Halp! How would you clean dirty mini-blinds?

[grasswire]

I'm cleaning my apartment hoping to get back a deposit, and see that the miniblinds (which I kept scrolled up to the top because I had my own draperies over them) are pretty dirty. Short of taking them down and putting a hose to them, and short of taking a toothbrush and several hours, what do you recommend?

[Hepburn]

1. Well.......

Leave them scrolled up IMO.

[shraby]

2. Take them down and put them in the bathtub.

You can clean them there.
Just don't try the dishwasher..I did on one set and it came out with the slats permanently bent because of the things in the dishwasher that hold the plates upright. LOL

[arwalden]

26. Yep... This is what I did!! It Worked Great!! (I Used Liquid Tide)

And soaked them... then gently swished them around by repeatedly picking them up out of the soapy water and lowering them back in to the soapy water.

Rinse well and dry them off by hanging them over the shower rod. Good luck!

We had just quit smoking and we were repainting and cleaning EVERYTHING... it was amazing how dirty the blinds were and how CLEAN they came!

[happyslug]

3. Take them down.

The quickest way I have found to clean mini-blinds is to take them down, take them to your tub and use a scrub brush on them with a hose from the shower. Every other way just takes to much time.

[grasswire]

16. egad....they are eight feet wide!

I don't think that's possible. Besides, I already cleaned the bathroom. But thanks for the help, I appreciate the suggestion.

[happyslug]

21. Eight Feet in a BATHROOM?????

That is a HUGE window especially for a BATHROOM. What is it Eight by 5 feet???? Know I had a similar large window at one time. What I did was take out the large blinds and installed two sets of smaller blinds (i.e. two sets of 48 inch wide blinds). Worked out nicely and when I cleaned them fit in the tub quite well. Think about the option of replacing the mini-blinds. I would suggest profession help in the matter for an eight foot coverage is a HUGE piece to cover, to large for someone without a good bit of experience to do.

[grasswire]

25. uh, no

Two are for picture windows in the living room and dining room. Three are smaller. I don't think I said they are in the bathroom. Did I?

[BurtWorm]

4. Are they dishwasher safe?

:shrug:

[DinahMoeHum]

5. Try a feather-duster.

:shrug:

[The empressof all]

6. vacuum

Use the little vacuum brush attachment and vacuum up as much of the dirt as you can. I wouldn't advise getting them wet--then it becomes a massive project.

[grasswire]

14. that's what I'm afraid of...

...I know that once you get them wet, then you have a whole other problem and it takes forever.

[CottonBear]

7. 3 steps:

1. vaccum with brush tool.
2. use a lambswool duster sprayed with some Pledge. (you can wash the duster later using some Dawn detergent and then blow dry to fluff up)
3. touch up with a damp dustcloth

EDIT: Occasionally, go outside and tap duster to get rid of dust and then respray with Pledge.

The bathtub method works best if you've got the time. Use a dish detergent and a soft brush. Rinse well. A shower sprayer helps.


I have a friend who owns a cleaning business. She swears by lambswool dusters. Bed Bath and Beyond have them.

[Sweet Freedom]

8. If they're just really dusty

use a large dry paintbrush to sweep away the dirt.

[goddess40]

11. great idea! nt

[BiggJawn]

9. Yours or theirs?

Yours: throw 'em away. they're cheap and the ones you have might not fit where you're going anyway.

Theirs: Quickest way possible. Vaccuum, feather duster, just leave them furled. As long as they're not damaged, I don't see what the problem would be.

But Landlords want to give that "damage deposit" back so much that they'll tell you "Sorry, the tops of the door and window frames didn't pass the 'White Glove Test'..."

[grasswire]

12. theirs

And I don't have a lot of time. Thanks for the hints.

[MissMillie]

10. Take them down

and replace them with shades.

[n2mark]

13. I use

the Swiffer Dusters on my mini blinds and shutters. Does a great job.

[AlCzervik]

15. Bathtub, fill it up and add some bleach if they are white

i used to dunk mine in my pool.

[AutumnMist]

17. Use

A swiffer cloth to clean it. Those things truly get dust out. Get the major dust out with a dust buster if its really dusty. You can buy the slotted blind cleaner tools at most major stores. Wrap a swiffer cloth around it and get the rest of the dust. I have allergies and asthma so the flying particles gets to me, the swiffer cloth gets most of the free flying particles. Good luck! :)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

18. mini-maids

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. Oxyclean is the very best on cleaning blinds. But there really is no

way getting around having to take them down and soak them.

[catzies]

20. If they're aluminum slats, be very careful taking them down/rehanging

Once way back when I was a renter, I too tried to clean the blinds to get my deposit back. Well, they got bent in the process and I had to pay.

[txaslftist]

22. Rip 'em out and buy curtains.

[B Calm]

23. Gas Powered Leaf Blower

[China_cat]

24. Much as I hate to recommend it

go to Home Depot and buy new ones. At that width, they'll still cost you less than $20.

(Mine for my regular windows are $2.39)