A word of advice for anyone planning to wash their blackout curtains.

[springbabydays]

Don't!

I followed the instructions and washed them at 30 degrees and they are ruined. All the lining has stuck together and torn and it's a huge mess.

Won't be doing that again.

Oh yes. Even dry cleaning is a bit risky, mine got slightly stuck together from dry cleaning, though still useable.

Oh dear, wonder if you can just wipe them down occasionally instead?

That's what I'll be doing in future Random. I wouldn't mind if I'd just gone against the advice and risked it. But the flipping label says wash at 30 degrees. Will be having a word with Dunelm about this I think.

Just sponge them down. Dry cleaning ruined mine, too :(.

Thanks for the advice I was literally just thinking they could do with a clean. Damp sponge it is.

Presumably sunlight actually attacks the rubbery coating stuff so once they're a few years old they can't take it?

I just washed some at 40 degrees, they were fine. I had added the blackout lining myself with lining I bought at John Lewis.

yes, they are UV degradeable like most things and the washing machine will make the fragile bits disintegrate.

they still work, though!

I thought you had to cold wash them ie no heat.
I may be wrong. Im a Dad lol

My were destroyed as well after washing

If the face fabric is okay could you re-line them but make the lining detachable?

I think it depends on the material. I washed mine at 40 and they were almost fine (some of it stuck to the front glass and that crinkled up a bit).
(My other curtains that I had dey cleaned though... they informed me they shrunk by about 20% ... I haven't dared put it up yet.)

I luckily only washed one curtain and was surprised all bits came off so looked it up and it turns out that loads of people have had this trouble. So now I know thanks to mumsnet