No matter what kind of blinds you have in your kitchen and bathroom—wooden, fabric and vertical are the three basic types—these tips will make their cleaning and maintenance easy:
- Vacuum blinds often with the brush attachment. Vacuum across the slats, not up and down.
- Use a lamb’s-wool duster, again working across the slats and starting at the top. Do not use plastic dusters.
- When dusting or vacuuming vertical blinds, brush downward only, as the slats often become unhooked if you brush upward.
- Use a rubber sponge, also known as a dry sponge (found at hardware and paint stores), to remove dust and residue from both fabric and vinyl blinds. Simply wipe the dry sponge firmly across the blinds.
- For spot cleaning, spray an all-purpose cleaner onto a clean dry cloth and wipe the soiled area of the blind. Never spray the cleaner directly onto the blind.
- You can wet wooden blinds when cleaning, but don’t soak them. Clean them in place instead of removing them as you would for other types of blinds.
- If fabric blinds become very dirty, take them to a dry cleaner.
- Do not try cleaning blinds by spraying them with a car-wash hose, dunking them in the tub or one slat at a time.
- To clean metal and vinyl blinds, follow this method: Take the blinds outside to your patio or driveway and lay them on a small rug or piece of carpet. Put a few drops of Dawn dishwashing soap in a bucket of water. Wet a car-washing brush and brush the blinds from side to side, and then turn them over and brush the other side. Rinse the blinds gently with a garden hose while tilting them so that the water runs off. To prevent water spots from forming, quickly run your finger down the slats a couple of times to remove excess water. When done, drape the blinds over a fence or a couch to dry.
Cleaning blinds in the kitchen can be challenging but not impossible. Once they are done it will bring back the life of the blinds and room!