Did you know that dedicated curtain cleaning services exist on the market? While it is possible for you to perform basic cleaning techniques on your curtain, they do have limited effectiveness. This is due to the use of advance chemicals, equipment and techniques which are capable of delivering a thorough cleaning for your curtain.
In this article, we shall cover the benefits that curtain cleaning professionals deliver for your household. We will also be analysing the risks that dirty curtains pose to your home as well as the techniques that professionals use.
Why Regular Curtain Cleaning Techniques are Insufficient
Most homeowners do perform regular curtain cleaning, either on a weekly or monthly basis. This would involve dusting, vacuuming and washing.
Dusting, Vacuuming & Washing
Commonly, on weekends, families do take the simple step of dusting their curtains with a duster or wiping it down with a wet cloth. For reassurance, a vacuum can be used to suck up any remaining dust or loose dirt. With this process, your curtains should appear clean and fresh, with no dust on its surface.
Less frequently, families do also place the entire curtain to wash. Be it by machine or by hand depending on the type of fabric in question, washing helps remove dirt from any obscured areas. In addition, any surface germs or bacteria are also dislodged during washing.
However, these basic curtain cleaning techniques are not sufficient in certain circumstances such as when deep-rooted dirt is present or when your curtain is made out of niche fabrics.
The Short Fall in Basic Cleaning Methods
Dusting, vacuuming and washing are great for removing surface level dirt and stains from your curtains. However, not all dirt appears at the surface level of your curtain. Furthermore, certain curtain materials suffer from cloth shrinkage, colour fading and texture defects when normal cleaning methods are applied to them.
The challenge here is that curtains are typically a fabric with large surface area facing the external environment. As such, they are widely exposed to dirt, dust, pollen and pet dander. When left unattended for a period of time, these pollutants began to penetrate and reach the inner fibres of your curtain. At which point, they become incredibly hard to dislodge by conventional methods.
Even with regular cleaning, the pollutants will remain trapped within the fibres. If you have children or pets who enjoy hiding or playing around the curtains, then their health could be compromised. The hidden germs and bacteria can easily attack them and cause respiratory or allergy-based health issues.
Even if you, your family and your visitors do not actively interact with your curtains, the presence of these germs and bacteria in the environment can have a negative impact in the long run.
Why Engage Professional Curtain Cleaning
Dry Cleaning Treatment
Certain types of curtain materials such as velvet are thicker and heavier, making them unsuitable for washing. If you were to attempt to soak velvet curtains with water, you would find them becoming extra heavy and bulky. This makes them difficult to transport or hang on post wash.
Furthermore, they take a long time to dry, during which, their internal environment enables the growth of mould and mildew. Given these constraints, homeowners who attempt to wash such curtain materials could end up with an even more hazardous situation.
Curtain dry cleaning Singapore services on the other hand uses perchloroethylene instead of water. This solvent can be recovered in an extractor at a later point. In doing so, your curtain will not be in a damp state, eliminating the chance mould or mildew growing within.
Steaming Treatment
Steaming is a popular treatment for onsite curtain cleaning. Not unlike vacuuming, steaming does not require that the curtain be taken down from the rack. Rather, it can be applied to your curtain within your home, with the curtain being in its original position.
A steam cleaner consists of 3 components – a water tank, heating element and a hose. The heating element helps to boil the water in the tank, converting it to steam. Subsequently, the steam travels through the hose and can be applied to your curtain. It is this steam that releases dirt and contaminants that are stuck within the curtain’s fabric.
Caution should be exercised here to ensure that the steamer’s hose is kept at a sufficient distance away from the curtain and that it does not target any one spot for too long. Doing so prevents any area of the curtain from trapping too much moisture and thus becoming damp.
Carbonating Treatment
Carbonation is another form of onsite treatment that can be applied to your curtain. To understand how carbonation works, it is useful to compare it to how club soda removes stains from fabrics. With millions of tiny bubbles penetrating your curtain’s fibres, dirt and stains can be dissolved while also being lifted to the surface for extraction.
Since bubbles perform in the heavy lifting here, minimal amounts of water are needed to push away any dirt that has been lifted to the surface. Critically, compared to steaming, carbonation does not require any soaps, detergents or high pressure. This reduces the pressure exerted on your curtain, thus preserving its lifespan.
Trust Chemdry To Effectively Clean Your Curtains
ChemDry is a curtain cleaning Singapore specialist with over 40 years of experience offering quality curtain cleaning services in Singapore. We offer both onsite and offsite curtain cleaning solutions.
All our services ensure that your curtain is returned to you in prime condition with no damages. Additionally, we perform any necessary removal and rehanging of the curtains, thus giving you a truly hassle-free experience.