I mentioned a few days ago that I was trying to clean my breakfast nook blinds and failed pretty badly. Actually, since then I've tried to clean five different sets of blinds, and I have yet to find an effective method. However, to paraphrase Thomas Edison, I haven't failed; I just discovered several different ways that are NOT useful for cleaning blinds.
Method A: The Cheater
My first attempt involved as little work on my part as possible. I was dusting every other surface in the house with a rag and some Pledge; why not the blinds? This didn't work, though. The dust clung stubbornly to the blinds, rather than wiping easily away like it does on a tabletop. I couldn't effectively scrub, because the blinds moved back and forth. I called it quits on this one after about five minutes of work.
Method B: The Sock Puppet
The next thing I tried came from here. It recommended using an old, large sock to cover my hand, then dunking the sock into a water and vinegar mixture. Theoretically, I could run my hand over each individual blind and the dust would stick to it. Apparently I have some particularly stubborn dust at my house, though, because all this effort did was create a muddy look on the blinds themselves. When I tried to rinse the sock in the ACV, the dust just stuck to it, and I felt like I was simply putting dust back on the blinds. I cleaned most of the blinds this way, but they looked so visibly dirty that I had to assume that this method was a failure.
Method C: The Splish Splash
Further searching revealed a series of websites like this one that recommended placing the blinds in a bathtub with warm water and dish soap. I tried the breakfast nook blinds in the tub, but they were too long to fit, so I can't, in good conscience, count that as an attempt. However, I DID put our living room blinds in the tub to give the method an honest effort. I let the blinds sit in the bathtub for about then minutes, then started separating the pieces and swishing them through the water with my hands. The site above recommended wearing gloves, but I didn't have any, so I skipped it. I now understand why they are essential. The mini blinds' edges are just barely sharp enough to cut fingers. It's only about as bad as a paper cut, but I do have about ten tiny cuts on both my hands. Now, this technique did get more dust and dirt off the blinds than any of the others have so far; the tub had noticeable dirt in the bottom when I was done. However, when I re-hung the blinds, they actually looked far worse than before. The dirt that remained had just rearranged itself and caked together, making muddy-looking streaks.
Method D: The Old School
At this point, I was starting to assume that it would be easier to throw the blinds away and buy new ones than to actually keep trying to clean them, but I wanted to at least try to finish the job I'd started. I got a roll of paper towels and set about wiping away all the excess water from the still-damp blinds, hoping to get off the dirt as I went. (And I got a lot of dirt.) However, when I stepped away and looked at the big picture, the blinds were STILL dirty. I then grabbed my handy-dandy Lysol wipes and started wiping each individual piece off with it. This method might have been effective, if I hadn't spent 15 minutes cleaning one set and gotten discouraged at the lack of pay-off for the amount of labor. (It would also be expensive; Lysol wipes are probably the most expensive cleaning item I'm using.)
Method E: The Big Guns
By now I was really frustrated, to the point that I was seriously considering tearing down each set of mini blinds in the house and throwing them away. Then I remembered that I had stumbled across another site that recommended what I thought at the time was an overly-involved and time-consuming method. Basically, it suggests hanging a set of blinds outside between two ladders and cleaning them, by hand, a little at a time with a spray bottle of cleaning solution (or ACV?) and a hose. We don't have two ladders, and I certainly don't have the time or space to take the blinds out in the driveway and clean them while corralling my kids, but it's starting to appear that this may be the only remaining option. (Except that I have read on another website that there are professional blind-cleaning companies. I wonder if they're worth it?)
Method A: The Cheater
My first attempt involved as little work on my part as possible. I was dusting every other surface in the house with a rag and some Pledge; why not the blinds? This didn't work, though. The dust clung stubbornly to the blinds, rather than wiping easily away like it does on a tabletop. I couldn't effectively scrub, because the blinds moved back and forth. I called it quits on this one after about five minutes of work.
Method B: The Sock Puppet
The next thing I tried came from here. It recommended using an old, large sock to cover my hand, then dunking the sock into a water and vinegar mixture. Theoretically, I could run my hand over each individual blind and the dust would stick to it. Apparently I have some particularly stubborn dust at my house, though, because all this effort did was create a muddy look on the blinds themselves. When I tried to rinse the sock in the ACV, the dust just stuck to it, and I felt like I was simply putting dust back on the blinds. I cleaned most of the blinds this way, but they looked so visibly dirty that I had to assume that this method was a failure.
Method C: The Splish Splash
Further searching revealed a series of websites like this one that recommended placing the blinds in a bathtub with warm water and dish soap. I tried the breakfast nook blinds in the tub, but they were too long to fit, so I can't, in good conscience, count that as an attempt. However, I DID put our living room blinds in the tub to give the method an honest effort. I let the blinds sit in the bathtub for about then minutes, then started separating the pieces and swishing them through the water with my hands. The site above recommended wearing gloves, but I didn't have any, so I skipped it. I now understand why they are essential. The mini blinds' edges are just barely sharp enough to cut fingers. It's only about as bad as a paper cut, but I do have about ten tiny cuts on both my hands. Now, this technique did get more dust and dirt off the blinds than any of the others have so far; the tub had noticeable dirt in the bottom when I was done. However, when I re-hung the blinds, they actually looked far worse than before. The dirt that remained had just rearranged itself and caked together, making muddy-looking streaks.
Method D: The Old School
At this point, I was starting to assume that it would be easier to throw the blinds away and buy new ones than to actually keep trying to clean them, but I wanted to at least try to finish the job I'd started. I got a roll of paper towels and set about wiping away all the excess water from the still-damp blinds, hoping to get off the dirt as I went. (And I got a lot of dirt.) However, when I stepped away and looked at the big picture, the blinds were STILL dirty. I then grabbed my handy-dandy Lysol wipes and started wiping each individual piece off with it. This method might have been effective, if I hadn't spent 15 minutes cleaning one set and gotten discouraged at the lack of pay-off for the amount of labor. (It would also be expensive; Lysol wipes are probably the most expensive cleaning item I'm using.)
Method E: The Big Guns
By now I was really frustrated, to the point that I was seriously considering tearing down each set of mini blinds in the house and throwing them away. Then I remembered that I had stumbled across another site that recommended what I thought at the time was an overly-involved and time-consuming method. Basically, it suggests hanging a set of blinds outside between two ladders and cleaning them, by hand, a little at a time with a spray bottle of cleaning solution (or ACV?) and a hose. We don't have two ladders, and I certainly don't have the time or space to take the blinds out in the driveway and clean them while corralling my kids, but it's starting to appear that this may be the only remaining option. (Except that I have read on another website that there are professional blind-cleaning companies. I wonder if they're worth it?)
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