How To Deep Clean Your Curtains And Drapes In 5 Steps

Hello World!  Welcome Friends!  Dirt, dust, pollen, debris—these are just a few examples of irritants that you’ll find on window treatments like drapes and curtains. It may not seem much of an issue at first, but these irritants can pile up and potentially cause allergies to act up.

Unfortunately, when it reaches that point, it becomes incredibly difficult to eliminate the irritants on the fabric. You can use a vacuum or a brush, but that usually isn’t enough. Considering why you’re here, that’s probably your situation at the moment.

If that’s the case, the most viable option is to deep clean your curtains and drapes. But as you may have guessed, it won’t be easy as it’s a different process from the cleaning you’re used to. On that note, this article will go over the steps you need to take in order to get rid of the irritants on curtains and drapes.

1. Remove the Drapes Or Curtains From the Window

Before anything else, you must first remove the curtains or drapes from the window frames and lay them down on a flat surface. This should allow you to see what exactly you’re dealing with. If you think the curtains or drapes are too dusty, consider opening the window first so that the excess dust, dirt, or debris doesn’t go your way. Be sure to clean your windows first, too, or find window cleaning services that are cheap, so they can do detailed window cleaning before you start deep cleaning your drapes and curtains.

It’s also best if you wear a mask while following this step so as to minimize the irritants you inhale. Lastly, remember to remove all the accessories on the window treatment, such as hooks, weights, and wood polls. That way, you can focus on cleaning the actual fabric.

2. Check the Manufacturer’s Label

Now, before you start with the actual deep cleaning process, you have to make sure the fabric can handle what you’re about to do. You can do this by checking the manufacturer’s label.

This label should tell you whether certain cleaning methods can damage the fabric. For example, there should be signs that show you shouldn’t machine wash the fabric or put it in a dryer. If there’s no manufacturer’s label, you can check the product description instead, and you can do that by looking into it on the internet. If there’s really no info, your best bet is to leave it to professional services.

3. Remove Dust and Debris With Vacuum Or Dryer

Once you’ve determined that your drapes or curtains can survive your cleaning methods, the next step is to remove any excess dust and debris from the fabric. You have two options for this step:

• Dryer: If you have a dryer, the only thing you need to do is run it through your dryer. Make sure it’s set on a no-heat cycle as it may damage the fibers of the fabric.
• Vacuum: If you plan on using a vacuum, simply slide the gadget across the fabric several times.

Removing excess dust and debris prior to washing the fabric with water and detergent is one of the most well-known cleaning tips for curtains. However, if you don’t have any of these gadgets or the manufacturer’s label advises against it, you can shake off the fabric outside of your home manually.

4. Hand Wash Or Machine Wash

Upon removing the excess debris, you should be able to wash the curtains and drapes without making a mess in your laundry room. You also have two options for this step:

• Machine Wash: Using a washing machine is clearly the easier option. It saves you labor and time, not to mention it’s typically more thorough with the cleaning.  Make sure the fabric is machine washable first through the label. If you plan on choosing this option, set the machine to a gentle cycle and make sure the water is cold, as heat may damage the fabric. Once the cycle is done, remove the curtain or drape immediately as it might wrinkle when left for some time.

• Hand Wash: If the fabric isn’t machine washable, your only choice is to wash the drapes manually. This usually applies to drapes or curtains made of wool, sheer, and cotton.

As always, use only cold water when washing the fabric. For the solvent, the best option is to use a dish detergent. Place one drape or curtain at a time and allow each one to soak for around 10 minutes before taking them out.

Replace the water for every panel you need to clean. While rinsing, make sure you swirl it so you can remove the debris. Repeat the rinsing process if there seems to be dirt and dust remaining in the fabric. Make sure you do all this gently.

Source

5. Air Dry the Curtains and Drapes

Now that your curtains and drapes are free from dirt and debris, the last step is to air-dry them. If you didn’t know what air-dry means, it’s a drying method where you leave the wet object out in the open. In other words, you won’t be using a dryer or any other gadget that can speed up the process, as they can cause shrinking and damage. The window panels should be dry after a couple of days.

Wrapping Up

Take note that clean curtains and drapes are the most susceptible to dust and debris, especially since there’s a lot of space they can stick to. For that reason, after deep cleaning your window panels, you should remember to keep them in tip-top shape by doing maintenance every now and then. It can also help if you clean your window frames as well, as they most likely have accumulated a lot of debris like your curtains and drapes.

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Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world!  Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!

Toodles,