dirty Venetian blinds

JuliusCaesar

what's the best way of cleaning them?

They're filthy! But, they are quite wide - about 2.25metres wide. I don't like them, so have kept them up mostly. Bit of a shock when I let them down today! We live on a busy road so they will get dirty whenever we have the windows open.

Minister Boyce

You're a week too late with this Post, I saw aldi advertising a veinitian blind cleaner for a couple of euro last week

JuliusCaesar

Hi Minister, I looked up the Aldi site, but the blinds are beyond the help of something fiddly like that. I suppose I'm looking for someone to say, oh, put them in the bath, one end at a time......

yop

Would a steam cleaner help?

Think there in one in either Aldi or Lidl this week.

magentas

are they wooden or aluminium?
if they are really really bad you may have to untie them from the bottom and remove each slat and clean with a damp cloth individually.
slow and painful process though, if it's a small enough window won't be too bad
be careful not to bend/warp any of the slats

venetian blinds are not supposed to be left up, it ruins the chords as they can't support the full weight of the blinds like that

for future reference, just give them a light dusting each week to keep them clean
rub the handle of the duster between your hands, this creates friction which collects all dust particles

Ponder013

I've tried those special blind cleaner things, but the only way to clean them properly is to remove them from the window, lay them out on the floor and wipe over each blade (both sides) with a damp cloth and then a dry one.

When they are totally dry, give them a good squirt of furniture polish and a buff.

It's a hell of a job, but once done, you should only have to give them a quick, weekly flick with the duster. (until next spring clean time)

(to remove the blinds, there are clips at the top which should slide out to release them from the housing)

Hope that helps