A Quick Guide to Maintaining Window Treatments in Washington, D.C.

Window treatments are excellent ways to keep your home a bit more fashionable and functional, as they not only add style, but also contribute to the privacy and comfort within your house. However, window shades and blinds can only do so much, especially if you ignore their cleaning and maintenance needs. You must keep your window treatments free of dust and dirt by washing them as often as you can.

If you live and work in the nation’s capital though, chances are you probably won’t have a whole lot of time to devote to cleaning your house as often as you want to. When you do get the time, you will probably find yourself straining your back scrubbing and washing off all the dirt that collected in between your cleaning sessions. Here are a few unconventional yet efficient tips on maintaining window treatments in Washington D.C., written by Sophie Walton for Yahoo! Voices.

You don’t have to force yourself to take time in washing your blinds every week; do a simple dusting run instead, as it takes much less time and effort. It also keeps the dirt from collecting to near-insane levels by the time you get around to picking up a bucket of cleaning solution and a wet rag. When you are dusting, make sure to lay an old piece of cloth below the blinds so you don’t have to vacuum the same dirt afterward.

Do you fear tearing the blind’s slats when you have to remove a thick layer of dirt with your hands? Use a paintbrush instead; soak it in soapy water or oil soap and apply it to your blinds carefully, one slat at a time. Be sure to remove any excess cleaner off the blinds using a clean piece of cloth.

Never forget that different types of blinds will warrant different cleaning and maintenance methods, due in no small part to the quality of the materials used. For instance, many metal blinds are fragile and might easily bend; thus, they need to be handled with care (and not with heavy hands) when cleaning. Another example are Venetian blinds – they shouldn’t be deep cleaned, lest they warp in the dampness.

Dependable suppliers like Beltway Blinds can help you look for sturdy Washington, D.C. window treatments, and some might even install it for you. However, the question of how long those blinds or window covers will last is entirely up to you and how efficiently you can maintain them.