Just installed aluminum mini-blinds on two bathroom windows...soooo easy! I loved that I didn't have to do any fancy math to measure...just send you the measurements and go! After installing them, my husband, the reluctant installer, said "they sure are making blinds easier to install than I remember!". Yes, these were so simple and the brackets are completely hidden behind the top rail. Love, love, love this product!

From: Chris. D

Although most of us remember to clean our windows regularly, we often forget about our window blinds. Regular cleaning will keep them looking and working like new; however, this is a chore most people would rather avoid. The secret is to keep dust and grime from building up over time, creating a layer that is tough to remove. When it comes to keeping window blinds clean, prevention is the best tool, so make it part of your regular weekly housecleaning.

Know Your Blinds

Window blind manufacturers create instructions for a reason, so read them carefully and follow the cleaning tips that come with them. Also, look for specific tips and recommendations, so you’ll avoid any potential problems down the road. Manufacturers test their guidelines and can give you the best advice available on how to care for your blinds. As a rule, give your blinds a thorough cleaning every four months, or at the very least, twice a year.

Grandma’s Green Cleaning Method

If your grandmother is like mine, she uses vinegar for everything, including cleaning window blinds. Here’s how:

• Fill a small bowl with white vinegar and find a pair of clean cotton gloves or socks.
• Put your hand inside one of the gloves or socks and dip the tip of the sock, or your fingers into the bowl.
• Run your hand or fingers along each slat to remove the dust and grime. You may need to rinse the sock or glove a few times.
• Switch back and forth between the two socks or gloves, soaking one sock or glove while you use the other.

Important: Although this method is safe for most materials, do not oversaturate the blinds, especially if they are wooden. Water warps wood, so squeeze as much out as possible and dry immediately. Avoid letting the vinegar come into contact with your eyes or skin.

Material Matters

It’s important to know what your blinds are made of, and then to clean them accordingly. Here are some material-specific tips:

• Wooden Blinds – Excess moisture is wood’s worst enemy, so avoid getting wooden blinds wet. To dust them, use a clean, soft cloth, a feather duster or a vacuum brush. To put more life into the wood, use a cleaner made specifically for wood, such as lemon oil. Reading the manufacturer’s guidelines is more important than ever with wooden blinds, so check to see what products the company recommends before you use anything on them. Run a dryer sheet along each slat to keep dust and grime from sticking.
• Faux Wood Blinds – Faux wood blinds are the easiest to clean, because they are durable and resist warping. You can dust them just as you do wooden blinds, but you can also spot clean them using a mild detergent with warm water on a slightly moistened cloth, blotting dry afterwards. Use a dryer sheet to keep dust at bay.
• Vinyl and Aluminum Blinds – Dust often and spot clean stains with mild detergent using warm water and then blot them dry. Tilt the slats up and down slightly to dust both sides, moving along each slat. Avoid pressing down too hard, so you don’t bend or break them. If the dirt is hard to remove, take the blinds off the window and soak them in a bathtub filled with warm, soapy water. Rinse them and wipe dry, or hang them and leave them open to air dry.
• Fabric Vertical Blinds – Dust often with a vacuum brush to avoid build up. Spot clean as directed using a clear detergent to avoid staining, then blog dry. Although you cannot immerse them in water, check the manufacturer’s recommendations to see if you can have them dry cleaned.

Regular cleaning according to the manufacturer’s guidelines will keep your blinds looking as beautiful as the day you got them, as long as you take special care and clean on a regular basis. By avoiding dirt and dust buildup, it will be easy to give them a quick cleaning whenever you clean the rest of your home.

Window coverings are purchased less often than a new car. When buying a new car you normally start with the brand. If you want a new Cadillac, you don’t go to a Chevrolet dealer. We all have some perception of what each car brand stands for. Window coverings have brands as well. But really, who knows what each brand stands for. I’m a 34-year-old man and I shopped for window coverings for the first time in my life just last week. What an eye-opening experience.

Brand Name Window Coverings

I’m not as savvy as a teenager when it comes to computers, but I know how to shop online. So to the home office went I, in search of the right window coverings for my new house. I found certain brands that I was familiar with like Levolor, but discovered that just like cars, these window blinds brands do not address all types of window coverings.

I cruised through several sites that sold national brands as well as their own brand. In most cases, their own brand was just a generic version with less features than the national brands that they also carried. All in all, those sites confused me more than anything.

I did visit one site, SelectBlinds.com, that carried only their own brand. At first I hesitated to dig deeply into their offerings because I never heard of SelectBlinds. There were a couple things about their website that brought me back a second time and then a third. First of all, they claim to be the most reviewed, highest rated brand on the Internet. Do a Google search for window blinds or window shades and you’ll see that the claim is true. They have more reviews than all of their competitors combined. So just for kicks I started putting together an order. Much to my surprise, they fulfilled every window covering need that I had.

Real Basswood wood blinds went into my home office. A faux wood blind covered a window in my garage. Honeycomb shades in a blackout fabric went into my bedroom. I’m a single guy now, but I was married, and have a little girl. So obviously I have a bedroom for her, and I found a Disney window shade for her room. Every single window covering that I ordered was comparable or better than any national brand, including Hunter Douglas, that I could find on any other site.

I was still not sure that I was going to buy from SelectBlinds, and had a couple questions regarding inside mount versus outside mount. So I called their customer care department. They answered the phone, they were courteous, they knew their stuff, and helped with the last couple of issues I was unclear on.

Buying blinds is not a fast endeavor. I had spent approximately 2 hours measuring, ordering, on the phone with customer service, and creating an account. So I figured what the heck, put in my Amex number, and placed my order.

All of the blinds showed up within two or three days of each other, and I hung them myself. All in all it was a really satisfying experience. In my opinion SelectBlinds.com is the number one brand of window coverings on the Internet. Come to my house and you’ll see why.