Window blinds should be included in your cleaning schedule each week, along with vacuuming the carpet, dusting the furniture, and scrubbing the kitchen floor.  Take the time to clean and care for your blinds on a regular basis and the job will be relatively quick and easy each time.  Regardless of the style of blind you have in your home, be sure to place a sheet or cloth underneath while you’re cleaning in order to prevent another clean up job in the process.  Here are a few tips on cleaning window blinds that you may find helpful.

Wood Blinds or Shutters

Wood blinds require a special touch when it comes to keeping them as clean and as beautiful as the day they were installed.  Using a vacuum attachment with soft bristles on the end, vacuum the dust from the wood blinds, slat by slat.  Don’t forget to address both sides of the blind as well as the head rail.  Traditional feather dusters simply move the dust around, so use a duster or dust cloth with magnetic properties.  Micro fiber cloths work well for dusting wood as well.  Make sure to shake out the duster or cloth in between each set of blinds.  Never, ever, use water or soap on wood blinds, as this will damage and warp them over time and leave you with a window blind that is non-functional and definitely not attractive.

Faux Wood Blinds

Unlike real wood blinds, faux wood blinds can handle a damp cloth with a small amount of mild detergent for cleaning.  Otherwise, make sure to vacuum your faux wood blinds just as you would your carpet at least once a week.

Aluminum Blinds
Aluminum blinds should be dusted each week or vacuumed once a week to ensure that dust won’t build up and present a much more involved cleaning process.  Use a specially treated dust cloth or micro fiber cloth to clean the slats individually.  If you desire to give your aluminum blinds a thorough cleaning, put a protective covering over your floor and then fill a bucket with warm or cold (never hot) water and a mild detergent.  With a sponge or a clean damp cloth, wipe down each slat.  Make sure to get both sides.  Aluminum blinds can be placed in a tub of warm or cold water and detergent to scrub clean as well.  This style of blind can air dry or be wiped dry after rinsing completely.

Fabric Blinds or Shades
Fabric blinds manufactured today are often anti-static so they don’t get as dirty as the ones made years ago.  However, in order to keep your fabric blinds and shades looking fresh and clean, simply sweep over them each week with a vacuum cleaner brush attachment.  Some fabric blinds can handle an occasional wipe down with a slightly damp cloth.  However, if you have any doubts about cleaning window blinds made from fabric, contact the manufacturer to get further instructions.

Cleaning window blinds simply requires some common sense and continued maintenance.  We clean our homes at least once a week, so why not include your window blinds in that schedule as well?  There is nothing more uninviting than dusty, grimy window blinds that spew dust everywhere when you raise them up or lower them down.  If your blinds haven’t been cleaned in some time, begin with a thorough cleaning and then keep up with dusting regularly.

Like anything else you buy, you want your wood blinds to look nice and fresh all year long. You want them to maintain their natural beauty without having to expend a lot of energy. Lucky for you, cleaning wood blinds is super simple. Follow these simple tips to keep your blinds looking like new, year after year.

Warning about Water and Humidity
This first tip is the most important. Real wood blinds do not handle water and humidity well. Keep real wood away from bathroom, showers, laundry rooms or any other area that can get wet or have high levels of humidity.

Dusting the Blinds
Everything in your house collects dust and your blinds are no different. For a clean look all year round, you will want to dust the blinds on a regular basis. When you dust, you have three basic options: duster, cloth, or vacuum.

Duster- A good old fashion feather duster works great. Just feather dust your blinds as you do the rest of your home.

Cloth - Wiping down your blinds is best done with the slats facing down. Wipe in a downward motion to remove excess dust. It is not recommended to use dusting sprays on the wood. This may cause discoloration.

Vacuum - If you have a small brush attachment for your vacuum or even a static dusting brush, then vacuuming your blinds is easy. Have all the slats facing down and vacuum using downward sweeps.

To prevent dust buildup, try using a dryer sheet. Rubbing an anti-static dryer sheet on the blinds will coat the blinds in a dust repellant keeping your blinds dust free longer.

Cleaning the Blinds
Wood blinds can be cleaned. However, you should never soak them in water. Excess water can ruin your wood blinds. It causes cracking, bending and warping. If your blinds ever get wet, dry them off as quickly as possible.

You can use a damp cloth for spot cleaning. With warm water, dampen your cloth. Then wring out as much water as possible. Then gently wipe off any spots on the wood. Be extra careful not to get the wood too wet. Use the least amount of water possible to prevent damage.

Polishing Wood Blinds
Once a year, you may want to polish the blinds. A no-wax wood furniture polish will do the job nicely. It can bring out the natural shine of the wood without causing damage. However, it is recommended to do this no more than twice a year.

Follow these tips and your wood blinds will stay looking new longer. With the right care, your blinds will last a lifetime.

Wood blinds are great for many different rooms and areas. These kinds of blinds need to be cleaned properly to be able to maintain their appearance and durability. Cleaning wood blinds is not a difficult task. It depends on what kind of blinds design you have and also on what the medium is for your wood blinds. Wooden slats and woven wood are among the more common designs which your binds may have. Cleaning wood blinds will need your fair amount of work especially for those with slats.

Wooden Slats’ Cleaning Procedure

Cleaning wood blinds with slats can be tiresome and may need taking them down from their installation if they are too dirty for ordinary cleaning. For daily cleaning, brushing off the dust with dry cloth can be acceptable but when cleaning wood blinds in this method does not work, you may have to take them down and clean them piece by piece.

The other way of cleaning wood blinds (other than by dusting them off with a dry cloth) is to wipe them with a damp cloth followed by a dry cloth. The procedure of cleaning wood blinds by following up with a dry cloth will prevent water seepage into the wood. Water seepage will result to warping and discoloration of the wood which is something that could mar the beauty of your blinds. Leaving the water or fluid on the wood can result to this so it is best to wipe dry the water residue from the slats when cleaning wood blinds.

Vacuuming is also another convenient way of cleaning wood blinds. Attaching a brush feature on the end of the vacuum makes the procedure of cleaning wood blinds easy. One just needs to sweep the brush feature across closed slats to ensure the efficient way of cleaning wood blinds. This is great for daily cleaning of light dust. Dust that has settled may need wiping as described in the above paragraph. This procedure is also applicable for mini blinds made of wood.

Woven Blinds’ Cleaning Procedure

Some wood blinds are woven and may present a more difficult method of cleaning for some people. In actuality, cleaning woven wood blinds is easier than slatted blinds. Vacuuming is one of the easiest ways of cleaning wood blinds that are woven. This is great for daily use but when the dust has settled in to the crevices of woven wood blinds, cleaning them may require the use of a bristle brush. It is easier to bring down the woven wood blinds and clean them than to clean them while they are installed.