Would you risk putting these in the washing machine?

[Alabasterangel6]

Dull subject. I’m willing to go with the majority vote!

I’ve got some Roman blinds made with Laura Ashley fabric. They need a clean. To take them to the dry cleaners is mega bucks and I’ve had to remove all the hardware/rods/etc. As a result
I’ve now basically got 4 lined rectangles of fabric to be drycleaned. £15 a panel, so £60!!

I keep wondering if I could risk washing them in a 30 min cold cycle and line drying and pressing.

Is it too much of a gamble?

Could you not wash them in the bath? With the shower running over them and a sponge?

Bit less harsh than the machine - not that I've ever tried in all fairness ...

What kind of fabric and what are the cleaning instructions?
Can you easily replace them if it doesn’t go well?
Do you secretly want new window coverings?

I’d put them in, probably on a hand wash cycle.

I thought that. But they are in proper need of a wash (in a room with an open fire) so need ‘cleaning’ well. Labouring with 4 blinds over the bath sounds like a lot of work! Laura Ashley website seems to suggest all their curtain/upholstery fabric is dry clean only 🤔

I'd soak them in the bath.

I can’t afford to replace them, no. They were handmade by a local company and cost £60 per blind which is actually quite reasonable but I haven’t got £240 spare to replace them right now.

It’s laura Ashley ‘lockwood’ which is discontinued so I can’t check on their website but it’s a linen blend fabric.

I would probably chuck them in a cold wash and hope for the best but I am very foolhardy when it comes to that kind of thing, so prob best not to listen to me!

Put one on a hand wash cycle and see how well it survives. If it does, great. If it doesn't, you only need to replace one.

I’m voting dry clean.

DON'T wash them. Most upholstery fabrics are blends. The different fabrics (cotton, viscose, polyester etc) all have different shrinkage rates. Some of the fibres will shrink permanently. Others won't. You will end up with all manner of puckered hell. Even if some fibres only shrink 5% you will end up with a mess. Cotton always has a shrink factor - up to 10%. Polyester usually won't shrink at all. Viscose fibres can be ruined unless they are created to be washed and woven appropriately. The lining and the main fabric will not be the same. It is all not worth trying. Way too much risk.

I would stick with the dry cleaning. £60 is easier to part with than the £240 it would cost to replace shrunken blinds.

It isn’t worth the risk.

I'd put them in machine on a delicate wash

I would soak them in plain cold water in the bath first for an hour or so - then remove them - squeeze most of the excess water out then put them through a cool machine wash with detergent. Soaking in plain cold water first 'should' minimise the risk of shrinkage - given that your blinds are lined. Because they were hand made you may not know if the fabric used was preshrunk or not.

Meant to add - after the machine cycle is finished - remove the blinds, give them a gentle tug / reshape and dry flat. When they are almost dry, iron them on the reverse side, using the heat to get them properly shaped, even and flat, taking care to ensure the lining seam and fabric is nice and smooth.

Delicate wash in the machine on a lower temperature. I really cannot understand why fabric garments / housewares etc are made in such a way that you cannot easily launder them when necessary.

DP works for an upholstery company and says that they usually stick "dry clean only" on stuff just to cover their own backs and a large number of their dry clean only products are fine in the washing machine.

My sofa back cushions and seat cushions say dry clean only but all covers have been through a 30C wool cycle multiple times, dried flat and went back onto the cushions without much issue.

Thank you. Still procrastinating but leaning towards trying one in the bath tomorrow as the weather looks so good I can line dry all day long.

They are lined with two layers of something which is troubling me though - a cotton backing and what feels like an internal lining of some kind. Presumably to keep its shape and give weight/thermal properties.

Gah. Useless at this sort of thing!!!

I should add here replacement is NOT a possibility. The fabric is discontinued and is a match for one wall of wallpaper. So if it goes tits up I am stuck!

I'm usually a "bung it on a delicates wash" kind of person, as I hate paying for dry cleaning, but multi-layer upholstery/curtains can be a bit of a nightmare, as someone said upthread. If it has some sort of webbing/interlining inside, then the washing machine may be a bit risky and cause it to break down or pucker up.

I wouldn't rule out the bath treatment, though - provided you can keep each blind fairly flat. Use a sponge on the surface dirt, cool water, and dry flat. Then iron carefully.

Dry clean. I've machine washed Laura Ashley cotton curtains and they came out like old tea towels. Not worth the risk

Discontinued fabric + matching wallpaper = definitely dry clean

Dry clean it is then!! Thank you!

If they have thermal/black out linings, be careful even with the dry cleaner. I brought some black out lined curtains to a dry cleaners and they took ages as only one curtain could be cleaned a day, first thing before all the unit heated up too much which would damage the lining.

Put them in pillowcases on a delicate wash? Maybe need 2 or 3 cycles but hopefully will remain protected?

I put our tatty originally cream gone grubby grey blind in the washing machine, I figured I had nothing to lose. It wasn't a great outcome, it was all stuck together when I pulled it out and although I did manage to straighten it out, it didn't look good! I wouldn't risk it if you need to out them back up again.