How often should I clean my drapes?

It is always a good idea to clean your drapes on an annual basis, relatively speaking.  Vacuuming them with a hand tool on a monthly basis will help the dust from penetrating into the fabric.

Sun, dust, dirt, and hand oils are damaging to fabrics. Lighter color fabrics generally reflect sunlight and resist fading, dark colors absorb light and fade. Using  window treatments with a lining or  blinds, or shades underneath  protect fabrics from the sun and give them a longer life span. West and south facing windows get the most exposure.

Always check your care label for cleaning instructions. When we at Village Cleaners and Shirt Laundry receive curtains and drapes, we are very careful to follow the care instructions.  We have 3  different methods to chose from for processing.  Dry Cleaning is always safe if the label states, we delicately wash them if dry cleaning isn’t an option, and our favorite method that can be used is wet cleaning. Wet cleaning is a newer process that dry cleaners can use that uses additives to water so that it controls shrinkage and of course low agitation, it is a very safe method for many items.

It is very important not to ignore cleaning your drapes, the longer you do the more likely you can get dust rot or sun rot, which will not show up until they are cleaned, which can be a very costly lesson.