£55 to dry clean curtains possibly more!! How else can I clean them??

[2023bebetter]

I think they are regular cotton but they are large?

So it must be a cold wash? It's the cold that stop's shrinkage??

The fella who comes to clean the carpets and sofas does the curtains as well. It's really reasonable, does a good job and would have insurance if there was any damage.

If you have a tumble dryer try the home dry cleaning sheets, I use them to freshen up my work suits between proper cleans and they work brilliantly.

If you are going to wash them, use the wool setting. It will be gentle and using cold water.

I risked putting mine in the washer on a quick wash with non bio and they were absolutely fine! They're quite thick and lined so I was worried but they came out as good as new. I dried on the line (not helpful at this time of year I know !

Hi, does steaming remove and odours?

Ours are all made to measure, lined and interlined. I wouldn't wash or dry clean them.
Just give them a light vacuum from time to time.
(Advice from an interior designer).

Cotton shrinks unless it’s been pre washed or has a shrink proof finish.

I agree.
I machine washed my dry clean only curtains. Not lined, plain cotton.
They were really long but did shrink so we’re no longer floor length!

Check the weight limit on your machine.
It might be better to do them at a Launderette.

I did some massive ones - to fit 6' patio doors, heavy cotton with lining - one at a time and the machine was never the same, and broke about 6m later.

Don't use too much detergent either. The bubbles go everywhere.

I put mine in the general wash on 30 degrees. And then just hang back up.

If vacuuming them isn't your thing, there's always the good old fashioned hang them over a fence/washing line and beat them with a broom!

To the person asking about removing smells from curtains, air them on the line outside on a sunny breezy day and treat them to a vodka spritz and yourself, ,as another poster suggested

Do they really need to be washed?

We don’t live in an area where we get grimy traffic dust or anything in, so my curtains don’t actually get dirty, as in soiled, just dusty. They are hoovered regularly with the little brush attachment, and the ones where they are positioned so they can pick up cooking odours get a few hours on the clothes line in the sun on a breezy day to freshen them up. Works a treat and nothing needs drying!

Sling them on the line on a blowy day, then do the sniff test.

NO!

items shrink in a washing machine for 2 reasons. One is temperature, so wash them on 30 or below.

but the other is the agitation of the machine which encourages the weave of the fabric to sort of move closer together. And extreme version of this is the wool jumper that turns to felt in a washing machine.
So the wool cycle relies on the fabric soaking in water, with very little movement except the spin.

Dry cleaning won't necessarily get the dirt out anyway. It disolves some things, but not others and general grime, like when you live near a main road, rarely comes out with dry cleaning.

I used to work in a dry cleaners and laundry.
Honestly it is a gamble. There is a risk that they will shrink, and that the lining will shrink more/less.
Clothes fabrics are usually pre-shrunk, but not curtain fabrics, and they may well shrink (if you ever make your own, pre-wash the fabric before making the curtains)
But if they don't shrink, or so little that it doesn't matter, then washing will make them much cleaner than dry cleaning

30 degrees or lower, wool cycle.

Exactly what I was told to do by the people who made my floor to ceiling lined curtains.

Heavy duty curtains shouldn't be dry cleaned or washed.

I hand wash mine in the bath during summer , rinse squeeze the water out
Ooo oooo ooo race them out dripping to the garden - don't put them in rotary washing line as that will break it, I do a drape over clean chairs outside tent type thing and keep an eye on my cats 🐱... (who might like a tent to sit on and fur up!)

I wouldn't wash heavy curtains in my wonderful washing machine as they are too heavy when wet for the washing machine drum and that's the way to break your washing machine

I'd rather dry clean them

But instead I use pink spray or vanish and detergent and hand wash in bath

And then steam iron them once put back dry

Mums shrank by a couple of inches, not washed mine, I prefer the vacuum then replace technique

A tip for the future. When having curtains made, ask for a swatch of the fabric. Measure it and wash it. Measure again after washing an see if there is any shrinkage.

I have made most of my curtains so I have fabric to test.

Brilliant!