TNFRC but we always seem to have an expert here so maybe someone can help

M

melissa-dallas

Well-known member
I have a very large (70 x 80 plus valance) and almost twenty-years dirty custom made roman shade that is in a dark Waverly cotton print and fully lined. The fabric is not rotted and has been hung on a window that is mostly shaded by my porch overhang. I cannot afford to have someone come in and professionally remove and clean it. I believe I could gently wash it in the bathtub. I don't mind restringing it. The fabric would have to be removed from the wooden stretcher bars to prevent them from warping from being wet. The problem is that the fabric is stapled to the bars with tiny staples that have countersunk into the wood. Is there any way to remove the staples without tearing the fabric? I can't figure out how to get them out.

 
I think your best bet is to steam clean it yourself. You may be able to

rent one at a reasonable cost, or I've included a link where they have some reasonable priced ones for sale. Maybe you can split the cost with a local friend or neighbor and share it. smileys/smile.gif

There's also a PDF that explains how steam cleaning works better than chemicals.

I think the staple removal will really damage the fabric. I only tried the re-stringing once, and that was the end!! It never worked right after that.

http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp21918-0086.html

 
We had very expensive drapes which were that old, in the shade, and looked great. I had an expert

from a local dry cleaner come to the house and she told me that fabric exposed to the environment for that long, which includes dust, cooking oils, hair spray (it travels) etc. would fall apart during cleaning and she did not suggest it. Give it a try...you have certainly got your monies worth out of it. If it works you are ahead, if not...you get a new window treatment.
Oh, she also told me about burning candles and all the pollutions they put out.

 
Speaking of candles, I won't burn any more of them in my house again...

At Christmas time this past season, I bought and burned some Yankee Candle christmas scented candles (not cheap candles) so I could enjoy the smell of a live Christmas tree in my house. I was not big on candles before this.

In January, my Heating and Air Conditioning Technician came to do his 6-month check-up, and when he opened the grill to inspect my air cleaning filter, (which is a super-duper, lasts for up to 3 months brand) he immediately said "Do you have another filter?" Then he showed me that the used filter was BLACK, and he said that he always knows when a homeowner burns candles, because their filters are always black, from the soot/whatever from the burning candles. I've used and changed these filters for 6 years, and never had a blackened used filter before this.

His comment was "if this is what your filter looks like, what do you think is in your lungs?"

I'm now cured of burning candles in my home. I'm going to miss the scent, and the glow, and I have a bunch of really nice scented candles that I'm going to throw away. I don't have the heart to donate them to Goodwill.

Any comments?

 
May I add a comment about hair spray? You are probably going to think I am kind of wierd, but I had

a very unusual experience with hairspray. I use it every day, after I blow-dry my hair. A while back, I had to stop using my Master Bath, as I needed to re-caulk the shower and it needed to dry out. DH and I took our showers in the Guest Bath, but then we went back to the Master Bath to do hair, teeth, etc. After a week, I noticed that the counter and the sink in the Guest Bath were not nearly as gunked up as the Master Bath, and that's when I figured out that the hairspray was coating the sink and the counter in the Master Bath, and that's why the Guest Bath was so much cleaner...no hairspray!

So I hung a mirror in my carport and I put a can of hairspray by the carport door. Every morning, after I dry my hair, I go outside, and spray my hair. This has totally eliminated the lacquer build up on my bathroom counters and sinks.

Now, I wonder where that hairspray went in the rest of my house?

 
(((Marianne))) When my sis and I helped my Mom move, we had to clean the bathroom

door where she stood every morning and sprayed her hair for the day - it was quite a chore! We pleaded with her to choose a different spot to apply her hairspray in her new place. smileys/smile.gif

 
I use an electric jar candle wamer - love it - lotsa smell, no burning

I too saw soot build up and I don't burn candles as much as some of my friends.

Put the jar in the sleve and turn it on. It melts the wax and releases the smell. I've found that candles last a lot longer than if I had burned them for the same amount of time.

Of course one the wax is melted the wick falls down into the botom of the jar - so it's not possible to light the candle again even if you wanted to - but hey - I'd rather melt them.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

http://www.springhousecandles.com/candlewarmer.html

Tess

http://www.springhousecandles.com/candlewarmer.html

 
Thanks for the advice all. I have a carpet cleaner with upholstery attachment.

Just can't figure out what to put behind it so that it is on a firm surface unless I take it down and put it on a blanket on the driveway. Don't have a big enough open floor space in the house.

The hairspray is a problem. My bathroom is tiny and the door of the linen cabinet is directly behind where I stand at my bathroom mirror. I've had to use alcohol or foaming bathroom cleaner to get the old yellowed "lacquer" off the white paint. It builds up a really thick coat pretty quickly.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top