Do you look for tutorials on how to clean Hunter Douglas shades? If yes, you have come to the right place. Below you can find a detailed guideline on how to keep this brand’s blinds in impeccable condition.
Can you clean Hunter Douglas shades?
Cleaning Hunter Douglas shades isn’t forbidden. However, given the thinness of the shade fabric, you don’t want to reach the phase when you have to soak it in water and scrub it clean. It’s recommended to dust the blinds as often as you can to prevent the dirt from setting in and requiring a deeper cleaning.
While washing the thin blinds is not a thing you want to do every week, you can use this method in critical situations. It should be once a month or at even longer intervals that you give your shades a wash. You are better off cleaning the blinds regularly to prevent soils and grime absorb into the fabric and dry out.
How to clean Hunter Douglas shades?
As the official page of Hunter Douglas brand suggests, HD products are made to require little to no cleaning. Indeed, if you make a point of dusting the fabric every day, you will never see build-ups of tough dirt on it. However, if you allow yourself to skip a dust or two, you will have to use more complex methods to help the shades clean later. Here are the best ways of tackling dirt on HD shades:
1. Dusting
Dusting the blinds takes just a couple of minutes. Take a feather duster and run it top to bottom on the shades from both sides. Avoid removing dust with magnetic cleaners, as they reduce the blinding capacity of the light-proof fabric.
2. Vacuuming
If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, vacuum the dust using the brush attachment that allows vacuuming each vane separately. To clean in between vanes, you can also use the vacuum cleaner, yet you will find it harder to reach to the dirt. An easier option is to blow the dust away with a hair dryer. However, make sure to wipe down the window glass and windowsill afterwards.
3. Spot cleaning
Vacuum cleaner and feather duster can do little against stains. In case you notice a stain on your shades, spot cleaning is the method you have to rely on. Make a mixture of lukewarm water and dish detergent. Dip a microfiber cloth or a sponge in the mixture and gently scrub the spot. Do not saturate the cloth with soapy solution, as it may lead to water streaks on the fabric. Make the cloth wet and wipe down the shade patiently until the stain comes off.
If you deal with tough and set-in stains, you may have to ask household items like vinegar and hydrogen peroxide for help. However, we wouldn’t recommend to use them in excess as they can discolor the fabric. You would be much safer if you called for a team of professional cleaners to remove the stubborn stains using special techniques and products while keeping the fabric intact.
4. Injection&extraction
According to Value Blind Design, injection and extranction is one of two methods that help deep clean Hunter Douglas shades. The procedure is made by professional cleaners and implies injecting a cleaning agent into the fabric and extracting it right away saturated with dirt. This method is mostly used on extremely messy blinds that are encrusted with grime and soil that can’t be removed with a simple sponge and soap clean.
5. Ultrasonic cleaning
If your blinds are heavily soiled, don’t rush to throw them to the trash can. There is a way you can rid them of all dirty soils and make them look as impeccable as new. This method is called ultrasonic cleaning and is done exclusively by professionals. The cleaners take the shades to their lab where they immerse them into a container with warm water and mild soap. Then, they expose the shades to ultrasonic waves meant to detach the soil from the fabric.
While ultrasonic cleaning offers impressive results, it’s pretty expensive. It’s reasonable to resort to it only when your blinds are oversaturated with dirt. The best is not to allow your shades reach this state.
6. Steam cleaning
Giving your shades a steam clean can do the trick in removing wrinkles and driving grime and bacteria off the fabric. However, those at Horizon Window Fashions call for caution. They recommend to keep the steamer 6-8 inches away from the blind to make sure high heat doesn’t harm the fabric.
Run the steamer across the shade in sections performing top to bottom movements. It will ensure you cover the entire shade and each bacteria is killed. Once you finish, open the windows to create a ventilated environment that helps the blinds air dry.
How often to clean Hunter Douglas shades?
There isn’t a hard and fast rule on how often to clean HD shades. It all depends on how exposed to dirt and contaminants they are. If you keep the window open during the day or if the foot traffic in the room is high, chances are your shades accumulate dust pretty fast. Dusting every day will keep dirt from building up in large quantities and setting in the fabric. If the level of exposure to contaminants is low, feel free to give the shades a clean once a week.
Final thoughts
Want to learn how to clean Hunter Douglas shades? Good news, there is nothing difficult in it. A feather duster, a soapy solution and a cloth prove efficient at removing loose dirt and light stains from the window coverages. You can also vacuum the shades if you aren’t in mood for wiping. If you want to kill the bacteria from the shades, steam clean them. Just make sure the steamer doesn’t come into direct contact with the fabric, as it can lead to the damage of the latter. For stubborn stains and heavy soils, you are best off hiring a team of professionals to solve the issue in the safest and most effective manner possible.
