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If you have faux wood blinds, chances are you purchased them because they were more affordable than real wood. They’re just as attractive, with proper maintenance, they can last longer, and they’re much easier to clean.
However, that doesn’t mean they don’t get dirty. Everything in your house will get dirty. You just have to know how to clean faux wood blinds the right way to keep them looking good. Faux wood blinds will stain or discolor over time.
Faux wood blinds are resistant to fading, scratches, and moisture, so they’re the perfect solution for a modern home. We’ll review some important information about faux wood blinds as well as how to keep your blinds clean so you can get the most out of them.
Why You Should Clean Your Faux Wood Blinds – Frequently
While faux wood is a great choice for modern homes with a crisp, clean design, they do get dirty. The good news is that they’re easy to clean. These lightweight blinds will look beautiful in nearly every home.
Clean your blinds every week and check them for signs of staining or discoloration. But maintaining clean blinds and catching signs of wearing early, you can keep them in good condition and tackle them before it becomes a huge problem.
How Blinds Get Dirty
Blinds get dirty for a variety of reasons. No one is immune to dirty blinds. It’s easy to neglect blinds because they sit quietly in the background, but they need care. Over time, dust and dirt will settle on the slats and cause discoloration as well as wear and tear.
It doesn’t matter what room of the house your blinds are in. They’ll accumulate dirt from a variety of sources like:
- Dust particles in the air
- Skin cells
- food particles
- Cooking grease
- drink spills
- Mucous from coughs and sneezes
- Pet dander
Know Your Blinds
One of the most important things you can do is understand your blinds. You should know what they’re made of and how to clean them properly according to the manufacturer’s directions. This is always the first place you should start when cleaning your blinds.
Every manufacturer will have different recommendations based on how the blinds were made, so by following these instructions, you’ll eliminate problems later on. They’ll even tell you how frequently you need to clean them to keep them looking their best.
While dust may have to be cleaned off regularly, a deep clean may only need to be done twice per year.
How to Clean Dust
Dust is relatively easy to tackle. It builds up quickly, but with just a wipe down on both sides of your blinds, you can keep it at bay. Use a feather duster, microfiber cloth, or the brush attachment on your vacuum.
Close your blinds and wipe each side of your blinds down from top to bottom and left to right. This keeps the dust you brush off from accumulating on the blinds you just cleaned below. Once you’re done with the first side, flip the blinds over and the other.
By rubbing the dryer sheet on each slat, you can keep dust from sticking, which will prevent accumulation of dust and make dusting easier the next time.
How to Disinfect Your Blinds
There are reasons why household methods for cleaning things were invented. They work. Like mine, your grandma may have used vinegar for everything. Typically, vinegar is something you always have on hand in your kitchen. It’s natural, it’s gentle, and it’s a lot cheaper than store bought cleaners.
You can even clean your faux wood blinds with vinegar to disinfect them. Simply pour some white vinegar into a bowl and then use a clean cloth, sock, or glove to wipe them down. Dip the tip of the cloth into the vinegar and wipe from left to right and top to bottom in much the same way you dusted.
Carefully go over each slat to remove dust and grime. If dust and grime begins to build up on the cloth, rinse it or get a clean one and keep going. You can also switch back and forth between two cloths, soaking one while you use the other.
This method is safe for most materials, but it’s important not to oversaturate your blinds. After dipping your cloth, squeeze it out as best you can before making contact with the blinds, and be careful not to get any vinegar in your eyes. Wash your hands immediately after cleaning.
Using Mild Detergent
Another great way to clean your faux wood blinds is to use a mild detergent. It’s something else you likely have in the kitchen and it will also clean and disinfect your blinds. This is a great way to clean blinds in the kitchen, because they’re the most likely to accumulate food particles and grease.
Here’s how:
- Wipe the blinds with a cloth first to remove any loose dust.
- Fill a bucket with warm water and a small amount of mild detergent.
- If you choose to remove the blinds from the wall before cleaning, make sure they’re closed before you remove them.
- Wipe one slat at a time, starting at the top left and working your way down.
- As you come across stains, scrub them with the cloth to remove them.
- Once you’re done with the first side, flip them over and do the other.
- Dry both sides of your blinds thoroughly with a dry cloth. Removes all moisture before hanging back up.
- Wipe each slat with a dryer sheet to protect your blinds from more dust and grime.
Cleaning Blinds That Have Yellowed
As your blinds are exposed to the sun, ultraviolet rays can cause them to turn yellow over time. Other pollutants like dust or cigarette smoke can also make faux blinds yellow rapidly. The good news is that you can restore your blinds to their original color by washing them in the bathtub.
Here’s how:
- Wipe each slat with a cloth to remove dust and debris.
- Close the blinds and remove them from the window.
- Fill your bathtub with cold water and 2-3 cups of bleach.
- Submerge the blinds in the bath and let them soak for 10 minutes.
- Wipe each slat with a cloth while they’re submerged.
- Remove the blinds from the bath and let them air dry or dry them with a towel.
- Place the blinds back in the window.
Cleaning Blinds Strings
Many people clean their blinds slats, but they fail to clean the strings. It’s important not to neglect this part of your blinds system. Pull cords and strings can also accumulate dust and grime. If you don’t clean them, this dirt can get inside the mechanism, causing wear and tear as well as poor operation.
Here are some simple tips to keep your blinds strings clean:
- Shoe polish: Believe it or not, you can clean your blinds strings with just a little shoe polish and a dry rag. Dip your rag in some shoe polish and wipe the strings down until the grime comes off.
- Shaving cream: If you don’t have shoe polish, you can squirt a small amount of shaving cream onto a rag and then wipe the cords down until they’re clean.
- Bleach: Create a mixture of equal parts bleach and water and pour it into a bag. Place the pull cord in the bag and secure it with a clothes pin or rubber band. Leave it overnight.
- Lemon juice and hydrogen peroxide: If you prefer not to use bleach, create a mixture with equal parts lemon juice and hydrogen peroxide. Follow the same steps by placing the cord in a bag and leaving it overnight.
FAQs
Cleaning your faux wood blinds doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. If you keep up with proper maintenance, you can keep them looking brand new for a lot longer. These frequently asked questions should help you along the way.
Question: How do I Clean my Blinds without Taking them Down?
Answer: Most of the methods discussed here can be done without taking your blinds down. With the exception of soaking your blinds in the bathtub, you can use any of these methods to clean your blinds while they’re still hanging.
However, in some cases, it’s much easier to do a more thorough job of cleaning your blinds after you take them down. In fact, sometimes removing the individual slats from the cord is the best way to get everything completely clean.
Another reason to take your blinds down before cleaning them would be if you can’t reach the top slats. Without being able to reach the top, you won’t get a thorough clean. You can use the ladder for regular dusting, but it’s best to take them down if you’re going to be doing any deep cleaning.
Question: Can I Pressure Wash my Blinds?
Answer: You may be surprised to find That You can pressure wash your blinds, but it’s not something you should do very often.
While pressure washing can definitely remove caked on dirt and grime, it can also remove paint and damage your blinds if you’re not careful.
If you’re going to pressure wash your blinds, do it at a lower setting and do it very sparingly. I didn’t suggest this method because it’s simply not the best.
Question: Can I Spray Paint Faux Wood Blinds?
Answer: Faux wood blinds lend themselves well to being painted. If you’re going to redecorate and you want your blinds to be a different color, you don’t need to buy new blinds. You only need to get them cleaned up and then spray paint them.
Use light coats of paint across the entire slat. You may also use a brush or a sponge to add a bit of texture if you don’t want it to be smooth. Make sure you don’t cover any holes you may need to use for hardware when hanging them back up.
Final Thoughts
Cleaning your faux wood blinds is important for proper maintenance. You can keep your blinds looking clean and new by dusting regularly, deep cleaning occasionally, and removing any yellowing that may occur.
By dusting regularly, you can monitor your blinds wear and tear to make sure you keep on top of anything that may cause them to discolor more quickly. You can also make sure dirt and grime stays out of the mechanism, so they will work smoothly for longer.