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How to Clean Drapery
Graber Custom Drapery is a durable, long-lasting window treatment solution. Not only is it beautiful, it’s also one of the most practical ways to cover your window. Drapery provides excellent light control and privacy. It insulates against heat and cold. And drapery elevates a room’s décor with its soft textures and beautiful folds.
Keeping your drapery clean and in working order is easy. We’ll talk about how you can work your drapery into your routine house-cleaning schedule to keep the fabric looking beautiful and to reduce the amount of dust and allergens in your home.
Understanding Curtain and Drapery Fabric
Drapery fabric comes in a huge variety of colors, textures, and materials. You’ll find everything from heavy brocades to graceful sheer fabrics. How you clean these fabrics depends on a number of factors, the most important being color and fabric weight. Light-colored fabrics show dirt and stains more easily than darker fabrics. And lightweight fabrics, particularly sheer fabrics, must be handled carefully, especially when spot cleaning.
Vacuuming and Dusting: The Keys to Clean Drapery
The best way to keep your drapery clean is to vacuum them with an upholstery attachment whenever you do your regular house cleaning. It’s that simple. If you vacuum your curtains and drapery about once a month, they will last for many years. Keeping your drapery free of dust prevents spots and stains—because when a dirty piece of fabric is splashed with moisture, there’s a good chance there will be a stain or smudge when the water dries.
So, what if you get a stain, smudge, or spot on your drapery? A solution of warm water and soap applied with a soft cloth or sponge can get most stains out of your drapery. The key is to use a dabbing motion and not a wiping motion that might stretch the fabric (wet fabric is prone to stretching).
Dry Cleaning and Professional Upholstery Cleaning
When you encounter a stain or a fabric that’s too difficult to clean with the methods we’ve talked about, you should turn to a dry cleaner or a specialty upholstery cleaner. Graber does not recommend throwing your drapery into a washing machine or soaking it in any way. Dry cleaners and upholstery cleaning specialists have the tools necessary to clean your drapery without destroying it. Drapery washed in a machine is often permanently altered or even ruined. So, when dirt or a stain won’t come out, turn to a professional. And if you need to store drapery, make sure it is clean before you put it into storage.
Drapery only seems delicate. When hung on a window and treated properly, drapery fabrics function and look beautiful for many years—even decades.
