t too stubborn, the best way to clean them is to use a damp cloth with nothing but water on it. Open the blind fully and wipe it in a downwards fashion to ensure dust and dirt falls downwards. If this is part of your regular cleaning routine, you won’t need to take them down very often.

 

What is the Best Way to Wash Window Blinds?

Fresh water and fresh cloths are the best way to clean your window blinds if simple dusting isn’t enough in the first instance. Remember to start at the top and work your way down – this is helpful whatever style of blind you’re trying to clean.

For blinds with slats, you can clean both sides at once by firmly gripping the slat between two edges of the damp cloth and taking it along – or up – the slat for a complete clean. If you take this shortcut, just be careful to check that the dirt is removed from both sides of the slat evenly. It’s also not uncommon for someone to overestimate how much dust and dirt they can remove in one clean sweep. If in doubt, wash the cloth out and try again.

 

What is the Cheapest Way to Clean Your Blinds?

When you’re researching how to clean blinds, you’re likely to come across all sorts of magic formulas, many of which cost lots of money and offer to work miracles on your dirty blinds. That said, if you clean your blinds regularly as discussed above, the deep clean work should be easy and the magic formula should be no more than fresh water and a clean cloth.

It’s not always that easy though, especially if you’re tending to blinds which haven’t been cared for effectively. Choosing extremely mild detergents is important for roller blinds particularly – the fabric of these blinds can often fade when exposed to harsh chemicals. This can turn a simple cleaning exercise in a patching job for faded pieces of fabric. So, start as mild as possible and be gentle.

 

What is the Most Effective Way to Clean Vertical Blinds?

If you’re wondering how to clean vertical blinds and whether they’re an easier option than roller blinds to maintain, you might find they are. Dust and dirt doesn’t cling to vertical blinds as much due to the louvres hanging down and shedding much of what’s attached to them. This means they should be very simple to wipe clean with just the aid of a damp cloth, although the same caveats apply about detergents mentions above.

It’s worth remembering that the mechanism of vertical blinds requires the louvres to move easily along the headrail. Dusting this headrail regularly to keep the mechanism running smoothly will also be useful.

 

How to Clean Wood Blinds

Cleaning wooden blinds can be slightly trickier than others we’ve discussed, simply because wood can be a more delicate surface to maintain without blemishing it. In the first instance, a duster or lint-free cloth should be used to rid the slats of excess dust and dirt. Keeping this as part of your regular dusting routine will help protect the blinds. For more stubborn stains, using a damp cloth is permitted, but be careful not to rub the varnish off and ensure you dry the slats properly with a clean and dry cloth afterwards.