cleaning venetian blinds.......

Seakay

Found this on another forum:

nstreet



Joined: 22 Nov 2003
Posts: 1761
Location: United Kingdom
Thanked: 1 time
Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2004 4:24 pm
We have just had new verticals fitted and we have been told they are machine washable. This is how we were told to do it.

To wash them remove the weights whilst they are hanging at the window, unclip each louvre and hold them at the top so that they are one on top of the other, as they are when they are opened on the track. Roll them gently to form a 'polo' mint shape and place them in a pillow case. Knot the end of the case so that the blinds cannot unfold. put them in the machine on a cool (40) quick wash cycle, using a small amount of detergent.

Hang them on the line to dry, after removing from the pillow case of course. Do not tumble dry and under no circumstances use any bleach products as this will ruin the material.


Read more: http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17378#ixzz1ZzylcrIs

shebangs

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mummyroysof3

i stick mine in washer too, they go soft after a few time though, does anyone know if you can harden them up again.

i get annoyed with mine cos the cats get hair all over them lol

Swampmonster

Thanks everyone.

It never occured to me even to try putting them in the machine.

Are any types of washing powder/ liquid more suitable than others?

mummyroysof3

i just use whatever ive got, on a 30 min coldest wash

Gillybean103

We have two dark grey metal Venetian blinds in the dining room and they are a nightmare to keep clean.

We bought one of those finger type cleaners but it's useless.

Does anyone have any ideas of an easy way to keep them clean?

Emmala

No simple solution, but I've found the best thing is an e-cloth, mainly because these don't fling the dust around!! You could try using old socks over you hand, but either way, you have to clean all the slats!

Hoping someone else comes along with the 'magic' answer.....

GreyQueen

I've read all the tips in books and they all seem to be a time consuming PITA. You can get most of the dust off with a vac dusting brush (the circular head thingy). Close the slats in one direction, vacuum, close in the other direction, vacuum.

Flyspots and general grunge will respond to hot soapy water. I sorted the grot of ages from greasy nicotined metal venetians in someone's kitchen using scalding hot water with soda crystals dissolved in it. It was time-consuming and you have to be careful not to cut yourself on the slats. I did it with the blinds in situ over several sessions (huge windows).

I have a small venetian blind in my kitchen (36 inches wide) and it gets cleaned one a year like so;

1. Cover base and side of bath tub with old towels to protect the enamel.

2. Take down blind, remove rod which adjusts the angle of the slats and lay over side of tub on towel with slats closed.

3. Sponge slats with hot soapy water. Turn blind over and repeat on other side. Rinse with clear water and dry with old towel.

This would only work on smallish blinds. I have also heard of laying big blinds outside on a driveway on a tarpaulin and wetting them with a hose, getting them soapy with a sponge and then rinsing with a hose.

:(The latter pre-supposes you have an outside space and most of the country is on a hose pipe ban, of course.:(

Unless someone has a brilliant wheeze to share, I think you may just have to accept that they're a beggar to clean.........

CH27

Blasting it with a hairdryer on a regular basis gets rid of the dust.

I use facial wipes to clean it once a year.

zippychick

thankfully, we have an older thread on cleaning venetian blinds

hope it helps, and we will merge it later

Zip