Hi, this is the time to have a good old moan about cleaning venetian blinds. Our kitchen venetian blind is aluminium, has 2-inch slats, and it's above the sink unit. Recently, my wife (of 84 — I'm 87) lost the confidence that she used to have when standing on a board (laid onto the sink unit, as a platform). It has now fallen to me to clean the blind, but, instead of standing, I need to take it down, because there is not much room for me to stand up there.
Accordingly, I took the blind down and put it across my widened knees, took a cloth soaked in Stardrops (yes, we do have some Stardrops) and started to wipe each slat. The physical difficulty of working like this was considerable, but, worse, the mixture of hot water with Stardrops hardly touched the grease (the blind is at the side, and higher, than the cooking-stove, so it must pick up grease from the atmosphere).
I then tried using Jiff (now called Ciff), which is an ever-so-slightly abrasive cream, with the Stardrops water. In some places, however hard I rubbed with the Ciff-rag, the grease stayed on. (It isn't really a lot of grease, and, unless one were to look carefully, it might not be seen. However, if left on, it will get worse.) However, I was supposed to be cleaning the blind, and, naturally, wanted the slats to be perfectly clean when I had finished. After well over an hour, the job was done, but I was not satisfied, because, really, the slats are not perfectly clean. If Ciff won't get it off, I don't know what would!
So, if you have borne with this moan for so long, I am now asking: is there anyone that can recommend a cleaning method that does not involve sitting with knees apart, and struggling in the way that I did, and which is not as useless as going over the blind with a silly duster (those that are supposed to grip both sides of each slat)?
I should be willing to hold the blind over a bath of hot liquid (in my more desperate moments, I think of acid), if that liquid would dissolve grease by dunking. (Except that it might also dissolve the cords that hold the slats!) I badly need a method that will work, in that the grease could easily be dissolved, and that does not involve struggling with the blind across my knees (nor standing over the sink, and attempting to wipe down the slats of the extended/dropped blind). I am at a loss about what to do next time, and very much hope that some genius has found a less arduous and effective method of doing the job.
With thanks for any helpful suggestions,
L.L.
Accordingly, I took the blind down and put it across my widened knees, took a cloth soaked in Stardrops (yes, we do have some Stardrops) and started to wipe each slat. The physical difficulty of working like this was considerable, but, worse, the mixture of hot water with Stardrops hardly touched the grease (the blind is at the side, and higher, than the cooking-stove, so it must pick up grease from the atmosphere).
I then tried using Jiff (now called Ciff), which is an ever-so-slightly abrasive cream, with the Stardrops water. In some places, however hard I rubbed with the Ciff-rag, the grease stayed on. (It isn't really a lot of grease, and, unless one were to look carefully, it might not be seen. However, if left on, it will get worse.) However, I was supposed to be cleaning the blind, and, naturally, wanted the slats to be perfectly clean when I had finished. After well over an hour, the job was done, but I was not satisfied, because, really, the slats are not perfectly clean. If Ciff won't get it off, I don't know what would!
So, if you have borne with this moan for so long, I am now asking: is there anyone that can recommend a cleaning method that does not involve sitting with knees apart, and struggling in the way that I did, and which is not as useless as going over the blind with a silly duster (those that are supposed to grip both sides of each slat)?
I should be willing to hold the blind over a bath of hot liquid (in my more desperate moments, I think of acid), if that liquid would dissolve grease by dunking. (Except that it might also dissolve the cords that hold the slats!) I badly need a method that will work, in that the grease could easily be dissolved, and that does not involve struggling with the blind across my knees (nor standing over the sink, and attempting to wipe down the slats of the extended/dropped blind). I am at a loss about what to do next time, and very much hope that some genius has found a less arduous and effective method of doing the job.
With thanks for any helpful suggestions,
L.L.
