How to Clean Roller Blinds

Last update: 6 days ago

Elegant and versatile, roller blinds can be a great way to ensure your privacy and control your home temperature. Yet sometimes, roller blinds will need a clean especially as insects, cobwebs, dust and grime accumulate easily. Maintaining them clean is an important step to a fresh home. So if you’re in the mood to cleaning up your home and you want to learn how to clean roller blinds, you’ve come to the right place!

How to clean roller blinds without taking them down

If you don’t want to take your roller blinds down for a deep clean, you can clean them without unhinging them. All you’ll need to do is roll them down to their full length and follow the steps below. Get a vacuum cleaner with a small brush attachment. If you don’t have the latter, use an old sock. You’ll also need a bowl of warm water, some mild detergent and a cloth.

There are different types of roller blinds, and each one requires a specific way of cleaning. You can have fabric, vinyl or paper blinds, and with each one, you need to be careful in order to avoid permanent damage.

Step 1 – Roll the blinds down fully

The first step is to make sure your roller blinds have been rolled down fully so you can easily reach even the tightest areas where dust and grime may have collected.

Step 2 – Use your vacuum cleaner to suck up all the dust

Place the brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner and start from the top, moving your way down. Work in a sideways motion from left to right and along the grain of the material. If you don’t have a brush attachment, simply place a clean sock over your vacuum cleaner’s suction nozzle and follow the same steps mentioned above.

Step 3 – Get ready to start wiping

Next, get your bowl of warm water and mix it with two teaspoons of mild detergent. Then, submerge your cloth in the solution and wring it out thoroughly. Wipe down your blinds, starting from top to bottom.

Cleaning fabric roller blinds

Step 1 – Vacuum the blinds

This step is similar to the step mentioned above. You can start by vacuuming your fabric roller blinds first so that any dust, insects, cobwebs and dirt are removed and completely dislodged from the material.

Step 2 – Wipe them down

Using your bowl of warm water and mild detergent, soak your cloth in the water, wring it out and start wiping from top to bottom. Once ready, you can leave your fabric roller blinds down to air dry on their own. Remember that rolling them up before they are dried out could result in mould or even more dirt.

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Cleaning vinyl roller blinds

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Step 1 – Use your vacuum cleaner

Again, make sure you use your vacuum cleaner to suck up all dirt lodged in your blinds.

Step 2 – Wipe with a damp cloth

Use your damp cloth to wipe down your vinyl roller blinds. The material of such roller blinds means that they do not absorb water and you can wipe them down first, leaving them to air dry.

Deep-cleaning roller blinds

Step 1 – Remove the roller blinds

Remove the roller blinds from their sockets and hinges.

Step 2 – Place the blinds in a bathtub

Once removed from the hinges, place your roller blinds in a bathtub that’s half-filled with lukewarm water as well as mixed with some mild detergent. If you wonder how to clean white roller blinds, you can add a little bit of bleach to the water.

Step 3 – Scrub the stains

For small stains on your roller blinds, use a toothbrush or nail brush to clean any stains. For larger stains, use a larger-sized brush to do the same.

Step 4 – Rinse the blinds

Once you’ve scrubbed away at the stains, you can rinse the blinds using the showerhead of your bath. Ensure that all the soapy water has been rinsed off as any leftover soap can be a magnet for attracting more dirt in the future.

Step 5 – Air dry your blinds

Place your clean and wet roller blinds on a curtain rod or outside on a clothesline to hang and air dry thoroughly before bringing them indoors and hanging them up again.

Cleaning mould off your roller blinds

Mould is not only unsightly but is also unhealthy, too. This is why if you see mould on your roller blinds, you should take steps to remove it. To do so, you’ll need a feather duster and vacuum cleaner, a water-lemon juice-salt solution and a cloth or a sponge. Through the method we describe below, you’ll now know how to clean mould off roller blinds.

Step 1 – Dust and vacuum the mould

As a starting point, you’ll want to dust any harder and larger pieces of mould off your roller blinds. Start out by using a feather duster first to remove any bits of mould. You can wear a protective mask at this stage so that you don’t inhale any mould. Then, use your vacuum cleaner’s brush attachment to dislodge any other parts of the mould.

Step 2 – Wipe down with your home-made solution

Your next step will be to use water, lemon juice and salt solution, which you can mix in a bowl. This is useful for blinds that are light in colour. Remember to avoid using bleach for this purpose. You will then want to place your cloth in the water, wring it out and start wiping the mould off your roller blinds with this homemade solution.

Step 3 – Place outside to air dry

Depending on whether you’ve removed your roller blinds first or whether you’ve left them rolled out fully over your window, once the cleaning and mould removal have taken place, you will want to leave your blinds outside or simply leave them hanging to air dry. Air drying is the best method to ensure that no further mould creeps in due to unaddressed moisture. Don’t forget to clean your windows too.

How often you should clean your roller blinds

Maintaining your roller blinds is not a difficult task, but it is one that you should consider doing it regularly. You will be surprised how much dust and dirt can accumulate on them over time. This is why you should clean your roller blinds about twice per month. In addition, for tougher stains that don’t come out easily, you may want to do some occasional spot-cleaning as well.

Takeaways

Cleaning your roller blinds is not a difficult task, but it is one that you need to take care of to keep your home clean and dust and grime-free. To clean your roller blinds, keep the following in mind: