Buhata
Login Start for Free

Home › Life Terms

Chores, cleaning and home care

Blind cleaning

Removing dust and marks from window blinds and shades, usually with a monthly dusting and a deeper clean about once a year.

What It Means

Blind cleaning is removing the dust, grime and marks that settle on window blinds, shades and shutters. The care guides of Hunter Douglas, Bali and Levolor describe a light dusting about once a month and a deeper clean about once a year. Each material takes its own approach, since wood, metal or vinyl slats and fabric shades need different care.

Try It: How Do You Clean This Blind?

Pick what your window covering is made of. Methods come from Hunter Douglas, Bali and Levolor care guides; the cord note is CPSC's.

Monthly dusting

Lower it fully, tilt the slats almost closed, and dust or use a vacuum brush attachment

Deeper clean, about yearly

Dust only. Never use water on wood blinds

Skip ultrasonic cleaning, chemical solvents and scrubbing cleansers, which the makers say damage blinds.

How It Sounds at Home

  • "The blinds are gray with dust again."
  • "Tilt the slats down before you dust them."
  • "We swapped the kids' room to cordless blinds."

The Breakdown

How often, per blind makers' care guides

JobHow often
Dust or vacuumAbout once a month
Deeper clean, by materialAbout once a year
Check cords where young children liveEvery time you clean (Buhata's suggestion, based on CPSC advice)

Dusting slatted blinds

  1. Lower the blind to its full length.
  2. Tilt the slats almost closed, so you can reach where they overlap.
  3. Dust with a soft cloth, duster or mitt, or stroke lightly with a vacuum brush attachment.

Make it last between cleanings. Buhata's suggestion: dust the blinds on the same day you dust the rest of the room, working from the top down, so the monthly pass doesn't get skipped.

Good to Know

Window covering cords are a strangulation hazard for young children. CPSC counted more than 200 incidents involving children up to age 8 from January 2009 through December 2021, and it says a child can be strangled quickly and silently, in less than a minute. Its advice is to use cordless blinds, shades and draperies where young children live or visit. If you can't replace corded ones yet, CPSC says to move cribs, beds, furniture and toys away from windows and cords, keep pull cords as short as possible, make sure cord stops are properly set, and anchor continuous-loop cords to the floor or wall; those steps reduce the risk but don't remove it. Call 911 in an emergency.

FAQ

How often should you clean blinds?

Blind makers' care guides suggest dusting about once a month and a deeper clean about once a year.

Can you wash wood blinds with water?

No. The makers' guides say never to use water on wood blinds. Dust them or use a vacuum brush attachment instead.

Are corded blinds safe with young children?

CPSC says cordless window coverings are the safest choice where young children are present, because cords can strangle a child in less than a minute. If you keep corded ones for now, follow CPSC's steps to shorten, secure and move away from the cords.

Do It in Buhata

Tasks with a repeat and Maintenance

Add "Dust the blinds" to Tasks with a monthly repeat, and a yearly deeper clean to Maintenance (Household X add-on).

Open Buhata

Related Terms and Categories

  • Top-down cleaning

    Cleaning a room from its highest surfaces down to the floor, so dust and crumbs knocked loose land on areas you haven't cleaned yet.

  • Window cleaning

    Washing window glass, inside and out, so it's clear and streak-free; window makers suggest doing it at least twice a year.

  • Ceiling fan cleaning

    Removing the dust that builds up on ceiling fan blades and housing, which Hunter Fan suggests doing every 1 to 3 months.

Chores, cleaning and home care

Sources

Hunter Douglas, "How to Clean Blinds"; Hunter Douglas, "How to Clean Wood Blinds"; Bali Blinds, "How To Clean Blinds and Shades"; Levolor, "How to Clean Blinds and Shades"; U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Window Covering Cords"; CPSC, "CPSC to Consumers: The Safest Window Coverings When Young Children Are Present Are Cordless" (2022); CPSC, "Nearly Half of Incidents with Kids and Corded Window Coverings Resulted in Death" (2023)

Last updated .