Keeping your venetian blinds in great condition is easy to do with a little regular maintenance.
On a weekly basis:
Once a week, use the soft bristle attachment on your vacuum cleaner to clean your blinds. Start with the blind in the closed position and in sections, run the attachment across the blind in the same direction (ie. Left to right). Once you’ve done the entire side of that blind, use the cords to open the blind, then close the blind in the opposite direction, so that the cleaned side is facing away from you. Then repeat the cleaning process for this side too.
Alternatively, if you don’t have a soft bristle attachment, or want to use people power instead, invest in a static duster. You can buy them from places like Officeworks, eBay and Big W. These dusters use a static charge to attract the dust to the duster and off the blinds. On the plus side, they are easy to use, but some people find that some of the dust can transfer to another piece of furniture, rather than to the duster itself.
Either way, which ever method you choose, this weekly maintenance should be enough to keep your blinds looking great!
Every three months:
At the start (or end!) of each season, it’s a good idea to finish your weekly clean with a more thorough clean.
So, after you’ve used either your vacuum cleaner or static duster to remove the dust, you can clean the blind with a cotton glove, or an old, clean sock. Get your glove or sock and dampen it very slightly. Excess water will damage your blind. Wring out your glove or sock and ensure it is only damp, with no drips.
Then, with the blind in the open position, hold the slat in one hand to steady the blind and with your gloved hand run along the length of the slat. This cleans both sides of the slat in one go. Repeat until you have done all the slats on your blind. Do this in sections so that you can remember where you’ve been. Once you’ve done the entire blind, leave it in the open position to dry and then use as normal.