Window blind
One product name over at least three materials that want opposite treatment. The wooden ones must stay dry; some metal ones can be put in a bath of water — as long as the headrail is kept out of it.
What not to do
Solvent wiping is prohibited by the manufacturer for Window blind
Best avoided
The available guidance advises against this.
The manufacturer states this for the WOOD and alternative-wood products. The metal ones are separately cleared for an over-the-counter blind cleaner on a soft cloth.
Evidence
Supported
Sources
How to Clean Blinds, and How to Clean Wood Blinds
Hunter Douglas · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That ultrasonic cleaning or the use of chemical solvents and scrubbing cleansers is not recommended for wood and alternative wood blinds, and that they will damage the product. (states this directly)
Precautions
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
Start here
What this is, what tends to go wrong with it, and what to do about it.
Made from
Which part are you cleaning?
These parts take different answers. Cleaning one the way you clean another is a common way to damage this.
- Blind headrail
The exclusion inside the manufacturer's immersion instruction, and the reason 'can I wash my blinds' is a question about the mechanism rather than about the slats.
Things not to use here
What tends to go wrong
- Water marksvia its material
What hard water leaves behind when it evaporates instead of being wiped away. A mineral film, not dirt, and the fix is at the drying stage.
Why it is difficult: Water hardness, Evaporative deposition
- Silicone residuevia its material
Left by most furniture polishes, invisible, and present even after a finish has been stripped to bare wood. It is discovered on the day somebody tries to refinish.
Why it is difficult: Water-repellent and water-attracting surfaces, Coating thickness
- Mould fungivia its material
The organisms behind the marking. Around 1.5 million species, each with its own conditions — and killing them does not end the exposure they created.
Why it is difficult: Organic load, Moisture control and recurrence, Biofilm
The science behind this: Material compatibility, Fibre swelling and shrinkage, Soap versus detergent, Residue and resoiling, Alkali attack on light metals
In detail
Blinds are a textbook case of a question that cannot be answered until you know what the thing is made of. The routine is the same for all of them and it is DRY: a soft cloth or dusting mitt, blind lowered to full length and slats tilted almost closed, or a vacuum with a brush attachment. After that the answers diverge. On WOOD and alternative wood, the manufacturer closes off the wet options outright — ultrasonic cleaning, chemical solvents and scrubbing cleansers are not recommended and WILL DAMAGE THE PRODUCT — and fine wood is kept away from steam, high-moisture rooms, rain and sprinklers. Stained wood is treated periodically with lemon oil or another wood preservative, like furniture. On METAL blinds the same manufacturer permits the opposite where the product allows it: immerse the whole assembly in lukewarm water with mild detergent and wash for five minutes. The exclusion inside that permission is the useful part, and it is not about the slats. The HEADRAIL of a blind with an operating mechanism in it does not go in the water, whatever the slats are made of.
What works
Soaking is safe on, in specific conditions, Window blind
Safe only in specific conditions
This is only appropriate within specific limits. Outside those limits, no claim is made.
Only within these limits:
- METAL blinds only, and only the products the manufacturer names — never wood or alternative wood
- Lukewarm water with a mild detergent
- Five minutes, moving the water gently with your fingers rather than scrubbing
- THE HEADRAIL STAYS OUT OF THE WATER on cordless, motorised, retractable-cord and glide systems, and so does the bottom rail on the lift system that houses its mechanism there
The instruction most likely to be applied to the wrong blind. A wooden slat looks like it would survive five minutes in a bath and the manufacturer says the wet methods will damage the product.
Precautions
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
Evidence
Supported
Sources
How to Clean Blinds, and How to Clean Wood Blinds
Hunter Douglas · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That the entire shade assembly may be immersed in lukewarm water with mild detergent and washed for five minutes by gently moving the liquid with your fingers, and that the headrails of the named operating systems and the bottom rail on the lift system must not be immersed. (states this directly)
Related
- Window blind has the component Blind headrail
- Window blind is made from Finished wood flooring
- Window blind is made from Aluminium
Sources for this page
Sources
How to Clean Blinds, and How to Clean Wood Blinds
Hunter Douglas · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That every blind is dusted with a soft cloth or a vacuum brush attachment, that ultrasonic cleaning, chemical solvents and scrubbing cleansers will damage wood blinds, that fine wood is protected from steam, moisture, rain and sprinklers, and that metal blinds may be immersed in lukewarm water with mild detergent for five minutes except for the headrails of named operating systems. (states this directly)