Curtains - Dry clean or wash them myself?

Angelraesunshine

Ok can some one point me in the right direction if there is a thread for this or give me some help please.

I have some lined, cream long curtains for my front room they only cost me £80 about 8 years ago and have never been cleaned ( gasp) but after the decorating we have been doing they really need it now and should fit in with my new decor but i an not going to pay out a fortune at a dry cleaners (dont trust them anyway)

So can i wash them on a delicate wash and if so what with? dont mind a few wrinkles as i have a steam generator iron and if they shrink a little i have 4 inch of turn up that i did by hand ( no sewing machine then lol have now though)

tia

Angelrae

Bronnie

You seem to have good value for money from these curtains, so if I were you , I would probably have a go at washing them, although you haven't said what sort of fabric they are.

I would take them outside first and with help, give them a really good shake first, to dislodge dust etc. If you are able to slacken off the threads in the heading tape, this will make drying and ironing easier, but make sure the ends are knotted to stop the threads slipping through the tape!

Depending on fabric, might not be necessary to wash them as delicates, as you want to get them cleanest, first go. However a low temp wash on a programme suitable for the fabric type, would be a good idea, using a washing powder that is particularly effective at low temps. Try to pick a day when you can line dry them and I would avoid overspinning them to help with ironing.

I suggest a low temp wash as sometimes there can be a problem with lined curtains, in that the lining fabric can shrink at a different rate to the actual curtain fabric and can cause puckering at the seams.

Do consider the type of fabric first though, please!
Hope this helps.

chika

What fabric are they? To be honest I wash everything in the machine. Dry clean only and handwash stuff just go in on a delicate wash and I haven't ruined anything... yet If I do then they money I have saved by not going to a dry cleaner will easily replace the item. Wash on a gentle wash with mild detergent and take them straight out of the machine when it has stopped to avoid creases.

One thing to bear in mind is that if the fabric has been treated to be fire retardent washing it might wash the chemicals off which could be dangerous.

Also c

Rikki

Dry clean only curtains are prone to shrinking.
The lining is also not guaranteed to shrink or not shrink at the same rate as the curtains. (This would lead them to not hand nicely.)

Personally I would pay to have them professionally cleaned.

Rikki

chika wrote: »

What fabric are they? To be honest I wash everything in the machine. Dry clean only and handwash stuff just go in on a delicate wash and I haven't ruined anything... yet If I do then they money I have saved by not going to a dry cleaner will easily replace the item. Wash on a gentle wash with mild detergent and take them straight out of the machine when it has stopped to avoid creases.

One thing to bear in mind is that if the fabric has been treated to be fire retardent washing it might wash the chemicals off which could be dangerous.

Also c

Your lucky. My dry clean skirt was put in a low temperature wash by mistake and has shrunk quite considerably.

Angelraesunshine

Dh had put them some where safe while i decided lol found them at last the fabric is 100% cotton and the lining is 50% cotton 50% polywotsit??? not going to unfold them all again

Money_maker

I put delicates like that in a pillowcase and tie top firmly with a sock. My theory is they dont bounce around the machine so much and you may get away with it.

tanith

Don't do it... unless you are fully prepared to replace them... I had full length cream dry clean only100% cotton curtains in my bedroom and stoopidly washed them on a delicates wash, they came out like limp rags, creased to !!!!!!y and shrunk, the creases were permanent and no amount of steam or otherwise ironing would restore them to anything like a usable state. I had to do away with them and buy new.. in fact in the end I put up blinds...
So wash them at your peril...........

Patchwork_Quilt

Have you got a cold water wash on your machine? I washed and dried all our curtains before we moved, including a very expensive pair of cotton ones that we had up in the living room and they came out ok.

Barneysmom

I don't really understand how cotton can shrink, my pants don't

My mom's curtains shrank by about 8 inches when she washed them, on cool, they were £200 and she wasn't very pleased.
I think there's a spot-cleaning spray you can buy but not sure where to get it from?