How To Clean Your Home's Curtains In Different Scenarios

If you just moved or want to redo your home décor, you may want to hang up curtains. Curtains are fairly low maintenance when it comes to cleaning, but they still need proper care if they are to last. Here's an overview of how to clean your curtains.

For Everyday Cleaning

Curtains usually do fine without a daily cleaning, but if you smoke or have pets, you may want to spritz a little freshener since odors can embed in the fabrics. If you have velvety curtains that catch a lot of dust or have poor air circulation, you may need to do an everyday clean with a lint roller.

For Weekly Cleaning

For fabric that is new, be sure to vacuum it once a week. You don't have to completely take down the curtains to vacuum them. Use a bristle brush attachment and gently move it downwards as the curtains are still hanging. You don't need to dig the attachment into the fabric, as this can damage it; just gently hover it over the surface and the vacuum will do the rest.

If you inherited older curtains, they may have upholstery pilling. A pill is just a small ball of fibers that occurs over time as the fabric is laundered and broken down. Pilling can look unsightly as it looks like your curtains are covered with lint or debris. It's a good idea—if you like to launder your curtain fabrics regularly—to remove the pills. Believe it or not, there are actually "fabric shavers" on the market that you can use to gently remove built-up pills.

For Deep Cleaning

Because curtains aren't usually worn out like other fabrics, you may only need a deep cleaning once a year. Again, if you have pets—or small children that make messes—you may want to do a deeper cleaning more often. Check your fabric's tags for instructions. If you can use steam on your curtains, you can rent a steam cleaner and vacuum the curtain as you would with your bristle-brush attachment. It's a good idea to test just one edge of the fabric before steaming the entire surface. If the steam cleaner has no problems, clean the entire surface and then let your curtains air dry.

If your curtains are made of delicate fabric, then steam cleaning could be too harsh. Velvet and draylon curtains typically cannot be steam-cleaned. You may want to contact a dry cleaner or other curtain cleaning service to help you maintain the curtains.