Cleaning and maintaining wood, plastic or metal blinds

Cleaning and maintaining wood, plastic or metal blinds Blinds are made of different materials but their worst enemy is dust. For everyday cleaning you can use wool duster, a house painting brush or a vacuum cleaner with the appropriate attachment. First you must close the blinds and clean one side.

When you finish turn the slats the opposite way and clean down the other side. Blinds in the kitchens can become very dirty because of cooking and smoking. The smoke leaves a yellow layer and an unpleasant odor on them, so they must be washed with a soft cloth and some kind of cleaning liquid , designed for blinds.

An effective cleaner for metal or plastic blinds can be made by mixing trisodium phosphate with water. But save your eyes and protect your hands and skin with long-sleeve clothes and gloves. Rub the blinds with this mixture and clean them with plain water. If the blinds are wooden, and aren’t covered only with dust, but are dirty you must use a damp cloth with trisodium phosphate but do not overdo with water.

For heavy, fabric blinds you can use watered gentle liquid dishwashing detergent. Try to make foam, take it with a damp sponge and clean the fabric. After that rub with clean terry cloth. Vinyl or coated metal mini blinds could be washed in the wash-tub. This method is the most effective but you must observe some steps. First extend the blind, and then remove it from the support brackets, put it carefully in the wash-tub full with warm water and one or two cups of powdered dishwasher detergent. The water must cover the blinds. Dip them several times but hold them only by the head rail. You can use a sponge to clean the slats. But again don’t forget to put rubber gloves on your hands. When you finish rinse blinds with clean water. Place them somewhere to dry for several hours or wipe them with a cloth.