old school socks and venetian blinds

we replaced the curtains that we had downstairs with venetian blinds because we felt that it was cumbersome having to take down the curtains every few months, wash them, iron them and put them back again. with these wooden blinds, we just needed to dust and clean them once in a while, or so we thought. we have since discovered that venetian blinds attract dust easily and they require regular dusting and cleaning.




i have tried using the vacuum cleaner with the soft duster brush attached to the noozle to do the job but it did not turn out to be very effective. i have also tried using dust-attractant gloves, kitchen towels, microfibre cloth and anti-static cleaning towels. however, the cheapest and most effective way, i have found out, is to use old socks, especially old school socks, to do the cleaning.

old socks make great slate cleaners. just wet the sock slightly and put it on your right hand - for right-hander - and wipe the slate back and forth, cleaning both the top and bottom of the blind at the same time. i do not use any ammonia or cleaning solution, just plain water to dampen the sock.

when cleaning, you should start from the centre of the blind and move to the edge right and left. this is to ensure that the dust is not transferred from one end to the other end. at the end of the job, just throw away the old sock.