Comments on: Cleaning Window Blinds & Cellular Shades

By: Kari

Kari — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:55:36 +0000

We have the honeycomb blinds and they are filthy. They are cream, but turning black at the bottoms with dust/dirt. We are thinking of getting curtains because they are so gross, but if anyone has any ideas of how to clean them – it would save us some money. Please help!!

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:39:22 +0000

I just cleaned all my duette blinds in the bath tub, 9. They came out really clean. I hung them outside to dry.

By: Darlene

Darlene — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 01:02:43 +0000

I did it! (well I have some 96″ ones that are still dirty) but I had one room with 69″ cellular shades that I took on with the above advice.>I used some bleach, oxy clean and some HE laundry detergent in a bath tub of very hot water, soaked for about 20 minutes and used a large soft pot scrubber on the dirtiest part at the bottom> then I carted them outside (using a bucket on wheels) where I put up two ladders and hung the shade on a piece of PVC tube @ 8′ long, through one of the top cells>straddled it between the ladders (make sure your ladders are tall enough, measure both curtain length and ladder height) and I had to put pieces of foam in the holes at the top of the ladder to make sure the PVC would stay put.>then I put a PVC in a lower cell and positioned it between the ladder bottom.>I then used a hose to rinse the soap off>Then I used my electric blower to blow dry the drape about 80% dry! It worked perfectly and they are beautiful!! I took pictures and will try to find a place to post them. and re post the link. It was actually easier than I thought, the most tedious was using a ladder to remove the shade.

By: Laurel

Laurel — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:50:38 +0000

Enter Your Comment
My cellular shade doesn’t crease properly when I try to open it all the way. Any ideas on how to fix it or what the problem is?

By: Nancy

Nancy — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:15:08 +0000

Enter Your Comment We have approximately 15 cellular shades in our home and dirtiest ones are in our living room; I’ve read all of these comments and just am so afraid of washing them in the tub, besides it would take forever to do all of them. I could just do the living room ones. Any ideas? I called a cleaning place to do them and you have to take them down yourself and take them to the cleaners and that sounds like a pain!!

By: Connie

Connie — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:29:56 +0000

How do I get the dead insects out of the cells themselves? They seem to migrate there to die!

By: Clare

Clare — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:32:39 +0000

Please, please help us Hunter Douglas!!! What kind of tool can I use to get the bugs out of my Hunter Douglas silhouette blinds!! I”ve also tried my hand held vacuum, my vacuum, my blow dryer and a stick with cloth on it. They are just not helping. So I took them all down (I have 12 windows in my sunroom that have these on them ) washed them as you said and now there’s dead wet bugs in them! I am so frustrated…please don’t make me regret having spent so much money on them!! Is there a product out there that I can purchase to get the bugs out??

By: Sarah Phelan

Sarah Phelan — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 02:09:51 +0000

I just moved into a condo with honeycomb blinds on every window. While I love the look, I hate when bugs get caught in them!.. I’ve tried to use my vacuum attachment but it’s so awkward I can’t hold it up that high. Then I tried my hair blower but the nozzle is too big…Help, any and all suggestion will be appreciated!! Sarah

By: julie brogan

julie brogan — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:14:16 +0000

How to you get bugs out of wide window coverings? The bugs have gotten trapped in the pockets.

By: Cleaning Tasks

Cleaning Tasks — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:36:54 +0000

Thanks for these cleaning tips! I seem to have quite a problem with cellular blinds though. I’ve even tried soaking them in the tub, and I simply cannot get them clean. More information would be greatly appreciated.

By: Sydney Carpet Cleaning

Sydney Carpet Cleaning — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:36:56 +0000

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By: Steve B

Steve B — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 06:09:26 +0000

I have a set of blinds that have become habitually “slimed” by my cat. I have been able to retain the proper creases, but need to find a cure for the dirt my cat has left behind.. Any advise or previous experience would be appreciated. Thank you.

Steve B.

By: cindyloohoo

cindyloohoo — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:32:36 +0000

Do you soak them in the narrow/closed position? If so, do you loosen them to rinse them?

By: Charles

Charles — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 05:27:00 +0000

I second the oxi-clean idea. I’ve done exactly as oxymee describes and they came out great!

By: chris

chris — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:33:08 +0000

I plan on washing my Hunter Douglas cellular blinds (warm water, mild soap, soak in bathtub for 10 minutes then completely dry. I want to spray the back of the blinds with a total blackout spray which allows NO light to come through.

Any suggestions or experience with sprays?

By: BB

BB — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:55:06 +0000

WASH YOUR BLIND WITH A HOUSE AND MILD DETERGENT ON A SLOPING DRIVE WAY AND LET IT DRAIN THERE FOR SOME TIME AND HANG IT UP.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:53:37 +0000

I just bought a home with pleated blinds on the windows. I love them, but noticed that when they are raised, the pleats of the larger blinds do not readily fold. Can I spray them with something that will make them retain their shape better?

By: Oxymee

Oxymee — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:08:43 +0000

To wash my window blinds, I soak them in oxyclean. It’s amazing how clean they get! I use 1 to 1 1/2 scoops of oxyclean and 1/2 cup of laundry detergent, a long plastic storage container with hot or warm water and soak them for about 1/2 hour or so. Usually I pre-mix the oxyclean in a tall plastic cup to get it activated it in hot water and in 10 min or so it looks like a bluish slushy but then it’s good to go! I soak everything including the wand part and the little sliders for the ends.

By: Gloria

Gloria — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:16:19 +0000

Enter Your Comment Thanks Mads – I took your advice and washed in the bath tub with Tide w/bleach and they came out beautiful. I let them soak for about ten minutes and squeezed the water out with them closed and rinsed in the same closed position. Hung to dry and now my shades look like brand new.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:11:55 +0000

Ultrasonic Cleaning
For a comprehensive cleaning of Cellular Shades, you can use a professional ultrasonic cleaning. However, the shade should be handled with a mild cleansing solution and should be washed carefully. In addition, makes sure that the fabric is in a stacked or closed position when it is being removed from the tank so that water can’t get trapped in the honeycombs.

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:07:58 +0000

I got this off of a blinds site:

Fabric Pleated Shades
Most of the cellular shades, like the Hunter Douglas Duette shade, are anti-static, and they require very little cleaning. A light sweep with your vacuum cleaner brush attachment is all that is needed to keep them dust free. For a more thorough cleaning, the entire shade assembly may be gently wiped with a soft damp cloth using lukewarm (not hot) water. Take special care when handling opaque (blackout) shades to avoid creasing, and do not immerse them in water. For tough stains, spot clean with a mild detergent. Some shades, like the Graber Crystal Pleat have a “soft hand” fabric. Be very careful when trying to clean these types of shades as they tend to “pill”.

I assume that high humidity is not very good for these blinds. You may need to do what Mads did.

Honeycomb cellular shades are both durable and functional. To keep your honeycomb cellular shades looking like new, we at http://www.blindsanddrapery.com recommend regular dusting with a feather duster. You can also use the brush attachment of your vacuum or even blow off dust with a can of compressed air. If you need to deal with stains, blot with a damp sponge and a very mild soap. If this does not take out the stain, you can remove the honeycomb cellular from its mounting bracket and soak it in warm, mild soapy water. Be very careful! Make sure to test the soap on a discreet corner first and rinse thoroughly. When you are ready to put your honeycomb cellular shade back in the window, make sure to raise the shade tightly to re-crease the pleats.

By: Jeff and Patti

Jeff and Patti — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:39:31 +0000

We have cellular shades in bathroom and have a dust/dirt build up that does not come off with vacum or light water. looks like heavy dust build-up? They are only four years old. Looking for ideas!!

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:31:02 +0000

Did you remove them from the hardware or clean them assembled

By: fun in the sun Judy

fun in the sun Judy — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:01:35 +0000

GET RID OF THEM. MOLD STAINS ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT. TREAT YOURSELF TO SOME NEW.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:09:43 +0000

I have shades that were in a bathroom and have mold I have tried a mold cleaner with no luck any suggestions