In recent years, roller blinds have become increasingly popular due to their beauty and unpretentiousness. Stylish and laconic canvases fit perfectly into both modern and classic interiors. A variety of designs and special properties of such curtains allow them to be used for decorating any premises: offices, living rooms, bedrooms, nurseries, kitchens and even bathrooms. Roller blinds are loved by many housewives due to the good protection of the room from the sun and ease of care. Today we will talk about the features of curtains, their types, advantages, disadvantages, as well as how to wash roller blinds at home.
Features
A roller blind is a perfectly flat strip of fabric that is wound around a narrow horizontal shaft. curtainequipped with a lifting mechanism and a weighting agent from below. The shaft can be attached to the ceiling, wall, window opening, and also on the frame, depending on the design.
Textile fabric is made of polyester, sometimes with the addition of linen or cotton thread. The transparency of the material varies, so you can choose curtains for a home theater, a sunny room or from prying eyes, without depriving the room of natural light. Special mention deserves a special synthetic fabric for Blackout curtains. It completely blocks sunlight or any other light, which allows you to create complete darkness in the room even at bright noon.
The fabric of the roller blind is impregnated with a special compound that repels dust and dirt. Thanks to this, the care of curtains is simplified. Many are wondering if it is possible to wash roller blinds and whether moisture will damage the impregnation. We can say with confidence that the canvas can be washed, however, wet cleaning requires compliance with certain nuances, which we will discuss in more detail below.
Roller blinds are widely used in living quarters and offices. Thanks to their laconic design, they fit well into many interior styles. Roller curtains will organically complement such modern trends as minimalism, loft, contemporary, Scandinavian. They are wonderfully combined with light translucent tulle and thick curtains, which allows you to use roll-curtains in classic interiors.
Benefits
Roller blindshave a number of advantages due to which they have become so popular:
- Simple design. These curtains are easy to install and dismantle by yourself, and the operation mechanism is intuitive and easy.
- Light control. All roller blinds are able to change their length. You can hide the room from the sun, while leaving a small area below for indoor plants on the windowsill. Especially interests in this vein are Zebra curtains. They consist of strips of material of varying degrees of transparency and can be converted into fabric blinds.
- Take up minimal space. Mounting features allow you to install rolled curtains directly into the window opening or on the frame.
- Versatility. Roller blinds can play an exclusively functional role and be invisible in combination with additional decor of a window opening, or they can be a central element of interior design.
- Lower price. For classic curtains, an amount of fabric equal to 2-3 window widths is required to obtain beautiful folds. A minimum of textiles is required for roller blinds.
- Easy maintenance. Thanks to a special impregnation, roller curtains are protected from dust and many contaminants, which facilitates their operation and maintenance. Therefore, the problem with how to wash roller blinds is rare.
Flaws
The main disadvantage is the inability to open the window when the curtains are closed. This is especially unpleasant in summer, when the sun shines through the window,and to let some fresh air into the room, you need to open the curtains completely. Some designs that are installed directly on the frame allow you to open windows for ventilation, but this is not always enough.
Another disadvantage of roller blinds is the technical limitation on the width of the window. The maximum curtain width is 4 meters. In addition, the wider the opening, the thicker the shaft to the curtain is required. As a result, the design is more heavy and unreliable, as it relies on only two attachment points.
Washing roller blinds is a more complex and delicate process than caring for any other textile.
Types of curtains
According to the design features, roller blinds can be divided into two types: open and cassette.
Open curtains are attached to the ceiling, wall or window opening. The shaft on which the fabric is wound remains open, and the lower part hangs freely. Sometimes the bottom of the curtain is weighted with a plastic or aluminum bar. The size of the curtain should be selected based on: the width of the window opening plus 3-4 cm. If the curtains are installed in the window opening, there may be small gaps at the edges, since the canvas is somewhat narrower than the height adjustment mechanism. The degree of openness can be adjusted manually by a chain mechanism or by an electric drive. This design does not allow opening windows with the curtains down.
Mini curtains are a variation of classic roller blinds. They are installed directly on the window sash using plastic hooks.or double sided tape. The lower part of the curtain is weighted with a bar and equipped with a magnet so that the canvas adheres to the sash during ventilation. When installing this design, the window sill remains free.
Cassette curtains are the most expensive variety. In this design, the shaft is hidden in a plastic or aluminum box, and the curtain itself moves along vertical guides. Such curtains completely close the window, leaving no gaps. Install the cassettes on the window frame. Matched to the window, the cassette and rails look very neat and inconspicuous, so they are suitable for adjusting natural light in classic interiors.
A feature of the cassette design is that it can be installed both at the top and at the bottom of the window, or use two cassettes at once. Cassette curtains are compact and do not cover the window sill.
Dry clean
Cleaning roller blinds at home will not take much time and effort. The material of roller blinds is treated with dirt-repellent impregnation, so they need to be cleaned less often. Vacuuming them at low power once a week is enough to keep them clean. It is advisable to use a fabric nozzle on a vacuum cleaner. If this was not included in the kit, it is easy to replace it with a microfiber cloth, which is fixed on the furniture nozzle of the vacuum cleaner with a rubber band.
Sometimes during operation, various kinds of spots appear on the canvas. This is especially true for kitchens and children's rooms. Such pollutioncan be removed with a damp cloth or a stationery eraser. When working with the latter, it is important to be careful not to rub too hard, otherwise the density and color of the canvas in this place may change.
If the above methods did not cope with the pollution, the question arises of how to wash the roller blinds. The best option, of course, would be to go to a dry cleaner. There, the curtains will be dry cleaned and all dirt and odors will be removed. If this is not possible, you should think about how to wash roller blinds at home.
Detergents
Wet cleaning of roller blinds should only be used as a last resort, as water and detergents can ruin the impregnation of the material and the curtains will lose their protection against dust, dirt, odors and UV rays.
The question of how to wash fabric roller blinds is complicated by the choice of detergent. It should be as neutral as possible, without bleach or abrasives. It is better to give preference to natural remedies. If a powder is used, it should be diluted so as not to damage the fabric with grains.
Detergent should be selected according to the material from which the fabric is made. Usually polyester is used, but there are exceptions: linen, cotton, silk.
How to remove roller blinds?
The most common problem: how to remove roller blinds for washing. It depends primarily on the method of fastening and the design of the curtains. It's easier to remove the curtainsmini designs. The canvas must be rolled onto the shaft, disconnect the weighting agent, remove the shaft from the mounts. Then the folding mechanism is carefully removed, and the web is removed from the bar.
It is more difficult to work with classic open-type roller blinds if they have a large width. In this case, you should bring an assistant. They are removed according to the above principle.
Cassette curtains are removed according to the following algorithm:
- collapse canvas;
- remove the plugs on both sides;
- remove cassette;
- remove the shaft from the clamps;
- take out the folding mechanism;
- remove the blade from the bar.
Wash curtains
Many housewives are thinking about how to wash roller blinds and not spoil their appearance, because wet cleaning is not recommended for them.
A bath is best for washing linen. Warm water is drawn into it and the detergent is dissolved. Hot water should not be used. The canvas is placed in a soap solution in a straightened form, trying to avoid creases and twisting. With a soft sponge, wash the curtains on both sides with light movements, paying special attention to places of pollution. Do not rub too hard, as this can damage the structure of the fabric or wash out the pigment. Do not keep the canvas in water for too long, as the impregnation will dissolve and the fabric will lose its properties.
After washing, the curtain is thoroughly washed from soapy water under a warm shower. It is important to completely get rid of the detergentproducts, otherwise, after drying, there will be stains, and under the influence of ultraviolet, the remaining soap particles can change color, and stains will appear on the canvas that cannot be removed.
Roller blinds cannot be wrung out, as it will be impossible to get rid of creases. Dry them in a straightened form in a horizontal position to avoid stretching the fabric.
Tips
To address the question of how to wash roller blinds as little as possible, you need to properly care for them:
- Roller curtains should not be installed in rooms with high humidity, in workshops, garages. They are for office and residential use only.
- Before cooking, washing windows, painting work, the canvas must be rolled up.
- It is better to remove dirt and stains immediately with a damp cloth, before they have time to penetrate the structure of the fabric.
- Regular ventilation will help get rid of foreign smell.
- Weekly dry vacuuming will keep your curtains looking great.
- If heavily soiled, it is better to dry-clean the curtains.
- Do not hang curtains near heaters and do not iron.
Roller blinds have won the recognition of many housewives due to their conciseness, attractiveness and ease of care. They go well with light tulle and thick curtains, so they can be used in almost all interior directions.
