To design the windows of offices or residential buildings, modern designers actively use blinds. Cloth blinds are increasingly replacing traditional window curtains. All the advantages of this can not be overestimated: ease of use, durability, the ability to adjust the degree of natural light, a high level of protection against blinding light, reducing street noise ...
However, in order for the fabric strips to last for a long time and not lose their appearance, it is important to follow all operating rules. Consider an important issue regarding the gentle care of this type of window decoration: how to clean dirt and dust without damage and how to wash vertical fabric blinds, depending on the material of manufacture.
About the blinds
The first window blinds appeared in the cities of Russia and the nearest neighboring countries not so long ago, only in the early 90s. At first, the first "European curtains", like plastic windows that came to the country at the same time as them, were perceived by most people as a beautiful, but not too cheap western gimmick. At that time, most often, such a novelty could be seen in business offices, and for home decoration of windows, even designers still preferred to use the usual textiles - tulle and curtains.
Today, blinds have managed to replace the usual curtains, tulle and curtains in many homes. The owners of houses and apartments managed not only to appreciate such qualities as functionality, durability and ease of use, but also to understand that blinds can be an excellent decoration and complement the interior of a room. This is not surprising, because modern manufacturers are increasingly relying on a variety of materials and a wide range of colors.
Types of Blinds
All blinds can initially be divided into two types: vertical and horizontal. This division is based on the location of the lamellas - curtains strips, relative to the cornice.
The most popular blinds in the home interior - fabric lamellas fixed on a PVC-cornice - are always vertical.
Color palette, types of materials used for fabric blinds
Many will remember that the very first blinds were most often either white or solid, neutral pastel shade. Later, manufacturers significantly expanded the range of catalogs offering fabric blinds. The colors of the palette that exists today are pleasing with their diversity. In the manufacture of textured and smooth fabrics, plain materials or fabrics with a pattern, gold and hot stamping are used. Home interior designers have the opportunity to not only pick up the blinds of a shade that combines with the general gamut of the room, but also apply a very relevant artistic technique - to make bright, unusual stripes the main color accent of the interior.
One of the most spectacular and beautiful materials for the manufacture of lamellas is jacquard fabric. Natural jacquard with the content of cotton and linen thread is very high quality and has high light-proofing and soundproofing properties.
Another natural material is cotton. Cozy and natural, this material, however, has a significant drawback: when washing, the cotton fabric can “sit down”. In this regard, consultants recommend immediately buying cotton blinds a little longer than necessary.
The most budget option is synthetic fabrics, often polyester. Despite the fact that synthetics “loses” to natural jacquard in its properties, the indisputable advantage of such a material is that it is unpretentious and does not require very careful care.
General recommendations before washing fabric blinds
The first and most important rule: read the instructions. The composition of the fabric and the washing and cleaning procedure should also be on the label of quality blinds.
The fabric parts of the blinds are always coated with a special protective compound that repels dust and other contaminants. For this reason, when washing, the lamellae should never be wrinkled, rubbed, twisted or wrung out - all these actions destroy the impregnation and can make fabric strips unusable. For the same reason, fabric blinds must not be washed too often.
IMPORTANT: for washing any fabric blinds, it is necessary to use only gentle detergents that do not contain bleach or stain remover.
Mandatory actions before washing - wipe or vacuum the dust on the blinds and wash the window.
The optimum water temperature when washing lamellas is 30-35 degrees
If the material contains fiberglass (designation as part of GF or GL), such blinds do not erase!
Care and cleaning: “dry” cleaning and washing without removing the blinds from the cornice.
Dry cleaning with a vacuum cleaner or brush is usually recommended for blinds made of metal, plastic or wood. For fabric lamellas, the use of this method alone is not very effective. Even without dismantling, dry cleaning will have to be combined with a wet “wash”.
It is possible to clean fabric blinds without removing it in the following way: apply foam of a special cleaner for furniture and carpets on prepared and dust-free lamellas with a soft sponge. After drying, remove foam in accordance with detergent instructions.
How to wash the blinds at home?
Of course, dry cleaning of the lamellas is already convenient because it is carried out without the use of various detergents and without dismantling. But the minus of dry cleaning is that it is, for the most part, not very effective against strong or old pollution.
In the case when washing cannot be avoided, the easiest way is to dismantle the lamellas and dry them or contact a cleaning company that professionally provides blind washing services at the customer’s home. If the services of professionals are not credible or difficult for financial reasons, you can wash the soiled blinds yourself.
How to wash fabric blinds without resorting to dry cleaning? It is important to immediately warn: by washing, of course, you can effectively clean the blinds (fabric). But if you violate the mandatory washing rules for fabric lamellas, they can be damaged, significantly reducing their service life, or even hopelessly spoil.
Before washing, fabric strips are carefully, without bending or twisting, removed from the cornice and freed from weights and chains. After that, the lamellas need to be twisted into a loose roll, each separately, and placed in protective fabric laundry bags (regular gauze is also suitable).
Why is each part better put separately? Consulting specialists of companies that manufacture or sell these products do not recommend folding all the lamellas that make up fabric blinds together during machine washing. (Photo below).
Lamellas folded in this way, even when using a protective bag, can twist and tear in the washing machine.
Only cotton and synthetic lamellas can be washed in the washing machine. The method is this: bags with fabric stripes are placed in the washing machine and are washed in the delicate washing mode at 30-35 degrees of temperature. Without spinning and automatic drying!
Jacquard lamellas are washed only by hand, preferably not more than 1 time per year! This is done like this: strips of fabric are soaked in an aqueous solution of a delicate laundry detergent for half an hour. After the strip, rinse thoroughly with running water. If dirt remains - repeat the entire washing process.
After washing and rinsing the blinds, the cloth strips should NOT be wrung out, so as not to break the protective layer! Drying the lamellas is best in a suspended straightened state, that is, still wet immediately hang on the ledge with a small weight. In no case, when drying, the blinds should not be exposed to hot or warm air, especially artificially created. Simply put, do not try to dry the lamellas with a hairdryer. Ironing the lamellas is also not necessary.