Curtains are made of fabric material that gathers dust, dirt, dander, hair, and even spores. All these things accumulate together to make your curtain look grimy. To avoid the appearance of drapes, their cleaning at the proper time is suggested.
Window treatments, especially those made of fabric materials such as drapes, curtains, and blinds, harbor dirt and odor molecules. Cleaning them is important to maintain a gleaming and lavish look for your home interior.
Cleaning Draperies At Home
Wall curtains can be cleaned at home easily. You can also send them to the laundry for cleaning. Cleaning them at home requires only 5–10 minutes. It is also not expensive compared to the laundry. They can be cleaned at home with no damage to their color and fabric material.
It is relatively simple to clean them when done correctly. To keep your window treatments fresh, you need to dust them off regularly. Cleaning your window coverings every two weeks is good. If someone in your home has an allergy to dust, these tapestries must be cleaned thoroughly every week.
Some Distinct Procedures To Clean Drapes
Whether you choose to wash or vacuum the curtains, it’s best to shake the window panel a few times to remove any surface debris and dust. You can also use a cleaning brush to remove any surface dirt.
Are you looking for a guide to clean your curtains thoroughly and make them look fresh and dapper? You are in the right place for this purpose. We’ve summoned all the ways to clean curtains from all over the internet and described them well below.
Precautions for Cleaning Curtains
There are many precautionary measures adopted to save curtains from any type of damage. These measures are taken in every house and laundry prior to cleaning drapes.
1. Know Fabric Material
The best way to clean curtains is to know about the fabric material they are made of. If you are unsure about the fabric of your curtains, then you should stick to the standard maintenance cleaning instructions described in this post.
2. See Label Instructions
Before you clean your drapes, see the label instructions on the curtain. The label will give you information on how to clean the curtains. These labels will have specific care instructions to follow for the person cleaning the curtains. The instructions will be listed as “Dry-clean only” or “Hand-wash only”. If such instructions are listed on the label, then it’s best to heed that advice to prevent any damage to the curtains.
3. Avoid Use of Hazardous Chemicals
One should avoid washing curtains with hazardous chemicals as it causes deteriorating effects on the color and fabric material of the curtain. Rough washing of curtains should be avoided to prevent the tearing of curtains.
Steps to Clean Curtains
There are many steps involved in the process of curtain cleaning. You need to follow each step carefully for a proper guideline of this procedure. The steps are described with key points to help you understand how to clean curtains.
The best way to clean curtains is to know about the fabric material they are made of. If you are unsure about the fabric of your curtains, then you should stick to the standard maintenance cleaning instructions described at the bottom of this post.
1. Prepare Curtains for Washing
This method of cleaning is recommended only if it’s suitable with the manufacturer’s label implant. You should shake off as much dust as you can before putting the curtains in the washer. It is to make sure that nothing clings to the bunk bed curtains once they make their way through pristine cleanliness.
Remove all hardware accessories before using the washer. It is to ensure that no hangers or clips enter the spin cycle of the washer and cause hindrance to the machine. Some curtains require hand-washing, and those have such instructions imprinted on the manufacturer’s label. In such cases, it’s better to heed this advice to prevent any damage to the curtains.
2. Wash Curtains in Cold Water
Use a little detergent and the lowest possible heat treatment for the curtains under the delicate setting tab of your washing machine. Cold water will not deteriorate the fabric quality and will make the curtains gleam.
3. Dry the Curtains
For this purpose, use the dryer and give at least two rounds of low-heat treatment to get the excess drips out. Now, shake the curtains and hang them in the air for drying purposes. Air-drying is a method to prevent curtains from shrinking.
4. Iron the Curtains
Finally, iron the curtains to remove any wrinkles and to create properly streamlined folds in the curtains. It will also give the curtains a flawless look to enhance the elegance of the room.
Different Curtains Require Different Cleaning Protocols
There are many types of curtains used nowadays. These include garment fabric curtains, sheer curtains, shell curtains, and velvet curtains. These types of curtains have distinct fabric materials and require separate cleaning methods. These discrete cleaning methods are explained here.
1. Cleaning Garment Fabric Curtains
- Remove all hardware accessories like curtain rods and finials.
- Shake curtains outdoors if possible to remove surface dirt.
- Use the cold setting on the delicate cycle and wash two panels at a time for quick cleaning.
- Dry using low heat treatment.
- To prevent wrinkles, immediately remove them from the dryer after heat treatment.
- Now, the curtains are clean and ready for rehanging.
2. Cleaning Lace Curtains
- If sheer curtains (lace curtains) have pet hairs stuck in them, shake them outside to remove any surface dirt and pet hairs.
- Prepare soap water and submerge one panel at a time in it for 10 minutes. To remove any debris, swirl it in water.
- Drain the sink and refill it with cold water and submerge the panel again for a few minutes to remove soap residue from the panel.
- Repeat this procedure for the other panel.
Note: To restore the crisp feel to the sheer curtains, dissolve 1 cup of Epsom salt in the sink and then submerge the panel in the sink for about 10 minutes. Drain gently but do not rinse and let the curtains dip dry after hanging from the curtain rod.
3. Cleaning Shell Curtains
Shell curtains get twisted easily, so you need to clean them in their place. You will need pins to keep them in place. The easiest way to wash them is described here.
- Fasten them with clothespins to the curtain rods and hang a bedsheet behind them.
- Cover the floor below with a towel to prevent any marks on the floor.
- Take 2 cups of warm water and 2-3 drops of liquid dishwashing detergent and spray the curtains with the help of a spray bottle.
- Wipe them with a wet cotton cloth.
- Change to the other side of the curtain and repeat the process.
- Take the bedsheet down and let your curtains air-dry.
4. Cleaning Velvet Curtains
Velvet curtains can be cleaned through the use of a washing machine or a dry cleaner. You just need to check the manufacturer’s label to find out what method of cleaning your curtain requires.
The EndNote!
Now you know how to clean curtains properly at home with minimum effort and how to attain the best cleaning results with simple curtain cleaning methods. You can also easily clean different curtains based on their fabric materials.
Curtain cleaning is not an arduous task, and it is better to follow the advice mentioned on the label of the curtain for optimum cleaning standards. For cleaning curtains, follow every procedure carefully to attain the best possible results. You can now clean curtains at home by following the above guidelines.