How to Clean Fabric Window Blinds- The Easy Way

Spring cleaning is not the only time when you need to clean your window blinds. Day in and day out, your blinds stand guard at the windows, protecting you from glaring sun or intruding eyes. It’s only decent that you maintain and clean them in return.

Does that mean that it’s easy? Absolutely not!

For some reason, cleaning window blinds befuddles a lot of people. Maybe it’s because of the somewhat intricate structure that most blinds come with. The whole task just starts appearing so tedious.

If you own fabric blinds, you may have come quite close to throwing them in the washer. The fear of getting your blinds impossibly frayed in the washer is probably the only thing that kept you from doing that.

Cleaning window blinds takes patience, a lot of it – no arguing there. But once you make up your mind to do it, you can get good results without any drama and frustration when you use the right method. Also, regular vacuuming will take off a lot of strain from the extensive cleanup and keep your blinds from going dark, literally.

Here’s a step-by-step method to clean your fabric window blinds the easy way.

Steps to Clean Fabric Window Blinds

Things you’ll need:

• Vacuum cleaner
• Water
• Liquid dish soap
• Sponge pad
• Lint-free cloth
• Gloves

Step 1. Vacuum the blinds

The first thing that you need to do is clean off any loose dust, otherwise you’ll essentially end up soaking the dirt into the fabric while cleaning.

Use the brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner and vacuum the slats. This should effectively clean the day-to-day deposit of dust and debris. Don’t be disheartened if this doesn’t improve the sight of them yet, as compared to other materials, fabric blinds absorb more dirt.

Step 2. Prepare the cleaning solution

Now, in order to deal with the dirt incorporated into the fabric, make a cleaning solution.

Add 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap to about 4 cups of water and mix well. Your cleaning solution is ready. Any mild liquid soap may be used in place of dish soap.

While it is neither feasible nor advisable to throw your blinds into the washer, you may certainly clean your fabric blinds with soap.

Step 3. Sponge the blinds with the cleaning solution

Don your cleaning gloves. Dip a sponge into the cleaning solution and squeeze out any excess liquid. Give the blinds a gentle scrub with the soaked sponge. Don’t hesitate if the whole affair becomes a little sudsy.

Now this is where the results become visual. Soap will easily dissolve all that needs to be cleaned in the blinds and you’ll see the fabric get cleaner with each stroke of the sponge. Dunk the sponge into the cleaning solution periodically for steady and effective cleaning.

Since fabric blinds are delicate and can get easily frayed, resist harsh scrubbing. Use sideways strokes to clean Venetian blinds and top-to-bottom strokes if you have vertical blinds, like we did.

Step 4. Wipe the blinds with a damp cloth

When you are satisfied with the results of the cleaning, it’s time to wipe the soap off the blinds with a damp cloth and call it a day.

Dip a lint-free cloth in clean water and gently squeeze it to remove any dripping water. Fold the damp cloth around individual slats and move it along the length of the slats to wipe off the soap.

Again, go sideways with Venetian blinds and top-to-bottom for vertical ones. Keep rinsing the cloth in clean water periodically to effectively remove all the soap from the blinds.

Finally, let the blinds air dry.

Additional Tips

• If possible, don’t take the blinds down for cleaning. Experts advise against taking the whole thing apart or soaking and washing each slat individually. Not to mention that it is an immensely tedious task and you would need to put them back together, too.
• If your vacuum isn’t working or you don’t own one, do the dry dusting with a microfiber cloth.
• Always use top-to-bottom strokes for cleaning vertical blinds. Moving from bottom-to-top may unhook the slats.
• Always perform a spot test in a discreet portion of the blinds before using any cleaning solution on them. Continue only if you feel that the fabric will not be damaged.
• After cleaning, you can give your blinds a wipe down with a dry cloth to speed the drying process. Increase air circulation in the house or just open a few windows to further speed up the drying.
• Use cotton swabs dipped in the cleaning solution to clean around connector holes.
  Use your trusted laundry stain remover to clean soiled cords. Spray some stain remover on the cords and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, wipe them off with a damp cloth.