Cleaning curtains

Quasar

I don't have a washing machine, but I have washed my curtains in the bath, in the following way:

Fill the bath with warm soapy water.
Fold the curtains LENGTHWISE.
If they are too long, fold them over as required, but AT THE TOP.
Place them in the wash without folding them further.
Leave for a while - (one hour for me)
Drain the water and leave for a while so that the curtains drain a bit.
Rinse by filling in with water, as required.
Drain and leave the curtains to shed as much water as possible before you hang them to dry.

It is important that the cross fold, if necessary, is at the top because the weight of the rest of the curtain will "iron" it out.

It obviously depends on the fabric of your curtains and you may not want to risk this. My curtains were about 10 inches longer than I wanted and they shrunk a very little bit the first time I washed them.

The above works well for me, and saves me A FORTUNE!

Mics_chick

Quasar wrote:

I don't have a washing machine

I know this isn't the point of this thread but I can't believe you haven't got a WM Q - what do you do then... handwash or laundrette??

Quasar

Mics_chick wrote:

I know this isn't the point of this thread but I can't believe you haven't got a WM Q - what do you do then... handwash or laundrette??

Believe it or not, but the way my flat is designed I have NO space for a washing machine, big or small - not in the kitchen nor in the bathroom, nor anywhere

I handwash almost all of my clothes. I have four complete changes of beddings, so that every two weeks I take two lots to the laundrette, and towels as well, and perhaps the odd pair of jeans etc.

Mics_chick

Quasar wrote:

Believe it or not, but the way my flat is designed I have NO space for a washing machine, big or small - not in the kitchen nor in the bathroom, nor anywhere

I handwash almost all of my clothes. I have four complete changes of beddings, so that every two weeks I take two lots to the laundrette, and towels as well, and perhaps the odd pair of jeans etc.

Blimey you must have hands like Nora Batty's stockings or spend a fortune on handcream!!!!!

Quasar

Mics_chick wrote:

Blimey you must have hands like Nora Batty's stockings or spend a fortune on handcream!!!!!

LOL no my hands are not like good ol' Nora's stockings! :rotfl: I soak the clothes in delicate wash for 20-30 minutes (water never too hot), then a gentle rub does the job.

The trick is never to let the clothes get too dirty, especially blouse collars etc. so one doesn't need to do hars scrubbing. In Italy we still wash most clothes by hand and only use the WM for bedding etc. My mum even insists in washing my jeans by hand when I visit her, bless her

Oh, to maintain excellent hands: rub them with olive oil then put on latex gloves (the tight, surgical looking ones) and keep on for as long as possible.

mum2kathryn

lil_me wrote:

I've managed to hang bedroom curtains damp and they fell out, ones I have in living room now were crease mongers and didn't drop out, so had to take them back down and do them.

I decided to iron them in the end as the were quite creased, I was glad I did as they came up really nicely. Didn't have as much luck taking up the linings - measured it wrong so had to do it twice! The second time I was sitting on the sofa hand sewing them and stiched them to my jeans :mad: Had to unpick it and start again!!! (can you tell I don't sew much!)

MrsMW

To iron big curtains, I lay them on the bed and iron them there.