Monday, November 1, 2010

How to Clean Your Blinds

One winter, I noticed that the condensation on a set of our blinds had turned moldy. GROSS!!! I immediately took them down knowing I'd have to clean and bleach them. But how could I do it? The only times I remember my mom cleaning the blinds when I was a kid, she had to lay them out in the sun to let them dry. That was not a possibility in the middle of winter. Just the same, these had to go or mold allergies would be kicking in.

Here's how I did it:

Sinch them up together for easy moving. Off they go to the bathtub. Bleach away the mold first, solve the rest of the problems later, right?

(Thankfully, this is when brilliance struck.) Hang the blinds with a couple extra shower curtain hooks!


After I bleached them, I knew I'd still need to clean off the grime and dust that accumulates. I'm a big fan of SC Johnson Scrubbing Bubbles, and I thought I'd give it a try.


It worked brilliantly!! Turn your blinds just enough to be able to see the whole surface of each slat. Spray liberally with Scrubbing Bubbles (Mega Shower Foamer is not necessary--standard Scrubbing Bubbles are great, this is just what I had on hand). Allow to sit for a couple of minutes. Go back and look with disgust at how much grime has dripped off of them and is now draining down your tub. Give them a good rinse with hot water. Repeat if necessary.

Helpful tip: Try not to let the Scrubbing Bubbles dry on the blinds. This will make sure that all the work it has done to clean away at the grime doesn't then turn into a dried layer of soap and grime.

Helpful tip #2: Turn on your hair dryer and close the doors for several minutes. This will help speed up the drying process if you need to hang them back up quickly.

I was so thrilled with this, I finished cleaning the rest of the blinds in the house in record time. GO SC Johnson Scrubbing Bubbles*!!

Widge mentioned last week in a comment that her favorite cleaning tip is to vacuum her oven! Love it! Can't wait to try it so I don't have to touch those mystery burnt chunks that inevitably land in my oven.
What's your favorite cleaning tip?

*SC Johnson is not sponsoring this post, I just feel that strongly about how amazingly it worked to clean my blinds. I'm a fan!

22 comments:

  1. Hi Mindy! I was ready to stick your button on my blog for November when I realized I don't have it - - could you send it to me?? thanks -- mandybeez at gmail - -Mandy, Sugar Bee Craft Edition

    congrats on winning the blog swap giveaway!

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  2. Love this...going to try it this weekend :)

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  3. Thanks for the tip! I soooo need to clean mine!

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  4. Fabulous idea! I am going to try this. AND, love the oven cleaning tip too! Thanks for sharing.
    Best regards,
    Gloria

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  5. I need to try this on my blinds. They have a nice layer of cat hair and fuzz and who-knows-what.

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  6. I hope it works well! I've had it clear off years of grime on some blinds. =P

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  7. Never heard of mold on blinds!! I actually just cleaned blinds yesterday to get ready for Christmas. The windows have to be sparkly clean so tree lights can look their best!! I just vacuum my blinds, then wipe down with a wet rag and a dry one. Living in the desert, they can get pretty dusty!

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  8. Vacuuming would work--thanks for sharing the tip!

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  9. Oh yes, vacuum out your oven... best if you have a shop or we/dry vac though! Hubs has vacuumed out the bird cages before too, keeps random feathers and fluff from flying around.

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  10. your blog is excellent....I really liked your blog, appreciate the great information about Blinds Cleaning.

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  11. Replies
    1. Great question! Check the label on the Scrubbing Bubbles to see if it says NOT to use near or on wood. But if you can use water on them, start with spraying down the dust, find a cleaner that is safe, then make sure you get them dry as quickly as possible.
      Hope it works out!

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