How to Clean Venetian Blinds

If you own or have ever owned Venetian blinds, then you’ll know how much of a dust magnet they are AND how much of a pain they can be to clean.

Getting in between each individual slat to remove dust and dirt is a time-consuming job, there’s no real quick way around cleaning this type of window dressing. But, you can speed up the process slightly by having the right technique and keeping on top of regular dusting!

 

What are Venetian Blinds?

Venetian blinds are horizontally slatted blinds that can be tilted to block out sunlight. They can be made from a few different materials, usually wood, plastic, PVC, vinyl or metal with the most prevalent being thin aluminium slatted blinds due to their robustness and relatively cheap price tag.

No matter which material your Venetian blinds are made from, they are amazing dust-catchers… unfortunately. So let’s take a look at some of the ways to clean these practical yet annoying window dressings.

 

Deep Clean Venetian Blinds

If you’re going the whole hog on cleaning your blinds, then you will want to start by taking them down. You can choose to take your blinds outdoors to do some deep cleaning, or (for colder months) you can clean them indoors too.

The following techniques only work for metal Venetian blinds as they can soaked in water without damaging them. Just make sure to protect any of the connector elements from becoming wet, as they could rust if exposed to too much water for too long.

DO NOT use these methods for wooden Venetian blinds.

Cleaning Venetian Blinds Outdoors

If you have outdoor space at your disposal, then you can do your blind cleaning in the fresh air. Choose a sunny day to allow for your blinds to dry thoroughly before rehanging them inside.

1. Lay out a large towel, blanket or even a tarpaulin in a place where you have plenty of room.
2. Fill a bucket with warm water and mild detergent.
3. Lay out your blinds out carefully on top of the blanket.
4. Use a non-abrasive brush or sponge to clean each slat gently.
5. Rinse with cold water – you could use the garden hose for speed.
6. Hang up somewhere safe to dry out fully and avoid becoming damaged.

Cleaning Venetian Blinds Indoors

To protect the surface of your bath, place a towel or non-slip mat on the bottom of your tub before placing your blinds in to prevent either surface from becoming scratched or damaged.

1. Fill your bath with warm water up to the level which just covers your blinds.
2. Add some mild detergent to the water.
3. Place your blinds gently in the water and use a soft brush (or a non-abrasive cloth/sponge) to gently clean every slat.
4. If your blinds are particularly stained, leave them to soak overnight.
5. Rinse the blinds with cold water – use your shower head if you have one.
6. Carefully and safely hang them up to dry.

 

How Do I Clean My Blinds Without Taking Them Down?

Here are a few tips on how to clean Venetian blinds while hanging, as we all know it’s a bit of a faff taking them down, letting them dry and then having to put them back up again. The trick here is regular dusting and wiping down, to stop things from getting too grimy!

Dusting Venetian Blinds

In high-traffic areas of the home, dust can build up much faster than you can get rid of it. But, by regularly dusting and cleaning off any marks as you spot them, you can keep your louvres shining!

Use a soft microfibre cloth or cleaning mitt – I often use a worn old (clean) sock that is destined for the bin – and wipe each slat in turn. Start at the top and work your way down and wipe from the middle of each louvre out to the sides.

This video from YouTube demonstrates how to clean Venetian blinds and has a little extra tip in there for those who like a cleaning hack!

Alternatively, you can close your blinds so all the slats are tilted downward and use a duster to run from top to bottom and wiping only in that direction to avoid moving the blinds and damaging them. This method is perfect as a regular cleaning task to add to your list as it is quick and easy and if you keep it up, you won’t need to get too involved cleaning your blinds.

Handy tools to dust Venetian blinds:

• Venetian Blind Cleaner – perfect for keeping wooden Venetian blinds clean
• Microfibre Cloth
• Microfibre Glove or Mitt

Cleaning Venetian Blinds

Cleaning your blinds while they are still hanging requires warm water and mild detergent as mentioned above for deep cleaning, only this is mostly used for spot cleaning – for example, in the kitchen if there has been food splattered onto the blinds.

Clean off any sticky bits from your blinds by gently wiping the area of the slat with a soft cloth or sponge that has been dampened with your detergent and warm water mix and leavng it to dry. Removing this kind of dirt will make sure your dusting mitt or cloth doesn’t get sticky or stained when you run it over the surface of your closed blinds.

If you are cleaning all of your blinds, run your damp cloth over each slat individually, from the centre outwards. Rinse and wring out your cloth in between wiping each louvre. Since you’re blinds are already hanging, this will help them to dry but if you want to speed up this process, use a hairdryer on a cool/warm setting.