You may have a million of other things you need to be doing around the house, but knowing how to clean window curtains is one project you don’t want to overlook! Without us realizing it, clean window curtains and drapes gives our home such an airy and clean look. When was the last time you cleaned your window drapes or curtains? I bet it has been a while! If this sounds like something that needs to happen soon, then read on for some helpful tips on how to do so quickly and easily without breaking a sweat.
Curtain Materials and Cleaning Approach
There are many different types of materials your curtains could be made from, but in our experience the most common types are cotton, silk and synthetics like polyester. You will be happy to learn that cleaning your curtains is actually quite simple, some curtains like silk, are dry clean only, but for the most common types of curtains such as cotton and synthetics like polyester you can use a dry cleaning or a dry cleaning and wet cleaning approach.
The Dry-Cleaning Approach
Materials needed:
- Vacuum Cleaner
- Microfiber Cloth or Mitten
- Rubbing Alcohol or Dry-Cleaning Solvent
- Rubber Gloves (to protect your hands)
- A Clean Bucket
The Process:
The first thing we need to do is vacuum the curtains, if your vacuum has a soft brush attachment use that, this will agitate the dust and help the vacuum cleaner suck it up. You want to avoid sucking the curtain into the vacuum cleaner so do use an attachment if you have one and just gently run it over the surface of the curtains. Make sure to start in one area and then slowly move on, if you plan out the pattern in your head before starting this can help ensure you don’t miss any areas. For example split each curtain drop into 6 small squares. If you need to you can even draw the squares on a piece of paper and tick them off as you complete it, this will ensure you never miss a spot.
Once you have finished with the vacuum cleaner the next step is to put your dry-cleaning solvent into a bucket, make sure you use gloves for this as the dry solvent is not good to touch with your hands. Dip the microfiber glove or cloth into the solvent and split your curtain into areas again just like we did when vacuuming, work your way over each area using the micro fiber/ mitten. Dip the mitten back into the solvent after wiping each area to make sure the mitten stays clean.
If you clean your curtains regularly one bucket should be enough, but if you find the bucket is getting too dirty, empty it out and refill with fresh dry-cleaning solvent.
Your curtains should now be fresh and clean, it’s that easy!
Wet cleaning approach
The next method for cleaning your curtains is wet method, but when we say wet it’s only a very small amount of moisture.
Materials Needed:
- Vacuum Cleaner
- Microfiber Cloth or Mitten
- Rubber Gloves (to protect your hands)
- Clean bucket
- Warm Water
The Process:
This method is very similar to the dry method, we start with the vacuum cleaner again, but then after cleaning with the vacuum we then move onto our bucket. Fill your bucket with warm water and add a very small amount of household dish soap or detergent, you only need a tiny amount of soap, about 1% to the volume of water. So, if you use 4 liters of water, use about 4ml of dish soap. Dip your microfiber cloth into the water and wring it out well, we only want a very small amount of water on the microfiber cloth, we don’t want it to be dripping everywhere.
Now like before, go over the curtain in sections, gently wiping the curtain down with the cloth and turning the microfiber/ mitt over to make use of both sides and then dipping it back into the water to remove any dirt from the cloth/mitt before returning to the curtain to continue going over each section.
If you’re doing it right, and you haven’t cleaned your curtains for a while, you might be surprised to see how dirty the water starts to get. Like with the dry solvent method, if the liquid becomes too dirty, empty the bucket and refill it with fresh warm water and detergent and start again. If your room has an open fire the water will get dirty very quickly as the carbon from burning will sit on the curtains.
And that’s all there is too it, it shouldn’t take long, about 30 minutes per curtain and only needs doing around once per month but when you see how much dust in the vacuum and the dirt in the water, you will be glad you finally cleaned those curtains. As a bonus tip don’t forget to clean the curtain pole or rail. The top of the pole and the eyelets are a good place for dust to settle, especially if you have an open fire creating carbon in the air. Just gently dust them off with a microfiber cloth, and when you reach the top of your curtains you may need a step ladder. Just make sure to be very careful to use the ladder according to the manufacturers instructions.
Conclusion:
The main dirt on your curtains and drapes will be dust. If you have a fireplace in that room there very possibly could also be carbon deposits. In this article we have described the 2 main methods for cleaning, dry cleaning with dry cleaning solvent or wet cleaning with simple soap and warm water, you will be amazed how much dust and dirt will come off your curtains, and how airy and clean your entire house appears, even if all you did was just wash your curtains!
Thank you for reading this blog post about how to clean window curtains. I hope the tips are helpful, comment below if you have any questions.
