Thermal curtains are at your service 24/7 throughout hot summer days and chilling winter nights, so you definitely should return the favor too by always keeping them clean. After all, they deserve some reward for their work, right?
Thermal Curtains do the work of air conditioner and heater at the same time, along with the regular curtain duty. Sounds like a rewarding job to us!
But you need to keep them clean and wash at least once or twice a year.
And this is the part what’s bothering you the most, isn’t it?
‘Cause when it comes to washing thermal curtains, suddenly people start to act crazy like they have been advised to clean some strange engine from the future.
Wash the curtain? Sure!
Wash the thermal curtain? Um……should I call the 911?
No! It’s not that much of a hard task!
The fact of this being a thermal curtain doesn’t make its washing method something ‘rather exceptional’ than regular fabric washing.
Yes, the curtain is sewn in a slightly different method, but that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t clean it the traditional way.
However, instead of going all “it’s just like ten other curtains” on thermal curtains, take a break and think what you’re doing. Definitely, you don’t need to go some extra mile for this, but you certainly got to take a different route.
Keeping the sunlight out of the house, easy. Keeping the temperature under control; yeah, manufacturers had to do some additional work on the piece of fabric to bestow that ability.
One wrong move will destroy that ability in no time, so you have to be vigilant.
We know you don’t want to ruin your thermal curtains, so we prefer you go by the following ways to keep them clean.
Tips to Washing Thermal Curtains
Dust Them Regularly
One thing that truly sucks about our environment is that debris are always all around us. And this is a huge threat for thermal curtains. Due to their blocking nature, trashy things are repeatedly getting trapped on the surface every second, and we don’t need to explain the aftermath.
You can use both dusting cloth/brush and vacuum cleaner for this problem, do what suits you the best.
Dusting brush is slightly better than cloth considering the cleaning process. As you’ve noticed, brushes contain bristles, and those bristles can reach crucial creases better than plain fabric cloth. And it also gets the job done faster than cloth.
When you’re using a vacuum cleaner, the machine will take care of the process, so you have no say in this one. However, you are in charge of its direction, so do that part right.
As they’re supposed to, your cleaner comes equipped with a brushing feature. Use this feature for proper dusting; as we have already mentioned above, bristles do a better job at bringing out the debris from all sorts of places.
You don’t need to bring the curtains down for dusting though. The hanging state makes it rather easier to go through all the fibers of the fabric.
Dust these curtains regularly, don’t wait for a whole month to end.
Mild Wash Is Needed Too
Dusting them regularly is mandatory for keeping the fabric clean, but that’s not enough. And do we even need to explain the reason? You and every other full-functioning human being know why.
Dusting takes care of simple, dry debris; which is really easy to deal with. But what about those stubborn pieces of trash that are stuck within the fiber or that subtle trail of dust that looks like a semi-dark stain? Tricky, huh?
This is when you got to activate your light wash mode on. That’s right, we are talking about fabric cleaning sprays and detergent that are meant for light wash only.
Wait, slower your steps. Don’t start filling the tub with water, we’re not going that far. Just a mild soaking and dabbing process, nothing more or less than that.
This time, you got to take the curtain down. You can’t wash it while it’s hanging from the rod.
Before cleaning the whole thing, start with one small corner for test wash. Thermal curtains are sensitive, it won’t be a good idea to wash the whole thing when you’re not certain about the possible outcome.
Take a piece of cloth and soak it in lukewarm water. Start rubbing the soaked wet cloth on the surface in a circular motion. Use a little fabric cleaning spray or detergent in the process. And then dab the surface with another piece of cloth.
The piece used for dabbing mustn’t be wet like the previous one.
Dry out the curtain properly, plenty of fibers of lightly washed cloth fail to get dried out in the open environment and thus, humidity gets the worst of them. Which later results in fungus and permanent stains. Can lose their vibrant shade of color as well.
Next Read: How To Hang Pocket Rod Curtains With A Pin Hook
A Literal Wash
You can’t put these curtains in the washing machine like your regular clothes, but you have to drench them in water at some point. Not every month, but at least one time of the year; which time, that’s for you to decide.
Fill a tub with water, pour some detergent. And we mean actual washing detergent, not some light substitute. Now drown the curtain piece in the water and give it a good rub.
And by good rub, we don’t mean something extreme which will damage the fabric. So, be gentle.
Or you can always send these curtains to professional cleaners for a safe wash. You won’t have to worry about damaging the fabric then. What can be better than a proper wash performed with good hands?
Now, once you’re done with washing, rinse every curtain piece properly to get rid of soap water trapped inside the fibers. Then put them out for drying.
When those curtains are all dried out, iron them to straighten out all the creases caused by rinsing and drying. You can use a steamer as well.
Now hang them back in their places, and you’re done with the whole cleaning process!
See? Told you washing thermal curtains isn’t that much of a difficult job!
This is Autem Decker. Main Author of ‘TheHomeDigs‘. You may not find her on the list of top 10 contemporary Canadian interior designers, but everyone who knows her says she was born to be an interior designer.
She makes her plan in her head and draws them in her years-old diary with a note in the corner. The way she plays with color and shape amazes us.
Connect Her On – Twitter
