How to Clean and Care for Blinds, Curtains and Shutters (Without Wrecking Them)

Most window coverings need very little: a dust every few weeks and a damp cloth when something lands on them. The damage we see comes from people doing too much — soaking a coated fabric, scrubbing a slat, putting a sheer through a hot wash. Here's what to do for each product we make, and what to leave alone.

A sunscreen roller over a kitchen bench. Screen fabrics are the easiest thing on this page to look after: a damp cloth and it's done.

The rules that apply to everything

Roller blinds, by fabric

If a roller starts to roll unevenly or telescope to one side, it's almost always a bracket that has drifted out of level. Loosen, re-level, tighten. If the chain feels gritty, wipe it with a damp cloth — dust builds up in the links. Choosing a new roller? The roller blinds buying guide covers fabrics and fit.

Curtains: sheers and blockouts

S-fold sheers on a ceiling track. Vacuum on low from the top down; they'll go years between anything more than that.

Vacuum sheers and blockout curtains from the top down with the soft brush on low suction every month or so. That's the whole routine for most homes. Spot-clean marks with a damp cloth and mild soap, blotting from the outside of the mark inward, and let the fabric dry hanging.

For a full clean, check the care label on the heading first — some sheers are machine-washable on a cool, gentle cycle, others are dry-clean only. If yours can be washed, unhook the curtain from the runners, wash it cool, and re-hang it damp so gravity pulls the S-fold back into shape — don't tumble dry and don't iron hot. Lined blockout curtains are better dry-cleaned than washed; the lining and face fabric can shrink at different rates. Check the care label on the heading first; it wins over anything on this page.

Two things that aren't faults: a brand-new curtain takes a few days of hanging to settle into its folds, and hem length can move a few millimetres with humidity. Both are normal for fabric. If your sheers hang in front of a roller, the layered-window guide covers the clearances.

Venetians

Tilt the slats closed, wipe along them with a dry microfibre cloth or a duster, then tilt the other way and repeat. For a proper clean, a damp cloth with mild soap along each slat. Visionwood (PVC) and aluminium slats don't mind moisture, so a bathroom venetian can be wiped as often as you like (more on what suits a bathroom). Purewood timber slats want a dry or barely damp cloth — timber and water don't get along — and a little furniture polish once a year keeps the finish.

Vertical blinds

Vacuum the vanes with the brush attachment, or wipe fabric vanes with a dry cloth. Marks on fabric vanes: damp cloth, mild soap, blot. PVC vanes wipe clean with anything mild. Don't take fabric vanes down to wash them — the weights and the stiffening can distort. If a vane stops turning with the others, it has usually just slipped off its carrier hook; lift it off and re-hang it.

PVC plantation shutters

The lowest-maintenance thing we make. Dust with a duster or the vacuum brush along the louvres, then wipe with a damp cloth when they need it. PVC shutters don't absorb water, so a bathroom shutter can be wiped down after every shower if you like. No abrasive cleaners, no scourers — they scratch the finish and the scratches show. If a louvre goes slack over the years, most panels have a tension screw on the side that takes it up.

Motors, chains and hardware

Common questions