How do I clean velvet curtains other than dry cleaning?
Question:I took two set of curtain for cleaning and had a shock when the bill was £95.
I now want to self clean a set of long velvet curtains
Answers:
Steep them in a bath of cold water for as long as you can and keep changing the water it will surprise you just how dirty the water becomes. Then pop them into the washing machine using a wool cycle and wool detergent,
only dry cleaning, i'm afraid...how dirty are your curtains? and that seems like a lot, try another dry cleaners
I tried to wash some once. One at a time in the washing machine on a low gentle setting. Seemed OK at first and put on line to dry. When dry they looked rather scruffy and the velvet all patchy. Tried a light iron but they looked awful.The label said dry clean only.If the curtains are of good quality I think you will have to pay the bill. Cheaper curtains probably buy new ones and discard the old ones.
You could hand wash, but I usually do a machine wash on cold for delicates.
The spin is less & the lack of heat wont shrink them. Can't promise that'll work for velvet, but thats what I do for items that say dry clean only.
Or.you could high steam iron them with a damp towel over the top, that'll draw the filth out & leave it on the towel...hopefully! :D
Steaming them works a treat. You can hire a steamer from a hire shop or just use your kettle. Steam the area that needs cleaning and when it's dry, brush with a suede brush or stiff hairbrush. If they are discoloured by sunlight, steaming will bring them up a bit but generally speaking, once the colour has faded, there isn't much you can do about it.
on the shopping channels they are always advertising steam machines to clean curtains. I don`t know if it works but it seems to on tv.
I think JML do a steam machine and wilkinsons and woolworths stock jml products.
could try to do in them in washiing machine on a cold wash depends on how big they are tho
I have washed mine successfully in my washing machine.
Wash each curtain separately at a low temp.wash also be careful with the spin speed as you do not want them to crease too much. When dry iron on the inside. Good Luck.
i hung mine over a bath of steaming water for a while, hung them back up and next day vacuumed them brought the pile right back up and shifted all the dust
More Related Questions & Answers...