The first answer crossing your mind is WRONG when the question of “how to clean wood blinds the easy way” comes up! Don’t look surprised. Most people with no prior experience cleaning wood blinds get it wrong too.
It’s not your fault. It’s so common for us to associate cleanliness with this item it simply pops up as the immediate solution. In fact, it’s the greatest enemy if you ever wanted your wooden vertical blinds looking good as new.
What are we talking about here?
Water!
Getting your real wood blinds wet is a very bad idea. It matters not if the blinds have been stained and sealed, or painted, as the water may still permeate into the wood. Too much water will discolor and warp the natural wood blinds.
Does it mean that you can’t use water to clean wooden blinds at all? No. There are ways and occasions to use water. We’ll come to them in a while.
In the mean time, how to clean wooden blinds properly, you asked? Just follow the tips below on quick and simple ways to cleaning wood blinds for a start.
Clearing Dust
Dust easily collects on the slats and the areas in between. Therefore, the most basic of maintenance is to dust the wooden blinds weekly. Ideally, you should insert the duster between two slats, and lift each wooden blind where necessary to remove all dust. Don’t forget the cords and all the corners and turns either.
Choose either the left or right end of the window blinds you want to begin dusting, then work your way through each slat till the other end. For vertical blinds, it’s best to dust downwards from the top to the bottom. If you lay some old newspapers on the floor below the blinds before hand, you could easily wrap the papers up to throw away the dirt after dusting.
In case you’re short of time, closing the blinds and running a duster over them is the easiest way of blind cleaning that still does wonders. Remember to rotate the blinds in the opposite direction to reach the other side of the slats too.
A feather duster is all you need to get the job done. If you find them scattering dust, plenty other choices are available. You can try a cloth duster, dusting mitt, magnetic or static duster which often pick up dust more effectively.
Another option to get rid dust on blinds is the vacuum cleaner. A mini or handheld vacuum is very handy for such a task. It often does a better job than the duster since you can use different vacuum extensions to reach those difficult corners.
You probably have all these tools lying at home somewhere already. If not, you can easily buy them at Amazon online.
Removing Stains and Grime
Despite your efforts to clean the wood blinds regularly, grime and stains are unavoidable eventually. Spot cleaning is the best solution in this case.
Damp a piece of soft cloth or sponge with lukewarm water for the spot clean. Add properly diluted mild detergent if needed, something like 1 teaspoon of dish washing liquid to 1/2 gallon of water. You can also try using any of the wood cleansing products in the market like Murphy’s. Using scrubbing tools or harsh chemicals can permanently damage the beautiful natural wood blinds.
Blot gently around the stained area without rubbing too hard. Repeatedly dabbing with the damp cloth until the grime is removed. Don’t fidget though when you see a cleaner area on the slat that looks out of place. It’s just the way spot cleaning works.
Remember that we said water is the greatest enemy of your vertical wooden blinds as it will cause discoloring and warping? So be very careful when using any water mixture. Firstly, don’t ever splash the solution directly on the slat. Apply it on the soft cloth instead. Next, ensure the cloth is wrung dry and not dripping with the solution. Lastly, wipe the treated spot dry immediately and thoroughly afterwards.
More Maintenance and Cleaning Tips
The maintenance of your vertical wood blinds should start the moment you have them first installed. Wax them for an extra coat of protection. Then polish them like every half to one year to keep the slats shinny. Make sure you only polish the blinds after thorough cleaning otherwise you’ll just seal in the dirt with the wax.
If you’re still in doubt how to clean wood blinds the easy way to keep them in tiptop shape, call up the vendor whom supplied you the blinds for assistance. You might also contact the bigger manufacturers direct through their service help lines. They should be the ones most knowledgeable about their own products.
It’s a fact of life that blinds get dirty. At some point in time you’ll need to clean them to keep them looking good as new. Caring the wooden vertical blinds as part of your regular house cleaning schedule makes it a much easier task. Simple dusting plus occasional spot cleaning are really all you need to keep the blinds long lasting. If someone ever ask you how to clean wood blinds the easy way, now you have the answer. You’ll also enjoy the wonderful addition of wooden vertical blinds to your room for a long time to come.
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