Curtains - Dry clean or wash them myself?

[Deleted User]

Here's what my old Mum used to do when I was little with her curtains.
Bear in mind that most curtains were made from cotton in those days anyway and just after WW2 there were few 'dry cleaners' in the high street
Take one small child (namely me, as I was very skinny in those days)one box of Dreft or Lux soap flakes
One bath half filled with luke warm soapy water (from said soap flakes or dreft powder)
Put cutains into bath followed by small child, and let small child jump up and down and pummel curtains until they and child looked spotless. Remove small child and curtains and rince both thouroughly.
Hang cutains on the line after wringing them out, and reward small child with a fancy cake from the tin.
result one pair of clean curtains and one happy small child full of cake .
She used this method with the blankets in the spring as well
My Mum never owned a washing machine in her life.She had a boiling tub and a mangle for extracting the water from the washing.
Dry cleaning was almost unheard of apart from when my Dad's suits had to go to the cleaners. In the shop window of 'John Hoods'the only dry cleaners in Lewisham in the early 1950s there sat a lady with a special machine that repaired ladders in stockings It cost a shilling (5p) for 8 ladders.I bet her eyesight was ruined doing that job but she seemed to have quite a lot of customers.Stockings were hard to come by and women had to make them last.My Aunt in New Jersey sent my Mum some nylons from the U.S. in a parcel once, and my Mum treasured them and only wore them on high days and holidays as they were so precious to her.It was often very hard to buy stuff after the war and clothes had to last a long time .All woolies were unpicked and re knitted, and Mum often had to unpick adult clothes to remake into a coat or dress for me. clothes were a school uniform which was removed as soon as you got home old dresses were then worn to change into.Best clothes were for church on Sunday only, and not for wearing at any other time. My eldest brother always had to hand his clothes down to my middle brother. A different life in those days

Sarahsaver

lilac_lady wrote: »

I washed cream dryclean only curtains and had to replace them because the lining shrunk. Worth a try though!

Try unpicking the lining first so if it does shrink it doesnt make the curtains pucker up?

Savannah02K

I really want to clean my front door curtain, it's 100% polyester with a cotton lining but it says 'Dry Clean' only. Do you think this is just the usual manufacturers protective policy and that I should be ok to machine wash it? And if I do, any recommendations on what wash I should use?

Sherlock._2

Savannah02K wrote: »

I really want to clean my front door curtain, it's 100% polyester with a cotton lining but it says 'Dry Clean' only. Do you think this is just the usual manufacturers protective policy and that I should be ok to machine wash it? And if I do, any recommendations on what wash I should use?

Curtains are notorious for shrinking in the wash :eek: The outer and lining can shrink at different rates, too.

How valuable are they? Maybe take a chance with a cool handwash (in the bath, possibly).

[Deleted User]

Yes I too would stick it in the bath of warm water and a little washing powder or maybe Lux flakes with a suitable small child if possible to give it a good 'trample ' My mum did this to us kids years ago when folk had blankets to wash and certainly no washing machines to do them in.I loved it and it was great fun being allowed to stamp all the blankets down flat.I am now an old biddy of 68 and my 'stamping days' are over but I have several small grandsons who like to 'help' at times.

hermum

I always bung everything in the machine on a wool wash, including my daughters expensive lined wool suits & despite a lot of nail biting the first time they were all fine. I hasten to add that the RRP was expensive as they wre all Long Tall Sally, but cheap on ebay.

BitterAndTwisted

It's possible that the "dry-clean only" instruction refers to a special finish on the fabric rather than the risk of shrinking the cotton lining. If the curtain isn't a precious family heirloom I'd be tempted to bung it in the washing-machine on a cool or cold programme

Savannah02K

You see, now I'm torn. As an true money saver I suppose I should bath wash it (plus the trampling sounds fun) but as a lazy so and so, plus it was a Dunelm cheapie, it might be easier to just bung it in the machine. Decisions, decisions .......... but thanks for the suggestions folks.

BitterAndTwisted

Machine-wash in cold water on a gentle cycle is what I'd do. With my fingers crossed.

zippychick

Savannah - good luck, I don't envy your decision

There is also an older thread - Curtains - dry clean or wash them myself so you can see what others have done in the past .

I would possibly risk a delicate wash with the full knowledge of potential shrinkage:eek::o

Let us know what you do , and I'll merge your thread with that one later

thanks
Zip