Many folks often neglect their Custom Curtain rod when cleaning their house simply because they don’t look that dirty. However, it’s been proven that drapes actually hold a lot of dust and grime that can seriously affect the quality of the air in your home. So for your convenience, we have made this short useful guide on how to properly clean curtains at home, no matter the material.
Check the labels for the appropriate cleaning methods
If you don’t want to permanently damage your curtains, we advise that you check the label for the recommended method of washing. Some materials such as silk or velvet, for example, are too delicate to be put in the washing machine, so they need to be hand-washed. Others are pretty sturdy and will probably survive most of the DIY cleaning techniques. Finally, there are also the ones that can only handle the gentle dry cleaning method.
How to clean curtains in washing machine
Now, let’s begin with the safest methods for cleaning your curtains in the washing machine.
Keep in mind that with most drape materials, treating them with hot water will often result in shrinkage.
Check with your manufacturer what the recommended temperature is for both washing and drying, if you have a dryer. We advise that you always put them on the delicate cycle, just to be on the safe side. For the finer materials, you choose a slow spin with cold water.
Usually, it doesn’t really matter what type of laundry detergent you will use. If you have one that is specially made for the fabric of your curtains, go with that one. Do not use bleach or any other abrasive cleaning solutions.
We recommend you use the washing machine only for your lightweight drapes. The heavy ones retain water for a much longer period of time and the rinse cycle does not help at all.
The best drying option will be to air dry them so that there is absolutely no chance of damaging the drapes.
How to hand wash curtains
Hand-washing is recommended for delicate fabrics and for the times you are not sure if your curtain will survive a cycle in the washing machine. It’s surely the safer option for all kinds of drapes but it is the harder one to complete, as well. Here are some general steps to help when you need to clean your drapes.
Invest in a gentle laundry detergent or soap that is made just for hand-washing fragile materials such as silk and lace.
Carefully read the instructions of the chosen detergents as different kinds are used in different concentrations.
Wash the curtains only with cold water and do not use any hard brushes or other tools that might damage the fabric.
If your drapes are too heavy, consider dry cleaning or steam cleaning them. The drying time is a lot longer as they soak up a lot of water and detergent.
Air dry your freshly cleaned curtains.
How to dry clean your curtains
As we’ve mentioned above, delicate and bright-coloured curtains are best dry-cleaned. They can shrink, lose their colour and get damaged by almost any wet-washing method, so you always need to be super careful when treating those fabrics. This is why we do not recommend dry cleaning curtains at home as it’s fairly easy to mess up and permanently damage your drapes. However, if you do have the confidence, here is what you can do.
Get a suitable “dry-cleaning-at-home kit” with instructions.
Test the fabric if it’s colourfast. Just put a small dose of the chosen detergent on a small inconspicuous area. If the colour fades away, then you shouldn’t treat the rest of it with the same chemical.
Once you have found the right kit for your curtain, follow the instructions carefully and the same as with the hand-washing method, do not use any abrasive brushes.
Clean only one curtain at a time.
When you are done, hang them away from direct sunlight.
If you need to iron them, always put a white towel, blanket or a t-shirt on top. Never iron the drapes directly.
We are one of the China curtain pole factory, welcome to your come and purchase!
We are one of the Curtain pole suit and bulk manufacturer, welcome to your come and purchase!