Learning To Clean Quicker

After staring at those dusty drapes all winter long, you might be ready to go to town cleaning when spring rolls around. However, your proactivity might cause problems in the long run. Here are two reasons you shouldn't try to clean your own drapes:   

1: Falls Are The Leading Cause of Homeowner Injury

Once your kids are off to school and you have retrieved that ladder from the garage, you might feel ready to climb up to those rafters and tidy up those valances. Unfortunately, if you fall, you could be seriously injured. Although most people don't realize it, falls are the leading cause of homeowner injury—claiming over 6,000 lives each year.

If you aren't accustomed to working on ladders or trying to navigate heavy cleaning tools, you could find yourself off-balance in an instant. Fabrics are especially hard to clean because they move. If drapery rods are knocked loose, they could strike you on their way down—potentially knocking you off your ladder or leading to blunt force trauma.  

To fend off disaster, hire a professional to take care of those draperies. In addition to being innately familiar with heights, professionals also have extension tools to make cleaning much easier.

2: Drapes Need to Be Handled With Care

Since you are used to cleaning clothes and ironing fabrics, you might assume that you understand how to clean those drapes. Unfortunately, those intricately woven fabrics might be more difficult to handle than you anticipate. Here are a few issues you might come across if you try to tidy up those curtains on your own:

• Chemicals: Each fabric responds differently to cleaning chemicals, and some cleaners simply aren't suited for fabric formulations. To ward off spots, bleach marks, or weakened fabric, have a professional take care of the dry cleaning.
• Heat: You might assume that your drapes will be fine in your dyer, but if you guess wrong, you might end up dealing with shrunken, warped fabric panels. Certain fabrics, such as polyester, can melt when overheated. However, a drapery cleaning professional will evaluate the materials before they are cleaned, so that you won't have to worry about collateral damage.
• Moving Parts: If your curtains have moving parts like zippers, they could be damaged if you try to clean fabrics on your own. Metal components can also be knocked loose in the dryer, where they can act as mini-projectiles that can damage your appliance.

By doing the smart thing and hiring a drapery cleaning professional, you might be able to keep those fabrics in decent shape—while enjoying a break from your cleaning regimen.