Like all blinds, pleated blinds attract dust and dirt and need a good swift clean every now and then. Unfortunately, most people don't clean their pleated blinds as regularly as they should to keep them looking their best all year round.
We've put this helpful guide together to show you how you can clean your pleated blinds easily at home.
Top tip: Clean your pleated blinds first, followed by other tasks such as hoovering floors and mopping.
Dusting your pleated blinds
The manner and effort you put into cleaning your pleated blinds will depend on how dirty they are. They may need a good going over with a feather duster if lightly dusty.
- Starting with the plastic parts of the pleated blind system, use a microfiber feather duster, or you can use a warm wet microfiber cloth for a deeper clean to remove dust and dirt. If using a damp cloth, ensure you take a clean, dry cloth to dry these areas.
- Now, with the feather duster, move onto the fabric, going from left to right, following the accordion folds until you come to the end of the blind.
- Repeat on the other side of the fabric.
Dusting Cellular Pleated Blinds
The above instructions apply for cellular pleated blinds, but there is also an extra step as dust and dirt can get trapped inside the honeycomb-shaped pockets.
- Take a blow dryer on the cool setting to one side of the blind. Blow through each honeycomb pocket section, and any loose dirt and dust should come out the other side.
- If you have time, take the blinds down, and hold them so the cellular pockets face the floor. This will be even more effective in helping loosen and move the dust with the blow dryer.
Vacuuming pleated blinds
Are your pleated blinds heavily covered in dust? If the answer is yes, vacuuming the fabric is a good idea.
- Using the soft brush attachment, take your vacuum and gently vacuum from left to right following the accordion folds.
- Be careful with suction levels, keeping them low as we want the neat accordion folds to hold their shape and ensure there is no warping.
- We strongly advise you not to use the standard floor brush attachment as you could transfer loose dirt and dust to your pleated blinds.
Cleaning light stains
Pleated blinds that are positioned in high foot traffic areas and areas like kitchens are more likely to develop stains; follow the below steps to help tackle these.
- To remove light stains, use water with a clean cloth.
- Gently dab the stain and repeat until it has disappeared.
- Please pay attention to where the stain is and be careful to keep the folds in their original shape when dabbing to ensure they do not warp.
- Do not use strong liquids or stain removers as you could affect the dye.
Cleaning stubborn stains
If using water alone doesn't remove your stain, it's tempting to have your pleated blinds dry cleaned. However, we do not recommend this for pleated blinds.
- The next best thing is to use a mild soap or detergent at home with a damp clean cloth and gently dab the fabric until the stain dissolves.
- Ensure you check that the care instructions allow this before doing so, as this could cause accidental damage or staining if not recommended on the fabric.
Stick to a regular cleaning schedule
Pleated blinds regularly dusted shouldn't need any further cleaning throughout the year. However, if you do let it build up and your blinds require a deeper clean too frequently, this could affect the fullness and body of the pleated fabric. Therefore it's crucial to keep on top of dusting; we recommend dusting on a weekly or at least fortnightly basis.
Share the Swift love
We hope the tips in this article will leave your pleated blinds so fresh and so clean and your home back to looking its best. If you feel your space could do with new blinds, take a look at our quality collection of made-to-measure pleated blinds. If you enjoyed reading our guide, please consider sharing this with others and spreading the love.
