Dust blinds every week or two with a microfiber cloth or a vacuum brush, closing the slats one way to do the front and the other way for the back. Vinyl and aluminum blinds can be wiped with mild soapy water. Keep water off real wood, and spot clean fabric shades only if their care guide allows it.
The quick weekly dust#
- Lower the blind fully and tilt the slats closed so they form a flat surface.
- Dust from the top down with a microfiber cloth, a lambswool duster, or the vacuum's soft brush attachment on low suction. Use light strokes along the length of the slats.
- Tilt the slats closed the other way and do the back.
- Run the brush along the top of the headrail, which nobody looks at and which collects the most.
- Vacuum the windowsill last, since that's where the dust you knocked loose landed.
For a horizontal blind, working each slat from the middle out toward the ends, with your other hand behind it for support, keeps the slats from bending. Don't jam a cloth between closed slats and drag it, which is how slats get kinked.
How to clean blinds by material#
Water is fine on some blinds and ruins others, so the material decides the method. Bali's cleaning guide is blunt on wood ("Never use water on wooden blinds") but says vinyl vertical vanes can be taken down and immersed. Here's how that plays out:
| Blind type |
Routine |
For grime |
Avoid |
| Aluminum or vinyl mini blinds |
Dust weekly |
Wipe with mild soapy water, or soak in the tub |
Abrasive pads, leaving the headrail wet |
| Faux wood |
Dust weekly |
Wipe with a barely damp cloth |
Soaking, harsh cleaners |
| Real wood |
Dust weekly |
Dry cloth or a wood-safe dusting product |
Water, all-purpose sprays |
| Vinyl vertical vanes |
Dust or vacuum on low suction |
Take the vanes down and wash in soapy water |
Getting the head track wet |
| Fabric vertical vanes |
Dust or vacuum on low suction |
Spot clean only if allowed |
Immersing, dry cleaning |
| Cellular and pleated shades |
Dust or vacuum monthly |
Spot clean only if allowed |
Rubbing, soaking, magnetic dusters on some fabrics |
Can you wash blinds in the bathtub?#
Aluminum and vinyl mini blinds, yes, if they come down easily. Lay an old towel in the tub so the slats don't scratch it, fill it with warm water and a squirt of dish soap, and let the blind soak for 20 minutes or so. Swish it around, wipe stubborn slats with a sponge, then rinse with the shower head. Keep the headrail and its mechanism out of the water as best you can. Hang the blind back up while it's still damp, lowered and with the slats open, so it dries straight, and put a towel on the sill underneath.
Don't put wood, faux wood or fabric blinds in the tub. Faux wood is usually fine with moisture on the surface, but soaking gets water into the ladder tapes and headrail. Real wood can warp or lose its finish.
Cleaning real wood blinds#
Dust is really the only thing real wood blinds need. Bali's guidance is to dust painted and stained wood with a soft cloth. For a sticky fingerprint, a cloth with the faintest bit of moisture, dried immediately, is as far as most people should go. Skip furniture sprays and oils unless the blind maker approves them.
Cleaning fabric shades#
Fabric shades are the type most likely to be damaged by cleaning. Bali recommends monthly dusting and vacuuming for cellular and pleated shades. Hunter Douglas's care page says not all of its window treatments can be spot cleaned, sends you to each product's manual to check, and says not to vacuum some fabrics at all. It also warns that magnetic dusting mitts damage the backing on light-dimming fabrics. Where spot cleaning is allowed, blot with a mild detergent on a white cloth. Rubbing scuffs and creases fabric. For dust trapped inside cellular shades, a hair dryer on the cool setting blows it out without touching the fabric.
Look up the exact product name from your receipt or the label on the headrail before you put any liquid on a shade.
How often should you clean blinds?#
Dust them every week or two. That's enough to stop dust from bonding to the slats, which is what turns a five-minute job into a bathtub job. Do a wet clean on washable blinds once or twice a year, or more often for kitchen blinds, where cooking grease makes dust sticky. Bathroom blinds near the shower may need a wipe every month or so, since humidity gives the dust something to stick to.
Signs your blinds need more than a dust#
- The slats feel tacky when you run a finger along them.
- There are yellow or brown streaks on blinds near the stove.
- You see gray spots along the edge of each slat that don't move with a dry cloth.
- Dust falls out every time you raise or tilt them.
Common mistakes#
Using a regular vacuum head at full power. It can pull fabric and bend thin metal slats. Use the brush attachment and the lowest suction setting.
Spraying cleaner directly on the blind. It runs down into the cords, the ladder tapes and the headrail. Spray the cloth instead.
Cleaning a broken blind. If slats are bent, the lift cord is fraying or the mechanism jams, sort out the repair first. Tugging on a stuck blind with a wet cloth in your hand usually makes things worse.
Clean the blinds with the rest of the window#
Clean the blinds before the glass, so the dust you knock loose doesn't land on freshly cleaned windows. If you have curtains over the blinds, wash them on the same day using our curtain washing guide. And if you're doing a whole room, work top down: the ceiling fan first, then blinds, then everything below. A biweekly ChoreLists.com reminder to dust the blinds is easy to keep up with.