Custom Window Treatment & Home Textile Care & Maintenance Recommendations
Unlike clothing textiles, most home decorating fabrics are not designed to withstand laundering. Many detergents contain a variety of harsh chemicals that can damage the fibers and may leave a film that attracts more dust and dirt to your window treatments, custom bedding and decorative pillows after cleaning. In fact, certain fibers such as rayon and silk, should never be exposed to water. To increase the longevity of your custom pieces, it is often better to leave the original fabric finishes in place. Dry cleaning solutions and techniques vary in quality and there is much to risk in bringing your custom treatments to an establishment that is not willing to warrant their work against damage, shrinking and/or color changes that might occur. Below are some maintenance techniques that you can apply to your custom home textiles to help you to obtain the longest life possible for them with the least amount of laundering or dry-cleaning.
Drapery
If at all possible, drapery and or custom top treatments should never be dry cleaned or laundered. These products can include a face fabric, interlining and lining fabrics that are all composed of different fiber contents and weaving structures. These different layers will react to wet cleaning processes differently and they may shrink at different rates. The result can be irreparable. Even without cleaning you may notice that your drapery shrink up a bit or sag over the years in response to the changing humidity and temperature levels in your home throughout the year. To minimize these reactions, keep your home environment as constant as possible.
To care for your custom window treatment, vacuum them with a clean brush attachment in order to remove dust and debris. Frequency is dependent upon the amount of dust in your home. If the coffee table needs dusting, it is wise to vacuum, at a minimum, the horizontal planes of your custom décor pieces. Vacuum the entire piece bi-annually or more frequently if you have pets, live on an unpaved road or leave your windows open frequently throughout the year.
If you have floor vents below your drapery, buy deflectors to push the air away from the windows and prevent them from becoming air filters for your home.
Be careful not to touch draperies when opening and closing them unless your hands have just been washed and thoroughly dried. Our skin contains a great many oils and environmental residues that can stain your drapery. Consider use of cord drawn traverse rods and or operating wands to help you to accomplish this feat.
Upholstery & Pillows
We recommend that you spot clean these items with a damp white cloth as soon as a stain occurs. ALWAYS test the fabric first with a clean white rag in an inconspicuous spot to see if any color from the cloth comes off on your rag. If it does, the fabric is not colorfast and professional cleaning may be necessary. At a minimum, vacuum the horizontal surfaces of your upholstered pieces and pillows with a clean vacuum brush attachment each time you dust to remove dust and debris before it can be pressed down into the fibers of the fabric. Don’t be afraid to take your cushions and pillows outside for a good hand beating prior to application of the vacuum.
Each piece should be completely vacuumed at least twice per year on all sides. Remember, these dry, in-home, cleaning techniques need to be applied to your home textiles more frequently if you have additional dust-generating environmental factors in your home.
Sun
Even before dust, sunlight is the great enemy of your custom textiles. Consider use of sheers, shades or blinds behind your custom drapery and top treatments to reduce the amount of ultra violet light that they, and the rest of your home furnishings, are exposed to. Like your flooring and furniture, your drapery will show the damage done by exposure to East, West or South facing windows very quickly and the damage is irreversible. To even out the damage to your upholstered pieces, flip your cushions and pillows every month while dusting and use well placed “Throw” blankets to protect the arms and backs of sofas that receive the most direct sunlight every day. Remember that the sun moves throughout the year so this strategy should be changed up in the spring and fall.
Professional Cleaning
If you feel that you must have your treatments professionally cleaned, please find a resource that will work on them in your home to avoid much of the damage that can occur when they are removed from the window. At Eye on Design we recommend that you talk to Bill & Lucille in Waterloo, IL. (618) 939-8070 and tell them that we sent you. They are also trained to professionally clean your Hunter Douglas treatments. If you would like to take your more intricate top treatments into your trusted dry cleaning facility, and insure that they match the original design as closely as possible after cleaning, consider hiring one of our professional installers to remove and re-install them for the best results.
If you integrate good maintenance habits into your home cleaning routine, your high quality home décor pieces can last many years. As always, we are here at Eye on Design to support your needs and questions as they arise.