How to Clean Venetian Blinds

Venetian blinds are top choices for home and office spaces for their see-through and other useful multi-functionalities. Cleaning Venetian blinds is one of the major reasons why several people decide not to choose this blind type for their space. If you are one of those people, you are not alone. Venetian blinds are hard to clean because of their longer horizontal surface and the number of slates to clean individually. You might notice that Venetian blinds start accumulating dust once you finish cleaning the surface.

The stress and time it takes to clean the dust off your Venetian blinds should not discourage you from enjoying all the functionalities they provide. In the following lines, we provide useful tips and tricks that will help you clean your Venetian blinds with less hassle. It also goes into detail about the steps for light and deep cleaning to make your cleaning process easier and more efficient.

The guide below on how to clean Venetian blinds is useful for those who are considering installing Venetian blinds and those who already have them. Without further ado, let us dive in.

Light Routine Cleaning

Light cleaning involves the quicker process of regularly cleaning your Venetian blinds. It takes way less effort and does not require you to remove the blinds completely. This cleaning routine involves using a soft cloth or fluffy duster to clean your Venetian blind. This will reduce the number of deep cleans that your blinds will require over time.

This method is simple enough; only requiring you to wipe down the dust on each slat with a dry cloth after a period. Regularly cleaning your blinds with this cleaning method reduces the buildup of dust on your slab and makes it much easier to deep clean whenever you are ready. To get the best results, you can also dip a soft cleaning cloth in mild detergent for Venetian blinds when wiping down.

Vacuum cleaners are also useful for removing the dust building up on the slats of your Venetian blinds. You can interchange the use of vacuum, fluffy dusters, and soft cloths to clean your blinds regularly.

Light Cleaning with a Soft Cloth

Before you use a soft cloth to clean your blinds, you need to check if there are any sticky stains on your Venetian blinds. This is to reduce any situation where these sticky stains may create a messier situation on the blinds.

In case you notice any sticky stain, you should proceed to remove the stains with the following steps:

• Gently use a mild detergent spray on the blind (window cleaning spray or washing liquid)
• Carefully dry the louvres with a paper towel
• After making sure that the stain on your blinds is off, follow the steps below to clean the rest of the blind:
• Close the blind: You can get a wider slat area by closing it and long-swiping the wider surface of the blind. This makes your cleaning more efficient and easier
• Use a soft cloth: A glove or special duster mitt is a direct alternative for cleaning your blinds. To get across a wider area more efficiently, you should wipe from the middle of the slat across its edges.
• Repeat for the other side: After you successfully wipe down one end of the blinds, do the same for the other side of your blind. Gently open and close the blind on the opposite side to repeat the same process for the other side of the blinds.

Light Cleaning with a Vacuum Cleaner

Vacuum cleaners are another efficient way of cleaning your Venetian blinds. To use this method, you will require a vacuum cleaner with a hose. This is necessary for reaching every part of your blind. You can save more time when cleaning with this method if you use an upholstery attachment brush. This is also necessary so you do not scratch the blinds when cleaning them out.

To clean your blinds with a vacuum cleaner, follow the steps below

• Set the vacuum to a low suction level before starting your cleaning task. Make sure you test it before cleaning the blinds so it does not impair their shape.
• Shut the blinds and attach the upholstery brush to the vacuum cleaner. Ensure that the brush is soft so it does not scratch or damage your blinds
• Carefully run the brush over each slab of your blind from top to bottom. Extend your reach to the wider areas of your blind.
• Repeat the process above for the opposite side of the blind. Simply open and close the blind to expose the opposite side for cleaning.

Deep Cleaning For Grime and Stains

Occasionally deep cleaning your blinds is necessary, irrespective of the number of times you perform light cleaning. Deep cleaning is important to reach those tough areas you might miss when light cleaning the slabs on your blinds. Unlike light cleaning, deep cleaning requires you to remove the blinds from their frame. This can be time-consuming and requires a high level of attention.

When you start noticing a buildup of grime, or changes in the colour of your blind due to mild stains, you know you need to do a deep clean! Note that only plastic, aluminium and other metal Venetian blinds are the blind types that you should clean with a deep cleaning option. This is because water is a big component of this cleaning method, which doesn’t work well with all blinds. 

What to do if your blinds have wood?

If you have wooden Venetian blinds or any vertical blinds that have wooden slats, you should stick with routine light vacuuming and dusting to avoid wearing out your slab materials.

To start the deep cleaning process for your Venetian blind, follow the steps below for the best results.

Get your work area ready

You will need a bathtub, a big bath, or wash area to immerse your Venetian blinds. If you prefer washing your Venetian blinds outdoors, you will require a garden hose to carry out the cleaning task that follows. To protect the window blinds:

• Lay a cloth or towel to protect against dirt and scratches (for outdoor deep cleaning)
• Use a towel or rubber mat to protect against scratches (for the bath)
• Fill a bucket with clean water. This can be warm water if you are deep cleaning your blinds in a bathtub or cold water if you are using an outdoor garden hose.
• Add vinegar or a mild detergent in equal parts of the water
• Get a microfiber or soft cloth, a non-abrasive sponge, or a clean cloth ready for wiping the blinds.

Remove the blinds

The next step is to remove the blinds according to the instructions in the manual. You do not require a power tool or any type of drilling to remove a perfect fit blind. They should snap off the frame if they were installed properly. However, some Venetian blinds require a power tool. This is to ensure that the hardware is safe and you should note where you place each component for remounting purposes.

Start deep cleaning

To proceed with the deep cleaning process, the steps below are important to get off all the grimes and stains from your blinds

• Carefully lay the blind on the floor of the bathtub or the ground outside. This is important because you need to wash tight corners of the slats and you need space to do that.
• Carefully clean each slat individually with the cleaning tools. Make sure you clean both sides of the blinds.
• Rinse the blinds with cold water after cleaning. Ensure that all the soapy residues are no longer on the slats of the blinds by rinsing properly and wiping down with a clean and dry cloth.

Dry your blinds

Drying is an integral part of the deep cleaning process. This is because dust accumulates faster on wet surfaces and mould stains become hard to remove. Follow the steps below to ensure that no moisture is left on your blinds

• Make sure to dry the blinds after cleaning. Leaving moisture on your blind after washing can lead to stains.
• Use a dry cloth to remove this moisture. Dry and soft cloth types are options you should consider for this task.
• Set a hairdryer to low setting and finish up the drying process. High heat levels may cause damage to your blinds if you do not control the heat level.
• You can also air-dry your Venetian blind by hanging it on a fence or open space. Ensure to secure it to avoid any form of damages.
• Remount the blinds after drying with the specification from the manufacturer's guide.

Summarizing

There you have it! We’ve been able to run through how you can clean your Venetian blinds - both light cleaning and deep cleaning. Now you can truly enjoy the functionalities and see-through features of Venetian blinds.