You may be paying special attention to cleaning your windows and windowsills, but what about your blinds? Don’t forget to clean these necessary additions to your house that give you privacy and block out light for a good night’s sleep. Making sure your blinds are kept dust and dirt free will help keep your house allergen-free, ultimately ensuring you and your family remain healthy and germ-free.
Whether you have horizontal or vertical blinds, we’ve put together the best and easiest way to clean blinds. First determine how dirty your blinds are before deciding if they need to be deep cleaned or cleaned without taking them down. Follow the steps below to clean your blinds using the easiest and best methods, and if you don’t have time to get to all of them, book a SweepStar for the best blind and curtain cleaning services near you.
Best Way To Clean Blinds Without Taking Them Down
If you’ve scanned your blinds and determined that they don’t need to be deep cleaned, use the following 7 steps to clean your blinds without taking them down:
What You’ll Need:
- Vacuum cleaner
- Soft dusting brush attachment
- Microfiber cloths
- A duster
- Warm water
- Dishwashing liquid
- Attach the soft dusting brush attachment to your vacuum cleaner and set the suction setting to its lowest.
- Hold onto the bottom rail of the blind or the bottom of each slat for vertical blinds. Clean from left to right or top to bottom for horizontal and vertical blinds, respectively.
Tip: For horizontal blinds, start at the top and work your way down so that any dust falling downward gets cleaned when you move from slat to slat.
- Once you’ve cleaned one side of all the slats, reverse them so that you can clean the other side. Repeat step 2.
- Use a duster or clean, dry microfiber cloth to dust your blinds. Focus on each slat as you did with the vacuuming process, starting with one side and reversing them to do the other side too. Make sure to clean them from top to bottom so that dust falls to the ground or to the lower slats still needing to be cleaned. Shake out your duster or cloth after every few slats so that you’re not transferring dust back onto the blinds.
- For any non-fabric blinds (harder materials) with stubborn stains, make a mixture of warm water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid.
- Dip a microfiber cloth into the mixture before squeezing it out. Wipe the blinds from top to bottom or left to right, whichever is necessary. Clean on both sides of the blinds.
- Finish off by wiping the blinds down with a dry, microfiber cloth.
How To Deep Clean Your Blinds
If your blinds have not been cleaned in a long time and have more stubborn stains on them, use the following 6 steps to give them a deeper clean:
What You’ll Need:
- Microfiber cloths
- Warm water
- Dishwashing liquid
- Baking Soda
Tips:
- First check the blind manufacturer’s care instructions to see if this method is suitable.
- Do not use this method for cellular shades or blinds made of real wood.
- Fill a bathtub with warm water and add a few squirts of dishwashing liquid and a cup of baking soda to it. Mix thoroughly to ensure it forms a good mixture.
- Take your blinds down and let them soak in the tub. Keep the top rail draped over the side of the tub.
- Let the blinds soak in the mixture for 30 minutes.
- Once the time has passed, use a clean cloth to wipe the blinds down while in the water. Focus on particularly dirty areas.
- Drain the tub and rinse the blinds with clean water.
- Dry the blinds off with a clean microfiber cloth and lay them out to dry before putting them back up.
Make sure to clean your blinds regularly to have them match the clarity of your windows. Use these methods to draw a clean set of blinds every day after waking up and before going to bed. For any other cleaning services that take up more time, book a SweepStar to cover your entire house and have it looking cleaner than it ever has before.
