Cleaning house can be a pain, especially when it comes to those hard-to-reach spaces where no duster or wipe can easily fit. Even if you’re looking to replace your windows with a great Windows Raleigh Durham service, it still doesn’t help you get your blinds looking as brand new and sparkling clean as your new investment. So how can you make your old shabby blinds match your new windows without spending the extra cash on a new window treatment? Easy: Find a way to make your blinds look the best they’ve ever looked. Even if you’re stumped about how to clean all those cracks and crevices, don’t sweat it. Cleaning your blinds doesn’t have to be a complicated task, all you need do is arm yourself with some of the best cleaning hacks to give your blinds a new lease on life. If you don’t know what to do about your dirty, dusty blinds, here are a few ways to start creating a cleaner home.
Know Your Material
The first thing to know about keeping your blinds clean is that different materials require different techniques. You wouldn’t soak your wooden blinds in the sink, and you wouldn’t use wood soap on your new linen blinds. While most of this is common sense, there are still a few things you should know about treating specific materials. For instance, when dealing with wood, a multi-tiered approach is best. Start by dusting with a tool that’s able to get into tight spaces and finish it off with a good wood or furniture polish. This will not only help clean your blinds but keep them protected from losing their shine with time. If you have faux wood blinds, using a small vacuum extension can help you pick up some of the dirt before dusting. Fabric blinds can be easily cleaned via vacuum, duster, or even a blow-dryer on a low setting. In some cases, you can risk soaking smaller blinds to remove stains. If you have aluminum or vinyl blinds, you can use something a bit more abrasive to remove dirt and dust, such as a scouring pad and a diluted cleaning solution.
Don’t Stop at Dusting
One big mistake tons of homeowners make is assuming that all you need to do to keep blinds clean is sweep a duster over them once a month. Not only is this totally untrue, it’s also most likely going to do more harm than good to your home. Dusting alone is never enough when you’re dealing with a dirty surface. Your duster might be able to trap some of the dust and dirt particles, but it will also help spread a lot of them and make them airborne. In order to keep home surfaces and blinds actually clean, you’ll need to wait until the dust settles and then vacuum it up. Otherwise, you’re doing nothing but moving dust from one place to another. With blinds, this is especially important to note. Dusting is a good first step, but it can’t be the final part of your cleaning process.
Use Your Vacuum
After you’ve thoroughly dusted and vacuumed your floors, it’s time to vacuum your blinds. If your blinds are made of wood or aluminum, this step might prove a bit too difficult. However, if you’re treating fabric or faux-wood blinds, you can use one of the skinnier attachment tools to get rid of dirt and dust. This can be your first or second step. If you’re planning to spot treat fabric blinds, definitely vacuum first. You want your canvas to be as clean as possible before you use any fabric treatment or cleaners on your blinds. Be sure to keep your vacuum on low, since this is a fairly delicate operation. If all else fails, try using your blow-dryer on a low setting to help remove finer particles.
Remove and Soak
If you have vinyl and aluminum blinds, you might have noticed that a bit of grease gets caught in between the slats along with dust and dirt. While this isn’t pleasant to clean, it shouldn’t be any cause for worry. In addition to soaking mini fabric blinds in the event of a stain, you can also soak your smaller vinyl and aluminum blinds to get rid of the grease in one sitting. Don’t be afraid to use an abrasive cleaner or sponge. Since vinyl is scratch-proof, you should be able to put in a fair amount of elbow grease while stripping your blinds of layers of dirt. Of course, for best results, don’t wait until your blinds are covered in dirt and grease to clean them. Instead, keep an eye on them and try spot-cleaning them at least every week.
