Curtains - Dry clean or wash them myself?

Jacey53

They may be dry clean as the face fabric and lining are liable to shrink by different amounts; or they may have an interlining that is not washable.

Are they dirty? If they have stains try spot cleaning. Otherwise vacuum or shake outside and hang on the line to air.

I was always taught that you should not need to wash curtains.

zippychick

Hi Jm

i've merged this with an older thread discussing the very same thing so you can see what others do.

thanks:)
Zip

aligerdie

Hi all,

Our living & dining room curtains are in desperate need of cleaning due to Ds grubby hands being wiped on them!

They are part of the furnishings included in our rented house, so I'm a bit frightened of ruining them!

I'm unsure of the material, as there's no label and I think someones made them themselves. They're a sort of cotton (I think) with a swirl pattern throughout and linings are attached too.

Any ideas for cleaning? Or will I have to take them to the dry cleaners?

Any help would be very appreciated x

maman

Dry cleaning is an easy but can be very expensive option. Curtains are cleaned by weight so if they are large/long and lined can be very heavy. It could be cheaper to take them to one of those laundrette machines (if they still exist) but I don't know.

For a cheap option, I would try and sponge off the grubby marks with a damp cloth then put them out for a good blow on the line to freshen. Spraying with something like Febreze is good but not very MSE.

I suppose it depends how grubby the marks are. I'm sure others will be along soon with other ideas/ opinions.

aligerdie

Thanks very much for your reply!

Curtains could do with a good clean as I haven't done them since we moved in 3 years ago

A day on the washing line might be an idea to freshen them up, not sure if sponging the grubby marks will get rid of them as there seem to be so many, however I will try anything!!

They're not hugely long (72") nor are they that heavy, just cream doesn't suit a house with kids!

Thank you again x

Bennifred

I would be very wary of washing the curtains - the main fabric and the lining may shrink by different amounts, which would lead to puckering. It might be worth trying one of the "spot" dry-cleaning products, if the areato be cleaned isn't too large. Otherwise it might be best to bite the bullet and get them dry-cleaned:(

aligerdie

Thank you for replying.

I think you may be right, I would be a bit more confident if the curtains & linings weren't attached, knowing my luck it would all go horribly wrong!

Many thanks for your help, looks like I'll have to bite the bullet and save up for dry cleaning!

Penelope_Penguin

As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add it to the thread on alternatives to DC curtains to give you more ideas

devon27_2

I washed my old front room curtains (dry clean old) on a wool cycle and a delicate spin, they came out creased as hell and shrunk and they are huge floor to ceiling windows which has a door and glass panel on one side as well :mad:

Will never wash the new ones i bought, it turns out cheaper to dry clean them rather than wash and buy new!

jodie114

I have a pair of curtains, that desperatly need a clean. The labeel states dry clean only, however both for convieniece and money i wonder if these could be washed on a cool wash? they are 68% polyester,32% cotton according to the label.
I can afford to lose a couple of inches in size if they shrink slightly, but i don't want to ruin them.
Can i chance it?