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When You Want to Clean Your Blinds, Head for the Gutter!

When you hear the phrase “Venetian blind cleaner,” you should not be picturing a sight-impaired maid from northern Italy.

Gutters
Hopefully, she doesn’t charge an exorbitant cleaning rate.

 

Obviously, the term refers to keeping those horizontally-slatted window coverings free of dirt, dust, and stains. Venetian blinds are one of the most commonly-seen options in interior design, especially in budget-friendly homes like apartments and small houses. Conversely, Venetian blinds are among the most difficult to clean; after all, you can’t just throw them in the wash or take them to the laundromat.

Instead, the most effective way to tidy up Venetian blinds is to target one slat at a time. While some people use their bathtub for Venetian blind cleaning, the process can be cumbersome; plus, many homes are equipped with showers only or round tubs which cannot hold the blinds without bending them. Thankfully, there’s an innovative way to accomplish this task for metal or plastic (but not wooden) blinds: head for the gutter!

Using one or more sections of old aluminum, vinyl, stainless steel, or even copper gutters will help you clean each Venetian blind piece easily and thoroughly.

  1. Start by measuring the length of your Venetian blinds and then choosing or cutting a gutter section so that it is at least six inches longer than your blinds. A used section of gutter will work just fine if it does not have any leaks or cracks.
  2. Affix an endcap to each end of the gutter using silicone caulking or sealant so that a closed area is created for water.
  3. Fasten two gutter hangers to the bottom of the gutter near each end using caulk instead of screws.
  4. Finally, affix the bottom of the gutter hangers to a long piece of wood that runs underneath the gutter section. For best results, allow a week for the caulking to cure.
  5. Once the gutter is fixed firmly in place to the wood, you are ready to start cleaning your Venetian blinds. Fill the gutter section about 2/3 full with hot water and a little detergent.

 

Gutters
Time for a gutter bath, blinds!

 

  1. Following product instructions, carefully remove your blinds from the window and then take one slat at a time and place it into the water.
  2. Move the slat up and down within the gutter section several times in order to remove the dirt.
  3. Take out the slat and stand it one end so that any excess water will drain. Do this for each slat of your Venetian blinds.
  4. You can even rehang your blinds while they are still damp if you just wipe them clean with a cloth or towel first.

Of course, you don’t have to clean your blinds in this manner every time you start seeing a little dirt. The “gutter section” method is only ideal for so-called deep cleaning of your blinds – perhaps once a year or so. For regular cleaning, you can simply use a feather duster, cloth, towel, or even an old sock and wipe off each slat. If there are any stains, a small amount of water and/or cleaning solution may be necessary. Some people use a vacuum attachment to clean their Venetian blinds; this is recommended only for durable blinds that won’t be damaged by the sucking power of the vacuum.

 

Gutters
Much better!

 

It’s important to keep your Venetian blinds clean not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to minimize the amount of dust and other allergens that are present in your home. The great thing about using a gutter section to clean each slat is that you only have to build the “cleaning trough” once; then, you can store it in a garage or closet and reuse it from year to year. It may even be a great way to get a DIY spouse or roommate involved in your housecleaning activities!

Written by Del Thebaud

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I recently had the Gutter Helmet by Harry Helmet installed on my house. It not only looks amazing, but the guys arrived on time, were professional and efficiently got the job done. I am very satisfied with Gutter Helmet's attention to detail and fulfilling their work as promised. I will definitely tell my neighbors about the Gutter Helmet.
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I have had Gutter Helmets for 20 years. In all that time I've never had a problem until recently a bird's nest found its way into one of my gutters. The installer who came to replace the product was the same installer from 20 years earlier. Now that's impressive. Everyone at Gutter Helmet inclusive of the office staff were professional and a pleasure to work with.
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VERY happy with our entire experience adding Gutter Helmet by Harry Helmet to our house. Installing this was a great value for us. The gutters are working perfectly in heavy downpours and with year-long leaves and debris coming down from our river birches. Terrific customer service and a first class product.
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We needed our roof repaired due to wind damage. After several quotes, Gutter Helmet was the only company that went into our attic to look and see if more damage had occurred. If it wasn't for them taking the extra time to look at everything, we would have had rotting wood under our new roof. They were very professional and gave a fair quote.
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We just had Gutter Helmet installed on our gutters and couldn't be happier. They provided us with useful information about Gutter Helmet and cleaned up everything, leaving no mess behind. We definitely recommend Gutter Helmet to anyone considering this product.
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