Cleaning Lace Curtains

When you want to enjoy privacy in your home without blocking out natural sunlight, investing in lace curtains can be a good solution. Lace curtains can add style and function to your home, but they can also get dirty quickly because many lace curtains come in light colors (think white or beige).

Here are some tips you can use to help keep your lace curtains looking clean in the future.

1. Use cold water to soak out dust.

As your lace curtains hang in your home, they can accumulate dust on their surface. Attempting to brush off this dust could cause dirt particles to become lodged in the small spaces between the lace fibers. Rather than brushing away dust, you should soak it out of your curtains using cold water.

Add cold water to a bucket, and swish your curtains around in the water. Let them soak, but be sure to monitor the cleanliness of the water. Change out water in the bucket when it comes soiled, and continue soaking until the curtains can sit several hours in the bucket without soiling the water. This process could take up to a week if your curtains are really dusty, so be patient. Lay your cleaned curtains on a flat surface to dry before hanging them again.

2. Use bleach to remove yellowing.

Exposure to environmental contaminants like smoke or food particles can cause your white lace curtains to become yellow over time. Using the right bleach product can help you restore your curtains to their previous whiteness. When bleaching your lace curtains, be sure that you are using an oxygen-based bleach as opposed to a chlorine bleach to protect the integrity of delicate fibers within your curtains.

Add bleach to your washing machine according to the manufacturer's directions (typically one scoop of bleach per load) and fill the machine halfway with hot water before adding your curtains. This will allow the bleach to fully dissolve in the water, and prevent your curtains from sustaining bleach spotting during the cleaning process. Once the machine is full, turn it off and let the curtains soak overnight. Drain the water from the washing machine and run a rinse cycle, and your curtains will be whiter than ever.

Lace curtains can add elegance and privacy to any room. Be sure that you are keeping your lace curtains looking clean by using cold water to remove dust and investing in an oxygen-based bleach to remove yellowing in the future. If your curtains are still looking dingy, consider having them professionally cleaned by a company like Majestic Rug Cleaning Co. Inc.