How to Clean and Care for Curtains

How to Clean and Care for Curtains

When it comes to cleaning, the curtains tend to occupy a strange middle ground between furnishing and upholstery. While they’re definitely not as difficult to clean as a sofa, for instance, taking them down and having them washed is a bigger ask than, say, cleaning the cushion covers, the bedding, or the blankets. Like rugs, they’re easily left to their own devices until the big, annual spring clean.

It's easily done. Nevertheless, refreshing the curtains has a massive impact on the room – particularly in older houses, where original, metal window frames can cause a little extra damp. And, in any house, curtains help to keep a certain amount of dust from circulating the rest of the room, so giving them that extra TLC will benefit you in more ways than one.

Here’s how to clean and care for curtains.

Once a week

During the weekly go-over, we’d recommend giving the curtains a good, firm shake to loosen the dust they have trapped throughout the week. Busy areas of the home are going to trap a lot more dust than quieter parts of the home but, in any room, you’ll be surprised how much is kicked up with a simple shake.

You can vacuum around the curtains after and, using the brush head attachment, gently run the nozzle over the fabric to dislodge any dust that has worked its way between the fibres.

Before shaking off the curtains, it’s definitely worth getting the stepladder out and wiping the curtain rod with a microfibre cloth. The cloth will pick up most of the dust, but a little could be knocked down into the fabric so use that old rule of working from the top down.

A lint roller – or even just a few strips of tape – can also be very effective at dislodging any well-seated dust from the fabric gently.

We’re not suggesting for a second that, each week, you’ll see great plumes of dust rising from the curtains with one hard shake. That’s not going to happen unless you’re doing this once in a blue moon. But the fact remains that dust is a natural consequence of a busy, well-loved household – and curtains tend to bear the brunt of that.

A couple of times a month

It’s always worth giving your curtains the opportunity to breathe – something natural fibres like linen and cotton are very good at. Doing so will mean that odours are less likely to linger between the fibres and, bit by bit, bring down that feeling of freshness in the entire room. You won’t necessarily notice this happening, but people who don’t spend a lot of time in your home may not get quite the same impression you do.

You can buy upholstery refresher sprays, but these aren’t ideal – particularly if anyone in the house is sensitive to perfumes, or suffering from asthma. The dyes in fabrics can be ruined by these harsh perfumes too, so keep away.

Instead, we would recommend simply throwing open the windows and letting the fresh air get to your curtains as often as possible. This is a lot easier in the summer than it is in the winter, and, for obvious reasons, we wouldn’t recommend you do it when bad weather is forecasted. But, if you spot an opportunity to let the fresh air into the room, it’s always worthwhile.

Remember that, if you’re looking to deodorise, baking soda really is one of the best supplies you can lean on. It doesn’t require any fancy concoction, either, since simply pouring a few tablespoons of baking soda into a wide, shallow dish and leaving it open nearby – say, overnight – will help to combat any lingering smells. This is particularly effective if you have pets – just make sure they are locked out of the room first.

Every few months

When it comes to natural fibres like linen and cotton, preserving their beauty and ensuring they last for decades (at least) is a job for the dry cleaners. Some people do wash linen in the washing machine but, if you want to keep the dye as it was when you first bought the fabric, the dry cleaners is more than worth the time and cost.

This is one of the reasons why we’re fond of the seasonal curtain. If you have your curtains on a yearly rotation, you can swap them out when it’s time for one pair to go to the dry cleaners rather than living with a bare curtain pole for a couple of days every few months.