Cleaning blinds: roller, roman, venetian and zebra

What makes blinds different to clean from curtains?

A blind is a mechanism as well as a surface. There is a tube with a spring or motor, a chain, cords, a headrail with gears, and often a stiffened or coated fabric that reacts badly to water. Cleaning has to deal with the dust without wetting the parts that jam or rust.

Dust is also harder on blinds than on curtains. Horizontal slats are small shelves, and in Dubai they carry a visible layer within days of a dusty spell. In kitchens the dust mixes with cooking vapour into a tacky film that a duster only smears. Blinds sit close to the glass, too, so they take the full heat of the window and any condensation that forms on it.

How do I clean roller and zebra blinds?

Lower a roller blind to its full drop so the whole face is exposed. Vacuum it from top to bottom with the soft brush head on low suction, supporting the fabric from behind with a flat hand. Marks are dabbed with a white cloth wrung out in lukewarm water and a drop of mild detergent, then dabbed again with plain water. Leave the blind down until it is fully dry. A blind rolled up damp will mark, smell and may stick to itself.

Blackout rollers have a coated back, which is wiped and never scrubbed. Screen fabrics, the open mesh kind used on sun facing windows, hold dust inside the weave and respond well to vacuuming from both sides.

Zebra blinds, also sold as day and night blinds, are a double layer of alternating sheer and solid bands that slide past each other. The sheer bands are delicate and distort if they are rubbed. Vacuum with the bands aligned in the open position, treat marks by dabbing, and keep the fabric almost dry. Fingerprints on the bottom bar and the cassette at the top wipe off with a damp cloth.

How do I clean roman blinds?

A roman blind is a flat curtain that folds up on cords, with thin rods sewn into pockets across the back. Lowered fully, it is vacuumed fold by fold with the brush head, paying attention to the top of each fold where dust settles when the blind is raised.

Because it is made of curtain fabric and normally lined, the cautions that apply to curtains apply here: linen and cotton shrink, silk marks with water, and blackout lining dislikes heat. On site, low moisture steam cleaning freshens most romans without taking them down. For a full clean the blind is released from its headrail, the rods are slid out, the cords are untied and their path photographed, and the fabric is cleaned by its care label before everything is threaded back.

How do I clean aluminium and wooden venetian blinds?

Aluminium venetians tolerate a damp clean. Tilt the slats closed, wipe across them with a dry microfibre cloth working from the middle outwards, then tilt them the other way and repeat. For kitchen grease, draw each slat between the folds of a cloth dampened with warm water and a little washing up liquid, and dry it with a second cloth. Support each slat as you go, since a kinked slat does not straighten.

Wooden venetians are a different matter. Water raises the grain, lifts the lacquer and warps the slat, and Dubai sun on the window side has usually dried the finish already. Dust with a dry cloth or a soft brush attachment. A stubborn mark gets a barely damp cloth followed straight away by a dry one. Faux wood slats, made of PVC or a composite, can be wiped damp like aluminium, though they soften and bow if they sit against very hot glass.

On both types, the ladder tapes and cords collect grey dust and are cleaned by dabbing, not by soaking.

How do I clean vertical blinds?

Vertical vanes hang from carriers in a top rail and are linked at the bottom by a chain. Dust slides off them more easily than off horizontal slats, though the bottom third near the floor gets grubby from mopping splashes and hands.

• Draw the blind across and tilt the vanes closed.
• Hold the bottom of each vane and wipe downwards with a dry or slightly damp microfibre cloth. Wiping upwards can unhook it.
• PVC vanes can be wiped with mild detergent and water.
• Fabric vanes are unclipped, their weights and chains removed, and cleaned flat. They are stiffened in manufacture, and a hot wash or a tumble dryer removes the stiffening and leaves them curled.
• Wipe the bottom chain and weights, which carry most of the visible dirt.

When should blinds be cleaned professionally?

Home dusting keeps blinds presentable. A professional clean is worth booking when slats are sticky with kitchen film, when fabric has grey edges or mould spots near the glass, when blinds are too high or too wide to handle safely, or when a whole apartment or office needs doing in one visit.

Motorised blinds need extra care. The motor sits inside the tube, so the blind is switched off at its wall control or isolator and no liquid is used near the head. The MELLS cleans blinds in place where the material allows and takes down those that need a full clean, then checks that each one runs level and stops where it should.