It seems that almost every house (except mine) these days has mini-blinds. I can understand why. They’re affordable, versatile, and they come in a wide range of colors. But let’s face it. They’re a pain to clean. Until now.
To clean your mini-blinds easily and affordably all you need is a bottle of rubbing alcohol (buy the cheap kind at the drugstore) and an old sock.
Pour some of the rubbing alcohol into a container with a wide mouth (a bowl or tupperware container will do). Slip the old sock over your hand, and then dip the tip of the sock into the alcohol.
Run the alcohol dampened sock over the mini-blinds with your fingers on top and your thumb on the bottom. As you run your hand over the mini-blinds, the rubbing alcohol will take the dust and grime right off.
Easy-peasy, and cheap, too!
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Photo by Editor B.
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That’s a really great spring cleaning tip! I have a LOT of mini blinds that could use the cleaning :(
Nicki at Domestic Cents’s last blog post..Line-Dried Clothes
I like this tip. It’s easy, it’s frugal, and it works.
Angelsong’s last blog post..Kitchen Magic
Thanks so much for the tip. I desperately need to tackle cleaning my blinds. I will definitely give this a try.
Amanda’s last blog post..The Skinny on Controlling Food Portions
No blinds here, mini or otherwise, but that does sound like a very simple/easy tip.
And my first contribution to Tightwad Tuesday and I screwed it up. I forgot to put my topic next to my name. :( Any way to edit it or delete it and re-add?
Peggy’s last blog post..family cloth
Speaking of cheap-o house cleaning tips, I do a few things that cuts down on cost. For one, our vacuum was bought at the flea market. Its a early 90’s commercial style Hoover that actually self-propels itself. It is built like a tank and all of the parts are easily serviceable and replaceable with common parts like belts, roller brushes, and bags available at Wal-Mart. I paid $5 for it and so far its lasted for 5 years. I can’t imagine how much you’d have to pay for a vac of this quality today. They don’t even make them this good anymore. That versus paying say- $500 for one of those Dysons.
Secondly, I never buy rags. All of the old T-shirts, underwear, socks, etc etc get turned into cleaning/wax/oil/ rags.
The one thing I HATE doing is cleaning the shower. So my one splurge is buying shower cleaner that you spray after each shower and it keeps the shower clean for you. I haven’t cleaned the shower with anything for over a year and it still looks sparkling. BUT I did find that the shower spray I use will work just as well when its heavily dilluted. I can usually keep adding water to the bottle until its probably 2/3rds water and it still works. So I can usually get 3 bottles worth of cleaner out of one. This trick works for almost any other cleaner, whether it be floor cleaner, tire cleaner, or regular dish soap. So you can really stretch cleaners out quite a bit.
Thanks for the tip! We’re approaching Spring Break which will turn into Spring Cleaning Break…and my blinds REALLY need a good warshin’.
Thanks!
Iva @ Horizontal Yo-Yo’s last blog post..The Other Side of Me
I like vertical blinds– they seem to stay cleaner than horizontals . . .
DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad.com’s last blog post..The 450th Post: Top 10 Most Popular Posts
Is this safe to use on wooden horizontal blinds? I worry about drying out the wood over time, then having to spend money to replace them. I’m sure the tip is wonderful for vinyl mini-blinds.
Great tip – for cleaning some types of blinds. A mild soap and damp cloth will do the same – if not better and cheaper job if you like cleaning blinds slat by slat. For those with expensive custom fabric blinds like Silhouettes or Luminettes the best way to clean them is professionally – it’s far cheaper in the long run than replacing them prematurely.