How to wash the curtains? How To Clean Curtains – The Right Way
Curtains – an integral part of the modern interior. They prevent light from entering the room and protect it from prying eyes, and help create a cozy atmosphere. Unfortunately, curtains and drapes collect dust over time, as a result of which they lose their original hue. So, how to wash the curtains?
Washing curtains, at first glance, is a simple matter, but there are many nuances and rules that, if not followed, are possible not only to damage the product, but also the washing machine.
How to wash the curtains?
Washing rules
How to wash the curtains with silk, veil, organza?
Fine fabrics – silk, veil, organza, require special care. Washing should be done at a temperature not exceeding 30 degrees in a delicate mode. In addition, this material does not tolerate high temperatures, so ironing is contraindicated.
Soaking the curtain beforehand is completely optional: Dirt is easily removed due to the small thickness of the fabric. Spin is not worth it either. After washing, wait until the water runs out, then straighten and hang the curtains from the cornice still damp. It is highly desirable to wash such thin fabrics in a special cloth bag and to use delicate products for washing or simply a shampoo.
Temperature Setting
Products made of acrylic, taffeta, and viscose should be washed at a temperature not exceeding 40 degrees; it is recommended to use shampoo or special products for washing. It is also not worth squeezing this material, it is better to wait until the excess water is drained. It is necessary to do ironing using damp fabrics, on a pile, at a temperature not exceeding 150 degrees. Polyester must be washed, using tools for delicate materials at temperatures up to 40 degrees. This will give you the opportunity to prevent creases from appearing in the washing process.
Linen and cotton and curtains from them will easily transfer washing at a temperature of 40-60 degrees. These are pretty simple materials, you can wash your products with a common laundry detergent. Drying should be done without the use of heaters. The ironed curtains should be slightly damp.
If they are hung in the kitchen, that is, they are exposed to more intense contamination, then the high temperature of the wash should be adjusted.
Velvet is considered to be a very faddish and expensive material, so it needs careful care. Washing this type of curtains at home is not the best idea, since there are risks of spoiling the product. But if necessary, then it is necessary to clean velvet products in a delicate way at a temperature not higher than 30 degrees. Also, flip them upside down. This process must be carried out as quickly as possible, establishing the minimum time. Velvet reacts poorly to water and can shrink. To dry the curtains you have to straighten them vertically.
Roman Blinds
First of all, you need to remove the canvas from the eaves, remove the slats, roll up the fabric, and put it in a bag for washing. In addition, depending on the material, the washing mode and time are selected. After the rinsing process, the damp cloth is put in place.
Roller Blinds
They are very different in their properties, Roller Blinds are atypical curtains, and unfortunately, it will not be possible to simply wash them. The problem is a special dust-repellent impregnation of the roller blinds fabric. In the case of a small amount of contamination, it is realistic to use a normal eraser to erase a pencil; you will do a good job of this task. You can also remove the stain with wet wipes. In a situation where the cloth is heavily contaminated or the methods described above do not help, dry cleaning is still the only way out, in which case the dust-repellent properties of the product will not be affected.
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Cotton Curtains
Before the process of washing curtains of this type, the “threads” should be tied with a rope in several places or braided into a braid loosely. Washing should be done only in delicate mode, you can use spinning. After washing, still wet curtains are hung on the eaves, the threads are straightened. Under their own weight, they will acquire their original appearance.
How to wash the blackout curtains?
This type of curtains is the most practical in care: washing can be done in any mode when using detergent, if you don’t have iron, slightly damp curtains should be immediately hung at the place where they will end up.
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How to wash the curtains with buttonholes?
The grommets are rings located on the upper part of the curtains, which are used as an alternative to the classic hooks. Before the washing process, you just need to make sure that the grommets are of high quality and that they are firmly attached to the canvas. Often there is no need to remove them, in this case, the washing curtains must be carried out in the bag. The same applies to curtains with decorative elements such as beads or buttons.
If the grommets are made of brittle plastic, these items should be removed if, of course, your design provides.
It is necessary to erase in the delicate mode, in an ordinary shampoo, the optimal temperature is 30 degrees. After the procedure, the curtains should be hung immediately to dry, as the rings may change color if they are metallic.
Don’t worry too much about the washing machine. Even if the ring flies away from the place of attachment, it will in no way fall outside the limits of the garment bag, and therefore will not damage the equipment.
How to wash the cutrains? If by hand
Of course, any of the above materials can be washed by hand, but still, manual washing is really necessary if the composition of the fabric is unknown, so automatic washing can damage and ruin the product, or if the fabric is so whimsical that should only be washed by hand. It is desirable to wash velvet products by hand, and linen products can also be used on a typewriter.
When hand washing should follow the same conditions, but with some additions:
- Before washing the fabric should be soaked in soapy water for a while;
- The most important step is rinsing, it must be done carefully, changing the water more frequently to remove the remaining detergent.
Chintz is one of those few materials that only requires hand washing. First, you need to make a salt solution. Add 1-2 tablespoons of salt per liter to warm water. Instead of a detergent, the shampoo is perfect, it will not damage the delicate fabric. When rinsing, you need to pour a tablespoon of ordinary vinegar into the water.
The same goes for wool. For her, only hand wash in warm water with shampoo is applicable.
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning services should not be neglected, in rare cases, there are simply no other options. Some materials require extremely delicate washing and can simply be damaged at home. In addition, curtains of dense materials of large sizes cannot get into the drum, and it will be impossible to wash them by hand with high quality. Then you should contact the dry cleaner.
In addition, most companies offer, for a small surcharge, the impregnation of curtains with protective and dust-repellent compounds, which will make the material more resistant to ultraviolet and require less washing.
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How often should the curtains be washed?
The interval between the curtains washes will depend on your location. If curtains are hung in living rooms, then they generally require washing less than twice a year. The best will be a period of three months, during this period the curtains will not even have time to change color, collecting dust. If the curtains are located in the kitchen, where grease is deposited on them, they should be washed more often, at least immediately after the appearance of visible dirt.
Every month there is no need to wash the curtains, as a last resort, you can shake them from settled dust.
How to whiten the curtains?
Over time, the curtains lose their original appearance due to dust, moisture, and ultraviolet rays that fall on them, and once the bright white tulle turns into a fabric with shades of yellow or gray. There are ways to bleach tulle with improvised means, and in most cases their effectiveness is sufficient. Clean the gray and make the white products help the soda ash. Soak the curtains before washing them.
Hydrocarbon and hydrogen peroxide are simple but effective bleaching options. Hydrogen peroxide should be mixed with ammonia in a 2: 1 ratio. A water temperature of 60-65 degrees should be added to the resulting solution. After that, dip the tulle in the solution and leave for half an hour. Then you need to thoroughly rinse the canvas, let the excess water drain, and hang the tulle to dry.
Kitchen salt – the same simple but proven method of blanching with your own hands. For its implementation, it is necessary to mix 3 tablespoons of salt in water and a small amount of laundry detergent. After you have loaded the tulle, you need to leave it for 10-12 hours, then you just need to wash the curtain.
Paradoxically, but bright green is a good way to whiten, just follow the instructions. In the 300 ml warm water, you need to add 10-15 drops of a vegetable solution, mix and leave for some time. If the precipitate is present, the solution must be drained. Next, pour the solution into a 10-liter container of warm water and soak it in the washed curtain for 5 minutes. All this time, the tulle must be rotated and moved to the pelvis for a complete and even soak.
After removing the fabric from the solution, gently squeeze and allow to dry, no rinsing required. On a coarse grater, rub a piece of laundry soap, then pour the potatoes into the pan with water. Heat the mixture, bring to a boil, mix well. As soon as the solution warms up, you need to put tulle on it for 10-12 hours. After the time, the tulle will have to be washed and rinsed.
Modern technologies provide a wide variety of bleaches and stain removers for any material. When using these tools, follow the instructions and be sure to read the contraindications. You should not use such tools often, as they adversely affect the tissue and its structure.
Helpful tips for how to wash the curtains
- First of all, please read the curtain label carefully. It may contain advice from the manufacturer on care or contraindications of any process or medium. If the curtains drain after washing, it means that the water temperature was chosen incorrectly.
- If you do not know the material, you do not have to take any risks: in this case, it is better to wash the product with your hands. The water should be lukewarm, and better wash the curtains with shampoo.
- Before washing the curtains, be sure to shake them carefully. Due to this, all the dust accumulated on the surface will fly away, which will improve the quality of the wash and reduce its duration. In addition, the curtains can be vacuumed, which also frees them of dust and facilitates washing.
- When washing curtains, only curtains should be placed in the drum of the washing machine, preferably one sheet at a time, since something else cannot be washed with delicate material.
- Too dirty curtains, it is desirable to soak in water with detergent for 10-12 hours. In this way most of the dirt on the surface will remain in the water.
- Any tulle should be washed properly, not exceeding the 40-degree water temperature mark. You can raise the temperature if you need to get rid of grease stains.
- It is not necessary to fill the machine drum completely, because of this, the quality of washing will decrease, as a result of which soap stains will appear on the curtains. Therefore, it is necessary to leave 30-40% of the space empty.
- Do not exert great effort during hand washing, just squeeze the material a little, simply by turning the canvas.
- In the washing machine, you can put curtains in a laundry bag. This will protect the material from damage, and the machine from damage, if the curtains have decorative elements in the form of beads, rings, or nylon buttons.
- It is advisable to refrain from ironing the tulle, the wet canvas hangs on the ledge, but if necessary, it should be done at a minimum temperature, through a slightly damp cloth to avoid yellowing.
