How to clean curtains while hanging? Cleaning curtains can be a difficult task to do, but with these helpful tips, you’ll have no problem. What’s your favorite way to clean your curtains? How often should you wash your curtains? Where is the best place for storing them when not in use? Read on and find out more.
You need to clean both the outside and inside of the curtain; clean out the seams and hems, and remove any dust or lint that may have accumulated. While they are still hanging, cleaning curtains is an easier way for you to clean them without taking down each curtain to clean all parts of them separately. Here’s how to clean curtains while hanging:
(This process is to clean both outside and inside of a curtain, clean out the seams and hems & remove any dust or lint that may have accumulated.)
You can also choose to take the curtain down and clean them. How?
Place them face down on a clean surface like an outdoor concrete porch/patio etc. If you choose to clean your curtain indoors. You will need to drop clothes or other clean absorbent material for drying purposes and plenty of clean newspapers – if using newspapers, then spread them over the clean work area; this will make it easy to clean up at the end.
Vacuum clean the backside of both curtains, clean out all seams and clean out any dust or lint that may have accumulated over time between the outer fabric and lining fabric. Use a clean toothbrush to clean in-between each seam. This will help release any trapped lint/dust particles that you might not be able to see with the naked eye (and this will also remove any allergens on your curtain.)
Wet them using about one gallon of water per ounce of cleaner used. Allow the cleaning solution to sit for at least 5 minutes on the fabric; check the cleanliness by wiping excess grime with paper towels. Make sure a clean appearance is achieved before washing your curtain.
Use about half a cup of detergent per load; make sure you clean all areas (outer and lining) thoroughly. If using Woolite, use 1-2 tsp for small loads or 2-3 tsp for larger loads; make sure to check the product label of the home cleaning solution used to determine dosage amount before adding it to the machine’s wash cycle!
Do not soak/rinse the curtains more than necessary as this will weaken the fabric over time – do not leave them in water for longer than 20 minutes if possible. Empty lint filters after each clean/rinse cycle until clean water comes out clean and dry both curtains completely.
Use a clean low-heat setting or hang the clean curtain over a chair if possible.
If using pressure/steam cleaners, please ensure you use distilled water ONLY as this will reduce the risk of fabric damage over time; if no steamers are available, then clean only with a cleaning solution (e.g., dish soap) and wipe clean using paper towels after each clean/rinse cycle until clean towels come away free of grime.
Allow clean curtains to air-dry – do not iron clean curtains. Especially if they were cleaned using a chemical wash solution. This may cause residual chemicals/soap residue and could potentially burn clean curtain fabric.
The cleanest possible way of cleaning your curtains is by dry-cleaning. Unfortunately, only very few people know how to clean and iron a curtain in this manner, and they don’t want to pay the costs for such an expensive service when it’s not needed.
While some people say that you can also clean curtains when wet – like shampooing them in the bathtub, for example – these practices will ruin your curtains since they add too much weight and may even damage them permanently (not including that most textile manufacturers won’t warranty their products if they get wet).
To prevent any stains caused by food splatters or dust, wipe off any spills as soon as they happen using clean cloths dampened with clean water. You can also clean sliding glass doors using this process – use clean paper towels instead of cloths to accomplish this task more quickly. You can also read more on how to protect your carpets from any stains here.
Due to the amount of dirt accumulated every day, most curtains will need deep cleaning about once every month or so (depending on how clean or dirty your house is).
If you clean your curtains like this twice a year, you will prevent them from getting too dirty and thus ruining their color; if dirt accumulates for long enough on the fabric fibers, they become really hard to clean.
However, if you don’t clean your curtains like this more than once every six months (or more), consider getting some outdoor furniture covers instead to protect your interior drapes against dust that may settle on them while airing outside.
Clean hanging curtains is a process that can be hectic, tedious, and time-consuming for all of us. Still, it can also be a simple process with the proper tools and types of equipment following the proper procedures as discussed in this article.