How to Maintain and Clean Your Blinds: Tips for Keeping Them Looking Like New

Just installed your new blinds and are dreading the moment you have to clean them? Total Look Blinds is here to help. Properly maintaining your blinds doesn’t have to be complicated which is why we’ve compiled a list of the best tips and tricks to keep your blinds looking as new as the day you got them. 

 

The Importance of Blind Maintenance

Blind maintenance isn’t at the top of anyone’s chores list, It often gets overshadowed by more messy daily tasks. Too many people put off cleaning their blinds only to be confused as to why they’re so worn down. 

Cleaning blinds is a fairly simple and infrequent process that, with a little consistency, will protect your blinds from degradation. But, the benefit of proper maintenance extends beyond appearances. Blinds easily accumulate dust and debris which in turn affects air quality. Dust inhalation has a whole plethora of adverse side effects meaning that properly cleaning your blinds can even lead to you living a longer, healthier life. 

 

Cleaning Methods for Different Types of Blinds

Different blinds have different requirements so it’s crucial to use the correct method. We’ve compiled a list of the best ways to clean dust and debris off the most common types of blinds:

Roller and Roman Blinds

Cleaning Roller and Roman blinds is a straightforward process. First, fully extend your blind to make sure no crevice is missed. Then, using a vacuum with a brush head attachment simply vacuum the surface of both sides. 

In most cases, this is all you’ll need to do to ensure clean blinds. However, if you’ve got a particularly stubborn spot, you can wet your cloth to help gently wipe away any debris. 

Venetian Blinds 

Venetian blinds require a little extra care as their slats can make the cleaning process longer. In order to most efficiently clean them we recommend closing the slats so they lay as flat as possible. You can then wipe them with a microfiber cloth or for those in a rush, a carefully placed vacuum nozzle works just as well. Then, open the slats and spot-clean any parts you may have missed. 

If a cloth isn’t getting the job done you can wipe your Venetian blinds with water and a cleaner. Blinds made of aluminium or PVC work with most mild cleaners but in order to prevent damage to wooden blinds it’s best to use a gentle wood cleanser. 

Vertical Blinds

Vertical blinds are similar to Venetian blinds in that they require extra precision. First, open each slat and gently run a microfiber cloth or vacuum cleaner from the top to the bottom. While vacuum cleaners are effective, it’s important to be gentle when using one because vertical blinds can be more prone to buckling. 

If your blinds require a deeper cleaning, you can remove them and gently wash them with a bowl of lukewarm water and a mild detergent. Don’t forget to wash the headrail with the same mixture as this is where most dust accumulates and it can be easy to miss when you’re focusing on the slats. If the headrail is hard to reach, we recommend investing in an extension pole that you can attach a feather duster or cloth to. 

 

Dealing with Stains and Spills

Lightly cleaning your blinds once a week with one of the above methods is often all you need to maintain their quality. However, accidents happen and sometimes we need a more thorough cleaning. Here are our top tips for removing stains: 

  1. While you can purchase gentle fabric cleaners, dish soap diluted in water often does the trick for fabric blinds.
  2. In a similar vein, while you can use gentle wood cleaners, a mixture of diluted lemon juice and cleaning alcohol can be a good home remedy for stains on Venetian blinds. 
  3. Being gentle is key for blind maintenance, make sure you dab at stains rather than rub them as rough movements can cause wear and tear. 
  4. A diluted vinegar solution works especially well for removing grease and food stains 
  5. Whenever you purchase a stain removal product or create a solution make sure to spot test it. Dab the mixture on, wait ten minutes and if there aren't any adverse effects feel free to continue your cleaning process. 

 

Maintenance Tips for Long-Term Care

If cleaning your blinds sounds like a hassle, there are plenty of preventative measures you can take. While this won’t eradicate the need for cleaning completely, creating good habits is the key to long-term blind maintenance. Here are some of our recommendations: 

  1. Opt for moisture-resistant blinds in your bathroom in order to prevent damage from humidity. If you already have non-moisture-resistant blinds, ensure you have plenty of ventilation to prevent deterioration. 
  2.  While this tip may seem obvious, it’s important to avoid excessive force. By opening and cleaning your blinds carefully you prevent long-term wear and tear. 
  3. Make sure to inspect your blinds occasionally for any damage. By checking for broken or bent slats, loose screws or malfunctioning mechanisms you can ensure any problems are fixed before they escalate. 

 

Conclusion

By incorporating these tips and techniques into your regular home maintenance schedule, you’ll have better-looking blinds in no time. From spot cleaning to long term maintenance, every small action you take makes a cumulative difference. But, if you’re looking for more professional advice, feel free to get in touch with our expert team. We’ll recommend products, services and maintenance solutions that will solve any niche problem and ensure your blinds are looking their absolute best.

Top Quality Custom Blinds and Shutters

Total Look Blinds has the best and most experienced people in the industry with a combined experience of greater than 180 years within the industry. If we can’t help you nobody can. We offer free help and advice when you ask us to meet with you.
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What Our Customers Say

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D Smith
I've used Total Look Blinds on a number of occasions and have always have excellent quality and service, Lauren is fantastic to deal with. I highly recommend them!
Stephen Ball
Very happy with result, beautiful appearance. High quality, efficient and effective at a good price.
Paula Reason
Total Look Blinds are amazing ! Fantastic fast service , top quality product, friendly, and best of all , installed early !
Gaye Heywood
Total -Look BlindsWould recommend them they are organised, friendly, great communication, quick installation. Nothing is a problem. Very happy with their service from start to finish.
Trudi Stevenson
Total Look blinds were an outstanding company to work with. They installed both shutters and blinds in our home at competitive prices and using high quality materials. Timing and installation were faultless. We are thrilled with the service and the result.
James B
Lovely blinds with professional service.Sincere thanks to Laren for your helpful advice and Carl for excellent installation…..much appreciated
Mary McDonald
Having worked with Total Look Blinds previously, they were our number 1 choice when we decided to install Shutters in our new home - we are absolutely thrilled with the result. Adds a 'wow' factor ! Thank you so much TLB - everyone we have dealt with has been fantastic. We highly recommend dealing with this Team - they are great and their product - TOP NOTCH!
Vaughan Ludlam
Excellent product, pricing and service from Total Look Blinds – thanks David, Lauren, Carl & the rest of the team.
Vicki Landon
Cannot fault Caroline and the team from Total Look Blinds. Very professional and accommodating. Friendly people from the measuring, advice on product and installation. We have used them in several houses and will continue to do so. Highly recommend Total Look Blinds.
Antoinette Cooney
Happy to recommend the service and products provided by Total Look Blinds recently.Terry did the initial measuring with helpful suggestions. Roger the installer was great and a perfect tradesman to help us ‘oldies’ - no rushing through the job or explanations. Pleased with our vertical and roll up blinds👏
Mark Jeus Buenavista
Great company to deal with. Terry is very knowledgeable. Happy with the outcome of our kitchen windows with shutters. Next project would be shutters in our living room windows. Thanks Total Look Blinds team!
David Lim
Vertical and horizontal blinds completed on time. Reliable and great people to deal. Over the years, I have engaged the services of Total Look Blinds a few times and I have always been pleased with the results. I would do it again in the future with any hesitation. Highly recommended.
Niall Robertson
Excellent service quality product from this company who consistently delivers a great personal experience to its customers.Comes highly recommended. Thank you Team!
Kambiz Radman
Could not be happier with my new sun screens and blinds, look awesome. The material seems nice and hopefully durable (I'll update you on that later)."Terry" is a positive Rep who speaks clearly. He measured well but didn't explain some installation details, which confused me afterward. However, "Carolyn" came to the site and explained everything very well. Roger is a professional installer who did a quick and clean job. Thanks "Jo" for admin updates and following up. 101% recommended.
Melissa Slater
Awesome consultation gave really good ideas and pointers. Quick to manufacture and install. End result is beautiful.
Jackson Whitham
Outstanding service from everyone at Total Look Blinds. Jo was incredibly helpful in quoting a sun screen blind over the phone including looking up previous work done at home to match measurements, ordered over the phone and installed in less than 2 weeks - well ahead of schedule - high quality, friendly installer. Definitely recommend using this company!
Lia Wongsohardjo
I love my roller blinds from Total Look Blinds, the products are great. They have excellent customer service, the sales, the admin and the installer are amazing. I have bought from them twice for my house in Oteha and now in Orewa where I moved recently. Terry is very expert, kind and helpful, he is a talented salesman.
hong he
Love the company and the products they provided and installed. We are very grateful for their wonderful support and help!
john millanta
Roger was wonderful put them in nicely great service total look 👀 blinds
Diane Andrew
Recommend this company highly. Efficient and quality service. Very happy with my blinds. Very reasonably priced
Audrey Usmar
Amazing customer service and product!! From Lauren doing the quote and recommendations, to Carl doing the install, to the amazing office support with Jo... Highly recommended. You can't go wrong with this awesome group looking after you THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
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Great service from quote to install. Deliver on their promises. Multiple repeat customer. Excellent team to deal with.
Sarahlou Clark
AAA+++ service professional recommended to all. I thought I could imagine what it was going to look like but I am absolutely rapt looks so fresh, clean and high end it’s mind blowing and great price Thank you so much.
Lanice McMillan
Thank you for your awesome service and flexibility to get quotes on very short notice. Love the roller blinds
Angela Shepherd
Roger did a fantastic job of installing our new shutters. He was very professional and very friendly. His attention to detail was impeccable. (Terry was involved in the initial consultation and was also very knowledgeable and helpful.) We would definitely recommend them. AAAA++++
Jim Richardson
Total blinds were Totally Professional. Excellent service from measurements to advice given through to the final fitting and the blinds look great! The price was also very reasonable and far better than competitor's. I totally recommended Total Blinds. Thanks! Jim
Bhavika n Divesh Kumar
We used Total Look Blinds in 2005 for our family home. After 19 years of wear and tear we needed some parts and couple of vertical blinds track needed fixing. Took a drive to Takanini and was greeted by the office lady Jo who was very helpful and was amazed when she pulled out our 19 years old invoice from their record. The team manage to fix the track within a day and got the parts i needed at a fair price. Highly recommend them if you want quality products and a fantastic after sales service. Great company to deal with 😊
Nerissa Attewell
Excellent service, quick turnaround the whole team were informative and helpful! We love our blinds so much :)
Ant MacLean
Had an old vertical blind that was manufactured by them, that was broken. Excellent cheery and quick repair service and great value too.Support kiwi jobs stay local. If you buy something NZ made you can get spares.
nicola taylor
Amazing company, amazing team and amazing service. Totally recommend Total Look Blinds.
Parvaneh Karimi Fishani
We had double roller blinds installed in our new house. The price was much more reasonable compared to other shops, and their service was reasonably fast. The staff were friendly and helpful!I can't say much about the quality of the material since the blinds haven't been installed for long, but we hope they will be as good as the service we received!
Leila El-yassir
I cannot recommend Total Look Blinds enough. From start to finish, their professionalism, expertise, and attention to detail were truly commendable. The quality of their blinds is exceptional.The customer service provided was second to none. Brent and David were knowledgeable, friendly, and always ready to assist. They patiently answered all my questions and helped me make informed decisions that perfectly matched my style and requirements.They went above and beyond to ensure that I was completely happy with my blinds. Any concerns or issues I had were promptly addressed and resolved to my utmost satisfaction.I highly recommend Total Look Blinds to anyone in need of high-quality blinds and outstanding service. I am extremely pleased with my blinds and the overall experience. Five stars all the way!
WYNN RIECHELMANN
Absolutely love our TotalBlinds shutters! They have transformed our bedroom. Service from measure up and quote was excellent and communication with the TotalBlinds team was a pleasure! They took half the time than was quoted by another supplier and although they were a bit cheaper, the shutters are very good quality. Plus they are NZ made! Highly recommend!
Lisa Fong
Could not be happier with my new shutters - big shout out to Total Look Blinds who did a fantastic job with the measure, manufacture and installation! All done in NZ so would highly recommend!
Debbie Somervell
We received excellent service from beginning to end.We are returning customers and would highly recommend.Thanks.
John Trotman
We had Total Look Blinds install blinds in our House they were very professional and efficient,from when Terry first measured and Quoted until the blinds were installed,would recommend them for all your blinds and curtains you may need,Thanks again for a great service.
Prabhath Lewke Bandara
Pros:Swift and efficient measurement and quote processShortest lead time in the industryOutstanding product quality and craftsmanshipGenerous and reliable warrantyProfessional and attentive teamCons:None to mention – Shutters exceeded all expectations.
Grant McFlinn
From first contact with Sales Consultant Lauren to Jo in the office and installer Carl, the entire process was nothing short of exceptional. As for the blinds themselves, thanks to Lauren's invaluable input, they look amazing and are undoubtedly high quality. Thoroughly recommend and will most definitely use again.
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Love my new shutters - they have transformed our guest room and bathrooms! From the sales visit to the installation, so easy to work with the great people of Total Look Blinds! Love that they are made here in NZ too! Thanks!
Tracy-Ann Willcock
Thank you Jo and Roger at Total Look Blinds. Your service and after service and products are absolutely fantastic. From 3 years ago when Roger installed the Blinds to the fantastic after sale service today, absolutely brilliant. Jo and Roger are just such nice people. Thank you!
Marley Brady
We had stunning shutters installed throughout the house. The staff were great and we love the final look! 5 stars
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