How To Clean Metal Vinyl and Wood Blinds

If you're really up on today's home decorating lingo, you don't have "blinds", "mini-blinds", or "shades" - you have "window treatments". However, for those of us who still have plain old blinds, we know that they get dirty and we need some easy tips on how to clean them.

You seldom see the old variety of roll-up or roll-down window shades or blinds anymore. As I recall, they were spring loaded and required a lot of coaxing to be returned to the up position. Pulling them down was also a treat as they were usually covered with dust and the air would look almost alive with lint particles that were dislodged and released from their resting place.

Today's blinds or window treatments, come in a variety of materials, fabrics and colors. However, they still harbor dust and lint, and even acquire stains from atmospheric humidity and dirt.

Dusting Blinds:

Venetian blinds are usually made out of curved metal or vinyl slats strung together with cords at each end and through the center. Sometimes venetian blinds use wood or a faux wood finish but then are considered "wood" blinds. Whatever the composition, all blinds are magnets in attracting dust and lint out of clean air. You might not even notice how dirty they are until you raise or lower them and see the air full of dust particles.

Using a Feather Duster or Swiffer Duster

Here is the most efficient method:

1. Pull the blinds down, as far as they will go.
2. Turn the slats so they are curved away from you, and as flat as possible.
3. Always begin at the top when dusting.
4. Dust from one side to the other, making sure that the surface of each slat is touched.

There are also anti-static spray products that you can use to treat your duster with. This will help the dust and lint attract and attach to your duster.

Use a Cotton Sock

Another "cheap trick" in dusting blinds by hand is really - by hand or foot.

1. Grab a clean cotton sock and put it on your hand; this is a great use for those miss-matched socks.
2. Then run your hand back and forth over and under the slat.
3. When the dust has been removed to your satisfaction, go back over the slats with an anti-static sheet that you use in your clothes dryer. The anti-static properties contained in the sheet will help repel and prevent dust and lint from settling on the slats of the blinds.

Vacuuming Blinds:

Metal, Vinyl and Wood

If you don't have a whole lot of metal or vinyl mini-blinds to do, you can use the tip of your vacuum wand to vacuum up the dust on your blinds. Most vacuums also have a brush attachment that works pretty well on lifting the dust and dirt from the slats and in between mini-blinds and then sucking it into the vacuum.

Fabric Blinds

Vacuuming is the most efficient way you can clean fabric covered blinds at home. In this case, we suggest removing the blinds from the window frames, then spreading the blinds flat on a clean floor.

If you want to try this in a garage, spread clean sheets on the garage floor before placing the blinds on the floor. By removing the blinds to vacuum them, you will also have a sturdy backing that will allow you to use a little more pressure against them making better contact with the vacuum wand.

Tip: If you are cleaning blinds while performing your regular cleaning and vacuuming, vacuum the blinds first, then the carpet.

Regular Cleaning:

Rule of thumb is to clean blinds about once a month. How often you should perform a regular cleaning will depend on how much dust is in your home and factors such as:

• if there are any smokers
• allergy sufferers
• or pets in the home

You can start with a once a month cleaning and adjust more or less frequently by the amount of dust accumulation you see. Using these tips to remove dust and dirt on a regular basis will help keep your blinds clean and you can avoid a heavy build up that will be much harder to remove later.