What's the best & easiest way to clean window blinds?

Question

I guess they are the ordinary plastic white window blinds...
Anyways, wiping them down with a damp rag is kinda hard to do! The blinds keep moving and the dirt is just still sticking to the blinds. I was just wondering if there is an easier way to do it?

Answer 1

If your blinds merely need a dusting, use the soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner to suck away dirt. If you don't have a brush attachment, try wearing a pair of cotton gloves or an old pair of socks on your hands and wiping the slats between your fingers. A small paintbrush can also be used to dust slats.

If the blinds are pretty dirty, try wiping them down with a damp sponge or cloth while they are hanging. Some people recommend taking them down and spraying them in the shower or with a hose, but to really remove dirt, your best bet may be to soak them in a bathtub full of mild soapy water. If you're worried about rotting the strings, soak the blinds in vinegar.

Line the tub with a towel before adding the blinds to prevent scratching the finish of the tub. Also, make sure the blinds are open, so the slats don¿t stick together. After the blinds have soaked for about 30 minutes, rinse them off and hang them outside to dry. When they are completely dry, rehang. One final trick: Wipe your newly clean blinds with a sheet of fabric softener to prevent dust from building up.

Answer 2

your blinds merely need a dusting, use the soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner to suck away dirt. If you don't have a brush attachment, try wearing a pair of cotton gloves or an old pair of socks on your hands and wiping the slats between your fingers. A small paintbrush can also be used to dust slats.

If the blinds are pretty dirty, try wiping them down with a damp sponge or cloth while they are hanging. Some people recommend taking them down and spraying them in the shower or with a hose, but to really remove dirt, your best bet may be to soak them in a bathtub full of mild soapy water. If you're worried about rotting the strings, soak the blinds in vinegar.

Answer 3

1) Deep clean. 2) Weekly wipe.

STEPS: I just moved into a 2 year old house. I cleaned the blinds with a damp rag and used the brush on the vacuum cleaner (1). Each week, I simply dust them with the Swiffer duster (2).

PREVENTION: Weekly cleaning keeps the blinds from becoming icky in the future. It's simple and quick to wipe with Swiffer or another cloth.

ALLERGIES: The Swiffer duster is great at dust collecting. I'm allergic to dust, but haven't had a problem with it.

Answer 4

I take mine off the hooks and put them into a bathtub of soapy water and rinse with the shower. I use dishsoap that has a grease cutting agent since it is faster.

Line the tub with a towel before adding the blinds to prevent scratching the finish of the tub. Also, make sure the blinds are open, so the slats don't stick together. After the blinds have soaked for about 30 minutes, rinse them off and hang them outside to dry. When they are completely dry, rehang. One final trick: Wipe your newly clean blinds with a sheet of fabric softener to prevent dust from building up.

Answer 5

If they're not too dirty, here is an easy solution. Fill your bathtub with hot water and 1 cup of bleach. Open the blinds (don't raise them, just open them by turning the stick) and then remove them from the window. Stretch them out the best you can in the tub of water and let them soak for an hour. When you pull them out, they should be nice and clean.

Answer 6

I soak mine in the bathtub with a water/Mr. Clean solution. You can use bleach if you want, but go easy otherwise the whole house is gonna smell like it. Drying them is the fun part...LOL. It's not a fun project. I hang mine over the shower rod one at a time. I don't envy you having to do this.

Answer 7

Run your bathtub a few inches full of hot soapy water and just drop them in. Let them sit there ans soak for a little while, and when the water cools and is ok for you to put your hands in use a brush or rag and give them a good scrubbing. Let the water out of the tub and rinse them well. Hang them over the shower rod to dry.

Answer 8

Yes there is a great way to take care of this problem! Make sure to read all the way through...even though this is easy, it is kind of detailed instructions.

What you do:

Mix a quart of vinegar, a small box of baking soda, in a bathtub about half to three quarters full of hot hot water.

You need a hammer for this part.

Take down all the horizontal mini-blinds in your home and hammer them to one inch pieces and set the pile on fire. Have the marshmellows handy!

While your fire is getting the coals built up (because you can't rush a great campfire) go online and order some vertical blinds, roman shades, or curtains for the windows in your home, all of which are easy to clean.

Next, throw a beach towel over your naked bathroom window. Sprinkle some lavender oil or rose petals in the tub with the vinegar and soda water (which is great for the skin by the way) and celebrate your wise decision with a nice hot soak for your tired, stressed out, marshmellowy body.

All this to say, I think mini-blinds are God's way of mocking humans and I have NO idea how to deal with them.

(WINK WINK HAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!)

Answer 9

Lots of people have told you about washing them in the bathtub and there's lots of good advice already on how to do that.

One additional piece though that I would add that hasn't already been mentioned is to wash them with dishwasing liquid such as dawn but then drain the washwater and rinse them in hot water and add some dishwasher drying agent such as Jet Dry. They will rinse off better with less water spots. This is especially helpful if you live in a hard water area like I do. You can re-hang them in the window, with a towel beneath to catch any drips, to dry.

Answer 10

soak them in bleach water (mine didn't turn yellow, but you could use detergent if you'd rather) in the bathtub. It worked wonders for mine, they looked like new. Just let 'em soak for awhile then kinda lift them in and out of the water to rinse away any lingering dirt and dust. You may have spots that need to be rubbed with a sponge or something, but most of it comes off in the soaking. Super easy and very effective!!