Window treatments are an important part of your home’s presentation. Cloth vertical blinds attract dust, bacteria, and mold. Cleaning them properly is essential to maintaining them. Rushing through cleaning chores can drive dust stains deeper into blinds that are tough to remove. You can perform regular dry brushing and periodic deep cleaning to avoid this pitfall.

Cleaning Vertical Blinds: The Low-Maintenance Method

If your blinds were pre-treated for dust protection, you’re likely to have an easier time keeping them clean with light, regular upkeep. Brushing as dirt and dust emerge will ensure your blinds remain in good condition.

The vinyl slats beneath the fabric of your vertical blinds are referred to as vanes. These are attached to the top of the unit by a chain along with the other slats. Cloth blinds are washed, vane by vane to ensure thorough cleaning.

Removing Dust From Cloth Vertical Blinds

Before any deep cleaning can take place, you need be sure dust has been removed from the blinds completely. Using your vacuum’s brush attachment, this is fairly easy to do.

Begin by fully-extending the blinds. Starting at the far end, apply the brush to the top of the first vane, and gently move it downward against the strip. Continue this process for each slat across the column focusing from the top downward for each one.

When you’ve completed one side, rotate the vanes so that you can focus your cleaning efforts on the opposite side. Be sure to start at the top for each vane.

Cleaning Instructions For Hanging Blinds

Purchase a cleaning wand that clamps onto each vane, or use a gluegun to secure a dry sponge on each side of a set of plastic salad tongs.

Place a tarp (or a mass of towels) beneath the cleaning area. Prepare a pail filled with warm (avoid hot temperatures) water and a gentle detergent. If the blinds are dingy, add a bit of oxiclean to the mixture according to package directions to bleach them. Have a second pail of water (for rinsing) available as well.

Proceed to clean each vane from top to bottom by wetting the cleaning wand, closing it around the top of the vane, and moving it downward to the bottom. Rinse the wand, and continue the process with each vane. If you need to, run the wand over each vane more than once for deeper cleaning.

When the vanes have been cleaned, let them air dry. Choosing a day with a lot of sun light can help speed this part of the process along. After cleaning vertical blinds, blot them with towels if they’re especially wet and slow-drying.

Instructions On How To Remove The Vanes For Tub Cleaning

Though there are some who disagree, completely removing the vanes can be an easier and more thorough method for deeper cleaning. If you don’t know how to wash them while they hang, or you find it physically uncomfortable, vertical blinds can be removed.

With the blinds open, lift each vane from its top hook. Bend it outward and down to remove it completely. Unclip its spacer-chain connector, and remove the weight.

You cannot wash your cloth vertical blinds in a washing machine. Some advocate placing them in a pillowcase before adding to a machine, but it is safer to handwash them. Clean each vane individually in a bathtub with warm, soapy water, rinse, dry each vane with an absorbent towel to remove excess moisture, return the weights, and hang the cleaned blinds to air dry. Lightly going over it with a blowdryer can help speed the drying process. The weights in the vanes will help smooth wrinkles as they dry.

Other Useful Tips

Spotcleaning with a dry cloth and gentle cleaning spray can take care of a lot of stains when you catch them early. Be sure to spray directly onto the cloth rather than the blinds themselves. If stains and grime are too far gone with dirt and mold, take the blinds to a professional cleaning service or your local drycleaner. If you’d prefer not to hire a professional, you can purchase an enzyme cleaner suitable for cleaning vertical blinds.

When you dry brush, using an upward stroke could accidentally cause the vanes to become unhinged. Use only downward or horizontal movements.

Purchase a dry sponge from a hardware or home-improvement store for easier removal of residues, and avoid soaking the vanes, using hot water, or placing them in the dryer. Those actions can ruin the fabric overtime.