one other idea I have heard is you can spray furniture polish on a dust rag than just wipe the blades of the blinds and it is supposed to prevent the dust /dirt from sticking to the blades I did this for a while in another house I lived in.
best of luck Allen ----- Original Message ----- From: Betsy Whitney To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 7:58 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Purpose of Blinds? Aloha Claudia, A few thoughts. I find that the vertical blinds, the ones that run from the top of the window to the bottom, are much easier to clean. When I first had mine installed, I rubbed them down with a bounce dryer sheet and since then, dusting them with something like a wash cloth, removes the dust. About every six months, I use a dryer sheet again. For the kind of blinds that you have, they have a dusting tool that looks like a big fat comb with fuzzy stuff around each tooth of the comb. I have used that tool on some blinds that I had before, and found that if I sprayed the comb with something like in-dust first, the dust clung to the comb really well. About curtains and/or shades. The plastic, vinyl or fabric shades attach at the top of the window and can be rolled all the way up or left partially covering the window. There are also some really nice fabric shades with nice designs. The plastic ones have designs also, but people tell me that they don't look as nice as fabric. You can also get bamboo rolling shades. I think the bamboo is harder to clean, but that's my personal opinion. When picking a shade, you might want to think about the kind and color of walls, carpets and furniture that you have in the room to make them fit with the space. Drapes and Curtains: Curtains and drapes come in every color and fabric that you can imagine, probably. Some people want to have light come in during the day, but don't want a totally uncovered window. The solution for this is to hang some kind of sheer curtain that lets light in, but there is something hanging in front of your window. Many people then add drapes to the window that can be opened during the day. Personally, cleaning curtains and drapes is not high on my spare-time activity list, so to me it seems silly to have two sets of curtains to take down and clean. If you live somewhere that people are apt to be walking by and glancing in, then you probably need to have a window covering. The rooms in the back of my house are not covered because a person would have to walk all the way around the house to peek in, and the windows are high enough off the ground that peeking in would be difficult. If I was home and someone walked back there, I would hear them because we have a sort of gravel path around the house. They would be very surprised because if I went out the back door and they were in the back of the house, there's no way out except for crawling through about a quarter acher of solid jungle. I would be there to meet them with my trusty crowbar and 911 on the cordless phone. Oh, and I have no outside lights in the backyard, so being the person who is totally blind, I would definitely have the advantage. Good luck. Betsy At 04:11 AM 7/26/2008, you wrote: >Hi All, > >What truly is the purpose of blinds/ Since I've never had any sight, I >don't actually know, but here are my questions! > >We have the sort of blinds that are pulled up and down by strings, can be >opened or closed, by a stick on the blinds, and they're vinyl, I guess, or >plastic! > >They are on all of our windows here, and they are truly a pain in the A*** >to clean! >I can't get them clean anymore, and I don't know how to take them down, to >wash them in the tub! > >Would aluminum blinds be better because they're definitely easier to clean? >We have them at work, and they don't seem to accumulate the major dust >coding that these blinds do? Why couldn't we just put curtains on all >windows, or would this allow people to still see in? >I'm just frustrated with these darned things, and they feel gross, no matter >how I try to clean them.! >We've lived in the house for 6 years now, and so, we installed them, when we >moved in! > >Claudia > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]