Every material wants something different, and using the wrong method is how people ruin shades that were perfectly fine.
Rule that applies to all of them: work top to bottom, and dust before you introduce any moisture. Wet dust becomes mud and mud stains.
Direct answer: Close the slats, vacuum with a brush attachment, then wipe each slat with a cloth dampened in warm water and a drop of dish soap. Flip the slats and repeat the other side. Wipe off excess water and let them air dry. These are the most forgiving blinds in the house and they tolerate a proper wet clean.
For greasy build up, usually kitchens, add a little more dish soap rather than reaching for anything stronger. Degreasers and bleach can dull the finish and yellow white vinyl over time.
If they are genuinely filthy, faux wood blinds can come down and go in a bathtub of warm soapy water for ten minutes. Rinse, then dry them flat or hang them over the shower rail. Do not do this with real wood.
Direct answer: Vacuum with a brush attachment, then wipe with a barely damp microfiber cloth and dry immediately. Never soak real wood blinds. Water causes swelling, warping, and lifted finish, and the damage does not reverse.
Skip ammonia and bleach entirely. They strip the stain.
A light coat of wood polish after cleaning helps, and it genuinely reduces how fast dust settles back on. Apply it to the cloth, not to the slats.
Direct answer: Vacuum with a brush attachment, then wipe each slat with a damp cloth. Support the slat with one hand while you wipe with the other, because aluminum creases permanently and a bent slat never sits flat again.
Metal blinds handle water well. The failure mode here is mechanical, not chemical. Take your time.
Direct answer: Vacuum on the lowest suction with a brush attachment, moving along the shade rather than into it. Do not wet cellular shades, do not scrub them, and do not put them in water. The fabric is a spunlace that loses its structure when saturated, and the cells trap whatever you push into them.
For a dent or a crease, a hair dryer on cool at a distance can sometimes relax the fabric back.
For a stain, blot with a barely damp cloth. Blot, do not rub. Rubbing pills the fabric.
This is the material with the least margin for error, and it is also the most common energy efficient shade in Spokane homes. When in doubt, vacuum and leave it.
Direct answer: Vacuum on low with an upholstery attachment, working from the top down and following the folds. Spot clean stains with a barely damp cloth and a mild detergent, testing on a hidden section first. Most roman shades cannot be machine washed or dry cleaned without shrinking or losing their shape.
Pay attention to the folds. That is where dust concentrates and it is the part people miss.
Direct answer: Lower the shade fully, vacuum or dust it, then wipe with a cloth dampened in warm soapy water. Work in sections and clean both sides. Let it dry fully extended before rolling it back up, because rolling a damp shade traps moisture and can mildew the fabric.
Solar screen fabric is an open weave, so wipe rather than scrub. Scrubbing distorts the weave.
Direct answer: Dust the louvers with a soft brush or vacuum attachment, then wipe with a barely damp cloth. Polysatin and composite shutters tolerate mild soapy water. Hardwood shutters get the same treatment as wood blinds, damp cloth only, dried immediately.
Do not forget the frame and the hinges. Dust collects there and it is the first thing you notice when the rest is clean.
Spokane summers put things in the air that regular dusting does not handle, and 2026 has been a particularly hard one.
Soot behaves differently from dust. It is fine, greasy, and it works into fabric rather than sitting on it. If your home took on smoke, do not start with the methods above, and specifically do not wet anything before you have photographed it.
There is a separate guide for that, including which materials recover and which do not: smoke damage and window coverings.
Dust monthly, deep clean once or twice a year, and adjust for the room. Kitchens need more, guest rooms need less.
In Spokane specifically, two things move the schedule. Pollen through spring, and smoke through late summer. If you run a wood stove in winter, add that too. A dust monthly, deep clean quarterly rhythm suits most homes here better than the generic twice a year advice.
Sometimes the honest answer is that the covering is done. Slats that will not hold a set, cords that have frayed, fabric that has yellowed unevenly from sun, or a smell that keeps coming back after a proper clean. At that point cleaning is postponing a decision rather than solving anything.
If you want a second opinion before spending money either way, we will come out and give you one for free. If your existing coverings are fine, we will say so.
Close the slats so they overlap, vacuum with a brush attachment top to bottom, then wipe each slat with a cloth dampened in warm soapy water. Flip the slats and repeat. This works for faux wood, vinyl, and metal without removing anything.
Faux wood, vinyl, and aluminum blinds can be soaked in warm soapy water for about ten minutes, then rinsed and dried flat. Never do this with real wood, cellular, honeycomb, roman, or any fabric shade. Water permanently damages all of them.
Vacuum on the lowest suction with a brush attachment, moving along the shade rather than into the cells. Do not wet them, scrub them, or submerge them. The fabric loses its structure when saturated and the cells trap anything pushed inside.
Vacuum first, then wipe with a barely damp microfiber cloth and dry immediately. Avoid ammonia and bleach, which strip the stain, and never soak them. Water causes swelling and warping that does not reverse.
Dust monthly and deep clean once or twice a year for most rooms. Kitchens need more. In Spokane, add attention during spring pollen and late summer smoke, and through winter if you run a wood stove.
Odor that returns on warm days usually means soot or smoke residue is inside the material rather than on the surface. Surface cleaning cannot reach it. Fabric based coverings like cellular and roman shades hold odor far longer than hard surface blinds.
