How To Clean Window Blinds

This is the fourth part of a five-part article on window blinds cleaning.

Since janitorial services companies are often somewhat entrenched in a building, says Griffin, the blinds cleaning work typically falls to them. 

How to clean dirty window blinds depends on just how filthy they have become. Regular blinds dusting may be written into a BSC’s contract, but washing, deep cleaning, restoration or repair are additional services for which a BSC should establish additional charges, says Griffin.

And charge plenty, he says. Cleaning blinds with caked-on soil can be a lot of work.

The first step is to examine the condition of the blinds. Since building occupants so often ignore blinds, they can become quite dirty before someone complains. If they are too dirty or damaged then they may be beyond cleaning, says Griffin. Inspecting the blinds also provides a condition baseline in case the blinds ever become damaged.

For blinds that are not damaged, Mandelstam generally recommends leaving them hanging in front of the windows while cleaning.
“You’re just getting into lots of issues when you start taking things down and putting them back up,” she says.

Janitors should position the blinds so that all of the slats face the same direction and the blinds are in the open position. This allows the janitor to clean both sides of the blinds.

“Often people, when they’re getting into this, don’t realize that dirt and grit and dust and all those things collect on both sides,” says Mandelstam.

For a layer of light dust, she suggests using a dusting cloth wrapped over a poly wool duster with a long handle.

More involved cleaning requires a multistep process, says Mandelstam. Janitors should start by running a vacuum with a dusting attachment over the blinds. Then they can go back and wipe the blinds down with a damp cloth with a neutral cleaning solution.

Most BSCs probably already have the equipment and products necessary. A detergent cleaner should work fine for the blinds, as will a degreaser if necessary. A peroxide-based product can help brighten the cloth or plastic parts of blinds, such as the cords.

Finally, janitors should wipe down the windowsill, since debris often falls from the blinds during cleaning.