How to Clean Mould Off Vertical Blinds

Mould and Mildew: How to Clean Vertical Blinds

Unfortunately for our blinds, they live in the perfect breeding ground for mould and mildew.

Mould thrives off of moisture and warmth, and since our blinds are most likely next to windows and radiators, they don’t have much hope for staying moisture-free.

Another huge downside to blinds growing mould is that is dangerous for us and our pets to be breathing the damp air.

Luckily, there are a number of ways to clean off and prevent mould on vertical blinds.

In this post, we’ll cover a number of methods for how to clean mould off vertical blinds, including:

Cleaning vertical blinds with vinegar
How to clean mould off blinds with lemon
Cleaning vertical blinds with bleach
How to clean vertical blinds with washing up liquid

Whether you prefer a natural clean or like to rely on the bacteria-killing properties of chemical cleaners, you’re sure to find a method that works for you.

We’ll also cover some tips for keeping mould off of vertical blinds to reduce the amount of deep cleaning required.

Handy Tools for Cleaning Vertical Blinds

For all of our methods, these are some tools that will make cleaning easier (and more fun).

OXO Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set or a clean toothbrush
A clean nail brush
SonicScrubber Household Electrical Cleaning Brush
Scrub Daddy/Scrub Mommy Dual Sided Texture Changing Sponge
Washing Up Bowl or Plastic Tub

We love this SKERITO Collapsible Washing Up Bowl with an in-built plughole for draining or us as a colander – with adjustable handles!

How to Clean Mould off Vertical Blinds at Home

These two methods (laundry powder in the sink or bath, and the washing machine) involve the blinds being removed from the curtain rail and clips being taken out.

If you don’t want to remove the blinds, skip to the section How to Clean Mould Off Vertical Blinds Whilst Hanging.

How to Clean Black Mould Off Vertical Blinds

For a visual demonstration of how to remove and clean vertical blinds, we think this short video is really helpful.

This video shows a simple method for cleaning vertical blinds, although the ones in the clip were quite clean to begin with.

The method in the video involves laundry powder but can be replicated by switching out the laundry powder for your product of choice.

If you’re using natural products, like vinegar or lemon, we recommend spraying the product directly onto the mould or dirty area for a more effective result.

For bleach and washing up liquid, the product can be added directly to the water.

Laundry Powder

Following the instructions in the video above, this method effectively cleans and refreshes hanging blinds.

However, if the blinds aren’t properly rinsed after scrubbing, the leftover laundry powder could create more mould and build-up in the blinds than was there before.

If you are going to use this method we suggest spraying down and rinsing with white vinegar after the laundry powder to ensure there’s no detergent left in the fibres of the blinds.

Washing Machine

Depending on the fabric and stitching of the blinds, some can be washed in the washing machine on a delicate and cool cycle.

Make sure to check the exact requirements of the blinds before placing in the washing machine, as some glue may dissolve or the fabric can become misshapen which is a costly replacement.

Place them in a pillowcase or a washable laundry bag to prevent snagging and fraying of the blinds.

Use a neutral or natural detergent to prevent any coatings on the blinds from dissolving, and use a cool setting around 20-30 degrees.

For more advice on washing machine temperatures, check out our Clean and Tidy Living Ultimate Washing Machine Temperature Guide.

If the mould and mildew are particularly bad, spray and scrub with white vinegar before the wash to loosen the dirt before the wash.

Hang the blinds up to air-dry, ideally outside, and definitely don’t tumble dry.

The reason we suggest air-drying the blinds outside is to reduce the amount of moisture in the home, which is a large contributor to mould growing on fabrics.

How to Clean Mould Off Vertical Blinds Whilst Hanging

If the entire length of the blind needs cleaning then these methods will be fairly time-consuming.

How to Clean Mould Off Vertical Blinds - Clean and Tidy Living

However, if you’re only needing to clean the mould and mildew off of the bottom of the blinds then this is much quicker than taking all of them down and letting them dry before re-clipping.

Before you begin:

1. Dust each blind, or hoover either with a handheld vacuum or the stair tool, to remove as much loose dirt as possible before adding moisture.

2. Make sure all water that comes into contact with the blinds is warm and not hot, to prevent any adhesive from melting or softening.

Vinegar

White vinegar is affordable and has a huge number of benefits and uses in household cleaning.

It can be bought from most supermarkets in smaller amounts but for cleaning we recommend bulk buying Jocker Woods White Vinegar in a 5 Litre bottle.

Cleaning vertical blinds with vinegar is as simple as dusting off the blinds or wiping with a damp cloth, then spraying the mould with a mix of half warm water and half white vinegar.

Leave the vinegar on the blind for half an hour then scrub the mould away and wipe or rinse until clean.

If there is still mould remaining, respray the blinds with a more concentrated vinegar solution and leave for an hour, then scrub the mould with a tougher-bristled brush such as the OXO Good Grips Deep Clean Brush.

The good thing about vinegar in cleaning is that it’s not harmful and non-toxic, so leaving some of the vinegar on the blinds is fine.

In fact, leaving some remnants of the white vinegar might actually help to prevent mould from regrowing long term.

Check out our post How To Clean A Washing Machine With White Vinegar for more white vinegar cleaning tips.

Bleach

First, dust down or vacuum each blind to remove excess dust and dirt.

Using gloves, add warm water to a washing up bowl or plastic tub and mix in a small amount of bleach so that bubbles form in the bowl.

Use a sponge or soft-bristled brush to work the water into the bleach and wash the mould off of the blinds.

Once they look clean and there are no more traces of mould, dry with a towel as much as possible and open windows to allow proper drying.

If you have a dehumidifier, place this in the room whilst the blinds are drying so the moisture levels in the room don’t increase as this might cause more mould to grow.

Washing Up Liquid

Using dish detergent follows the exact same process as with bleach except gloves aren’t required.

Dust down or vacuum each blind to remove excess dust and dirt, then mix warm water and washing up liquid in a bowl or tub.

Using a cloth, sponge or soft-bristled brush, scrub the mould off of each blind individually until clean.

Once there are no more traces of mould, dry with a towel as much as possible and open windows to allow proper drying.

If it’s too cold to open windows, use a dehumidifier to stop moisture-levels in the room from increasing as the blinds dry.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is another natural cleaning product that can be magic on certain messes.

One of the things lemon is great at tackling is mildew.

To clean mould and mildew off of hanging blinds, you’ll need a spray bottle filled with neat lemon juice.

Spray the neat lemon juice onto the mould and mildew on the vertical blinds and leave to sit for an hour.

After an hour has passed, simply wipe off with a damp cloth and leave to dry.

This works especially well if the blinds can dry in sunlight as it kills even more mould spores when reacting with the lemon juice’s acidity.

How to Prevent Mould on Vertical Blinds

Use a Mould Spray

Once the mould has been cleared from the blinds, spraying with a mild or diluted mould spray and wiping away the excess helps prevent mould from growing back.

Similarly, an extra spray with lemon, vinegar or tea tree oil and water after cleaning can help to prevent re-growth.

Our Clean and Tidy Living favourites are the Astonish Mould and Mildew Blaster and the HG Mould Spray.

Reduce Moisture in the Home

Mould thrives in warm damp environments, which is usually where our blinds live.

Reducing the levels of moisture in the home by drying clothes outside or in the tumble dryer is much as possible, or using a dehumidifier, can dramatically reduce the pace mould and mildew grows on our blinds.

Essential Oils

Tea tree oil is favoured by many for preventing mould and mildew from growing.

To prevent spores from growing, mix some drops of essential oil with water and spray onto the bottom of the blinds or where mould tends to grow.

Leave for a while then wipe off with a dry cloth.

How to Clean Mould Off Vertical Blinds – Final Thoughts

The key takeaways from this post are that blinds can be cleaned by removing each one or whilst they’re still hanging, using a variety of natural or commercial cleaning products.

All methods involve scrubbing the mould on the blinds until it’s completely removed, and leaving the blinds to thoroughly dry.

There are also some preventative steps to take to avoid mould and mildew from building up on blinds in the first place.

These steps include reducing the moisture levels inside the home with a dehumidifier or drying laundry outside, or by treating the blinds with essential oils like tea tree.

We hope this post explaining how to clean mould off vertical blinds using various products has been useful and informative.

Whichever method you choose, your blinds can get back to looking brand new.

Since mould and mildew can be harmful to inhale or touch, it’s important to clean it as soon as the problem appears.

For more home-cleaning tips and advice, have a look at some of our similar posts linked below.