How Do I Clean My Blinds?
Want to know the best ways to care for your window treatments in New York? Whether your Manhattan apartment has white fabric blinds, or your Brooklyn loft has wooden blinds, here are the best ways to keep your window treatments looking as good as new from the blind experts at The Blinds Source.
How to clean window blinds?
Perhaps it isn’t a secret that dust makes up most of the grime on window blinds. The good news is that blinds don’t need to come off the window if they receive routine care. Beginning the process with a feather or microfiber duster is the way to go. Open the blinds and dust from top to bottom. This way dust from up high will collect on what is still dirty instead of what’s clean. Sweep up or vacuum the dust that has collected on the floor.
Now you are ready to include a little liquid. Use a dash of white vinegar and water mixed (not too much), and either an old sock or microfiber cloth. Start with the blinds’ concave side closed and facing you, and again wipe from top to bottom. Do the same after turning the blinds so the convex side is facing you.
If you give your blinds routine maintenance, this is all it will take, regardless of what they’re made of. But what if your wooden blinds need a little more TLC?
How do you clean wooden blinds?
You can use almost the same technique on wooden blinds, but a strict ‘damp, not wet’ rule should be observed. Too much moisture warps and discolors wood. Also, don’t use any harsh cleaners or chemicals as they can ruin wooden blinds as well. Once you’ve dusted and dabbed (not wiped) them down, use the brush attachment on your vacuum (if you have it) to finish the job.
After that, applying an oil or wood treatment brings out the shine. A little lemon or olive oil mixed with water or a store-bought wood preserve will have your wood blinds sparkling in any light.
How to clean white window blinds?
Keeping your white blinds pearly-white will depend on what they are made of. Plastic and aluminum blinds can be dusted, removed from the window and soaked with two cups of liquid bleach and cold water in the bathtub for ten minutes. Using rubber gloves and a rag, wipe the front and back of each slat. Remove and dry with an old towel, then reinstall.
Take white fabric blinds off the window and gingerly submerge them in two to three cups of bleach mixed with about 12 to 14 inches (you can eyeball it) of cold water in the bathtub. Let soak for ten minutes. Then drain the bleach water and replace the tub with cold, bleach-free water to rinse the blinds. Repeat this step. The blinds should dry naturally after being reattached to the window.
Sun-spotted white wooden blinds should be dusted and have wood cleaner applied to them while still on the window. Clean one slat at a time with as much cleaner as needed. In the end, they can be taken down and repainted if all else fails.
How often should you clean blinds?
To avoid deep cleaning all that caked-on grime, clean your blinds once a month. Wooden blinds might need to be cleaned on a shorter timeline, say once every three weeks or so.
Why The Blind Source?
For nearly thirty years, The Blind Source has been serving New York City and the immediate area with tasteful, high-quality and fashion-forward blinds, shades, draperies and more. We provide sound advice, insights and tips as well as the best window treatments in the City.