They say that when it comes to completing any task – pleasant or not – there are many ways to skin a cat.

When it comes to cleaning blinds there are really only a few ways to do it properly and plenty of ways to do it terribly.

Keeping Your Blinds in Tip Top Shape

If you want to keep your blinds in tip top shape then the number one step you can take is to give them a dust on a regular basis. Weekly is best but monthly is good too.

Dusting can be achieved by wiping closed blinds over with a microfibre blind cleaner, a microfibre cloth, or even an old sock.

Microfibre really is the winner and you can buy it made into gloves so you can slot your hand into them. This helps by giving you the opportunity to clean them on the top and bottom of a blind with one sweep of your hand.

Failing dusting with microfibre, the next best thing you can do for ANY blind is to give it a once over with the vacuum cleaner every now and then. You will be amazed at how good they look just from doing this and if you do it regularly you can push out the need for a deeper clean.

To vacuum horizontal blinds simply close them and hold them at the bottom. Vacuum the side facing you with a simple left to right motion starting at the top. Close them facing the other way and repeat.

For vertical blinds, again close them but work from top to bottom. If you have long blinds you may need to ask someone to hold the bottom firm for you. Repeat on the other side.

Stubborn Stains and Grease

The world became a better place the day microfibre cleaning was created!

If you have not discovered the wonders of microfibre then you are in for a treat. This amazing cloth will clean just about everything and anything. You can use it to remove your makeup; even stubborn mascara will come off with ease with this material, so cleaning a blind is a synch with a microfibre cloth.

If you need a little extra help with stubborn, hard to remove stains or grease, then all you need to do is add a few drops of detergent to a bucket of warm water. For that extra oomph you can add vinegar to your solution. A tablespoon of bicarbonate will also work wonders.

It is important not to saturate your blinds when cleaning. Quality microfibre clothes can be rung out very well and they leave little water behind.

Failing all of this, if you really are not interested in putting in the time then Blind Concepts offer a fabulous cleaning service, using the latest technology.

Do you find yourself sneezing, coughing, and feeling tight in the chest, runny or itchy nose, itchy eyes, or itchy skin with no obvious signs of fresh flowering in the garden? You may discover that you have a dust mite allergy.

Less than half a millimetre long, dust mites are oval shaped wingless creatures that can wreak havoc in their short two-month life span.

In the hot and humid summers we Queenslanders experience, the dust mite can multiply prolifically without us even being aware of it. It is predicted that as many as two million dust mites could inhabit your mattress and pillows alone! This is because they feed off dead skin cells we lose every day.

Common hiding spots for these miniature critters also include carpets, soft furnishings, and drapery. So how can you control them without filling your environment with even more contaminants that could create larger issues?

By the way, chemical sprays do not deter these creatures anyway so save yourself the chemical drama. Other “treatments” that don’t work are electric blankets, negative ion-generators and allergen free products.

Blind Concepts believe that the number one thing you can do is replace your curtains and heavy drapes with a blind. But we are biased of course. If you have blinds already then you are halfway there and we can certainly help you keep them clean and in tip top shape!

How to Deter and Remove Dust Mites From Your Home

Direct sunlight can be a real downer for dust mites so hang your bedding in the hot sun for a natural fresh cleaning solution. A dehumidifier can deplete, if not completely destroy their population as they cannot exist without humidity.

Steam Cleaning your carpets, bedding, soft furnishings, for example, has been shown to have a great effect on the numbers of these miniature arachnids. (Yes, spiders; they are acari which makes them part of the family of eight-legged creatures.)

Hot wash in 60o or higher or hot tumble dry bedding, rugs, cushions, pillows and soft toys to kill them. Choose leather, vinyl, plastic and wood over soft fabrics for your furnishings.

Vacuum regularly and include your mattress in the process. Make sure you give the creases and seams a thorough going over.

Minimise “dust collectors” such as wall hangings, ornaments, books, artificial flowers and other knick knacks.

Selecting the right blind for your room or home can be a challenge. With so many styles and colours on the market you are spoilt for choice.

We hope this simple guide will assist in pinpointing which blind will be the right blind for you.

Major Blind Types

There are three major blind types used widely in Australia.

Venetian Blinds are by far the most easily recognised. They are constructed with thin slats of timber, plastic, vinyl, or metal and strung together with strings that are controlled by a side mounted chord or rotating stick. Venetian blinds can be raised or lowered and adjusted for privacy, as well as to allow in light and refreshing breezes.

Roman Blinds are a solid sheet of fabric or sometimes plastic on a single rolling mechanism installed at the top of your window. They can only be raised or lowered, using a chord.

Vertical Blinds are also installed from a single track at the top of your window or door. They comprise wide fabric slats that can be adjusted, opened, and closed from side chords.

Other Considerations

Aesthetics is not the only consideration to be made here. Other issues to ponder are how much light you wish to block, consistency, ease of use, stack height and mounting design.

Is it necessary to have a completely blacked out room? Perhaps you are looking for a suitable blind for a cinema room, or you are a shift worker.

How much space do you want a blind to take up when completely open? All blinds have what is called a stack height. Roman blinds, for example, have a very large one whereas a venetian blind has a very small one. If you have a particularly nice view for example you would want a blind with a relatively small stack height.

Is it important for your home decor to have consistency? Most people would select blinds that match throughout the house but particularly in select areas. That is, along the front of the home or in a lounge/living area, for example.

Do you possess limited mobility and perhaps need ease of adjustment? There is a range of motorised, remote controlled systems available for those hard to get at places, made especially for the physically impaired.

Blind Concepts are your one stop shop for the cleaning, repair, and restoration of all forms of blinds in the Greater Brisbane, Ipswich, and Logan suburbs.

Using the outstanding and environmentally friendly ultrasonic cleaning method we are able to remove stains, grime, and dirt from all styles of blinds quickly and efficiently.

If you have a home with a small living area it can be difficult to fit everything in and still give yourself that feeling of space and light.

Curtains can make a room look closed in and dark. They can block any breeze that may be around and also limit your ability to decorate. By this, we mean that curtains can limit your ability to match your furniture and decorative pieces together, due to colour.

With a blind of any kind, you have the answer to all these issues with the twitch of a chord. Blinds are very discreet and don’t overpower a room. Their colour is usually one of a neutral kind, which means they can blend in and match just about any colour you may choose to have on your lounge suite, cushions or floor coverings.

The very nature of the blind means that you can adjust the slats to allow a cooling breeze to enter whilst still giving yourself the privacy of prying eyes from neighbouring properties be they homes, units or flat. They will even offer privacy from people who may be walking by your home. Whether you live on a busy street or enjoy an ocean view, you can adjust your blinds to admit sunlight and air whilst escaping prying eyes.

Easy Care and Maintenance

Blind Concepts offer a large range of blinds to suit any home, any room, and any situation. Not only that but they are so easy to look after. There are several ways that you can keep your blinds looking good all year round.

using Microfibre

A light dust with a microfibre cloth can do wonders to help keep your blinds in tip top condition. The microfibre attracts dust and fluff like a magnet, making your cleaning experience a breeze. Again, with a twitch of the chord you can have your blinds dusted and polished on one side, then twitch the other way and repeat. How does it get easier than that?

Vacuum with Dusting Attachment

Another way to keep your blinds in great condition is to vacuum them. If your vacuum cleaner has a brush attachment it can be as easy as putting it on and running it over both sides of the blind, again using that magic chord.

You can see how installing blinds in your home will save you time and free up space. Don’t delay; call us now to find out more.

With Christmas just around the corner this is the time to finish off that spring cleaning you started recently. We all like to put our best foot forward at this time of the year so many of us are polishing floors and windows. Cleaning your blinds is also a must and so easy when you know how.

There is no doubt that blinds add a completely different effect to any room. With the twitch of a chord they can offer complete privacy or direct cooling breezes, unlike curtains, which are more likely to block a breeze when closed.

Blinds are completely unobtrusive, offering protection from sunlight, street lights, and prying eyes without overpowering a room. They disappear into the background leaving your furniture, artwork, and decorative pieces to shine. Especially that tinsel laden Christmas tree and all those presents.

When looked after, your blinds will last a lifetime. The key to this is to ensure they are treated with the respect they deserve. Keeping them clean and dust free is so easily done.

Regular Dusting a Must

Regular dusting, wiping or vacuuming your blinds to control build-up of unhealthy germ carrying airborne bacteria and particulate is essential. Incorporating this task into your weekly dusting and vacuum routine will take just minutes and will avoid any heavy build up that may occur.

If, however, your blinds are situated in an area where they are likely to have vaporised cooking oil settle on them or where they may be exposed to nicotine, moisture such as humidity or even exposure to vast temperature differences from hot to cold, you may find that simple dusting is not enough to keep them looking at their best.

In this situation it is a good idea to organise for them to be professionally washed by way of Ultra Sonic cleaning.

Fresher, Brighter and Infinitely Healthy

When you ask Blind Concepts to clean you blinds you can relax and get on with cooking that Christmas pudding and leave the rest to us.

We collect your blinds, take them back to our purpose built workshop (not Santa’s!), put your blinds through our Ultra Sonic cleaning process, return them to you and have them hung and ready for your Yuletide Celebrations in jiffy.

In as little as 24 hours we can have your blinds shining clean and free of dirt, grime, grease, and bacteria.

Obviously, we at Blind Concepts are all about how to make your windows look good, so this is our Number 1 Tip to upscale your home.

We offer a range of ready and custom-made vertical blinds, roman blinds, oriental, plain or exposed batten and Holland blinds. Our services also cover Venetian blinds that include Aluminium blinds, wood composite blinds, 50mm poly-resin blinds with a timber look finish, and lacquered or oiled cedar blinds.

We can clean, repair, replace or upgrade every blind in your home.

Tip 2

Sometimes your home may just need a colour upgrade. Some colours can be a bit faddish. If you are over the bright yellow of the 70s and mission brown of the 80s why not upgrade to a different shade?

Tip 3

Spruce up your front door. You can do this by changing its colour, updating, or upgrading your door mat, adding a plant on either side, or even tiling, paving or adding faux timber slats.

Tip 4

Add some life to your home’s rooms or outdoor areas by adding some hanging potted plants. They can be pretty flowery offerings or even practical plantings such as herbs you use in the kitchen.

Plants help you clear the air and static energy and even help reduce EMFs from electrical sockets.

Tip 5

Decluttering will give your soul a chance to relax. It has been proven that clutter can cause stress so start to actually let go of some of your stuff. Even letting go of something sentimental but still put away in the cupboard, can open up the flood gates to receiving more than you ever dreamed.

Tip 6

Mow, weed, and clip. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on fancy plantings to have a nice looking yard. You will be surprised how just taking a little time to actually pull those weeds, mow your lawn and clip any low hanging or straggly branches can improve the look and feel of your home.

Tip 7

Rearrange. You know what they say – a change is as good as a holiday. Why not have a go at rearranging the furniture and décor of your home. They say that good Feng Shui in your home starts with the correct placement of these items.

Give it a go and see how you feel. If you don’t like it, change it.

Tip 8

Clean it. If it looks dirty give it a clean. For outside you would be surprised how a high pressure cleaner will bring up your pavers, paths, and driveways.

Tip 9

If it’s broken fix it. Replace torn fly screens, patch holes, and repair fence palings. Give your home some love today!

If you have wooden venetian blinds in your home, you will no doubt want to take good care of them. These kinds of blinds are built to last and if looked after well they will add their special sense of warmth to your home for many years to come.

The key factor here is looking after your blinds. We at Blind Concepts can’t stress enough the importance and benefits of looking after your blinds. We highly recommend that you organise a professional clean through us on a periodical basis but, in the meantime, you also need to care for them yourself.

If you have left them uncleaned for some time do not worry, our ultrasonic blind cleaning process is so efficient that it will bring tired, neglected blinds back to life and looking new again. In between cleans by our team here is what we suggest for your wooden venetians.

Do not immerse

For a start, it’s important you understand that you can’t immerse your blinds in water. As the wood will absorb the water it can end up causing damage to the slats. Excess moisture can cause discolouration or warp the slats.

Be mindful of cleaning products

It is not recommended that you use any old detergent on your blinds. Some chemicals can damage the wood slats and this will be irreversible. If you wish to use a cleaning product, purchase a wood cleaner that is safe and approved for blinds.

Safe stain removal

When it is time to clean your blinds start by looking for any stains or spots of food, for example. If you have little people in the home it is likely that sticky hands make their way to the blinds. This is often because children want to look out the window, so always check.

If there are stains or marks remove these by use of a paper towel or cloth. Hard to remove stains can be eliminated with a safe wood cleaner. Again, please remember to use only approved cleaners and don’t soak with too much water.

Removing dust

Dust is everyone’s problem and your blinds will collect as much as the next household. To remove dust you can do a number of things. If your vacuum comes with an attachment then a gentle vacuum is quick and ideal.

You can also use a dust brush to remove dust, there are even special dusters for blinds designed to collect dust between the slats. Once you have performed either of these methods you can take a damp, not wet, cloth and wipe the slats individually.

Along with your gentle care of your blinds give us a call at Blind Concepts to organise a professional clean to make your blinds last for years.

In temperate South East Queensland we are currently in the middle of winter, which means spring is just around the corner.

For the Blind Concepts staff a spring clean is a tradition. After being cooped up without the windows open for a few months our homes are ready and waiting for a good airing, as well as a good clean. The weather during spring is a lovely time to be doing some hard work; that is for sure.

The flowers are coming out, your bulbs are blooming and it is warm without being hot. This is ideal cleaning weather for our sunny part of the world. If we wait any longer to clean we will be doing it in sweltering summer heat.

Don’t Forget Your Window Dressings

It is amazing how much dust can settle onto your window dressings. Especially if you have a fire going over winter. The dust and particulate seems to increase during this time even with the windows closed.

One of the very best things you can do for ANY blind is to give it a once over with the vacuum cleaner every now and then. You will be amazed at how good they look just from doing this and if you do it regularly you can push out the need for a deeper clean.

To vacuum horizontal blinds simply close them and hold them at the bottom. Vacuum the side facing you with a simple left to right motion starting at the top. Close them facing the other way and repeat.

For vertical blinds, again close them but work from top to bottom. If you have long blinds you may need to ask someone to hold the bottom firm for you. Repeat on the other side.

Deeper Cleaning Tipsdeeper clean

The world became a better place the day microfibre cleaning was discovered! This amazing cloth can clean ANYTHING and usually without any cleaning solution assistance.

If you find you do need a little extra assistance when using it, a few drops of detergent in a bucket of water or a fifty-fifty mix of vinegar and warm water is more than sufficient for cutting through grime and cooking grease.

You can buy mitts made with microfibre that allow you to easily slip your hand between the slats of timber, vinyl or metal blinds with ease. Even wrapping a couple of them around your tongs works well.

It is important not to saturate your blinds when cleaning. Quality microfibre cloths are able to be rung out very well and they leave little water behind.

We also highly recommend that you should have blinds professionally cleaned ultrasonically every couple of years. This helps to loosen and clean any dirt and grime that may be trapped within the fibres where a cloth cannot reach.

If your blinds are in need of a good thorough cleaning you need to contact our team at Blind Concepts. You can keep blinds clean yourself by following some simple maintenance steps and tips but over time they will need a professional clean.

This is because grime and dust builds up in all the hard to reach places that cleaning by you won’t get to. At Blind Concepts we highly recommend you get a professional clean carried out by us at regular intervals to ensure optimum hygiene longevity of your blinds.

Why is ultrasonic cleaning best?

Along with getting into all the tight and small spots where you can’t, there are other benefits to ultrasonic blind cleaning. When you choose to get blinds cleaned in this manner you are increasing their lifespan, which will result in not having to replace or repair blinds sooner than necessary.

Ultrasonic blind cleaning is also the best option for the environment using less water and biodegradable detergent that is environmentally safe. So what is the process?

What happens during the cleaning process?

We will collect your blinds from your home. This will ensure they are removed and transported without damage due to an inexperienced person removing them.

Once in our workshop a small amount of our environmentally friendly water based cleaning solution is added to the water in the machine. Your blinds will be carefully placed in the machine and high frequency pressure sound waves are used to agitate the liquid and create cavitation bubbles.

More intricate cleaning is carried out by using a higher frequency. The process will then remove all dirt, grime and contaminants from the blinds and penetrate all areas including the small moving parts you are unable to access yourself.

We understand your privacy and that the protection of valuables is important. This is why we work efficiently to get your blinds cleaned and back to your home for reinstallation within 24 hours.

The last part of our ultrasonic blinds cleaning process is for you to enjoy the breath of fresh air your blinds breathe into the room. Now hygienically clean so they are safer for your family to be around and looking sparkling and new again.

Ultrasonic blind cleaning is a far simpler and cheaper process than buying new blinds. Don’t think that tired, old and dirty blinds need to be thrown away. Save yourself time and money by contacting our team today to organise your ultrasonic clean today.

We all know too well the constraints of a budget. It is what keeps us from overspending on either things we want or things we need and often it keeps us from fixing things up around the home and putting them on the ‘to do’ list.

However, there is proof that living in a well kept home that is not cluttered is better for our mental state so it is important to try and keep on top of maintenance. Living in conditions that we are not happy with will have a negative impact on our well being whereas getting things sorted, cleaned and repaired when they are needed gives us a positive lift.

It’s time to start getting those little things fixed to de-clutter your life.

Start with your blinds

If you have had blinds in your home for some time you will notice that the chords may be worn, one or more of the slats may be damaged or there is possibly a build up of grime in some of the parts. With so much use, blinds do get damaged over time and once they begin to wear out they tend to get worse quickly.

This is because even once the blinds are worn, you still have to use them, opening them, closing them, lifting them and lowering them. You need to let the air and light in through the window and using them is unavoidable.

The worst case scenario is that they get in such a bad condition that you can no longer lower or raise them. Your home soon becomes stuffy while they are left closed or you lose your privacy if they are left open.

Before it’s too late

You have probably been putting off getting your blinds sorted because you think it will be too costly. Buying all new blinds is likely to be one of those items that are outside the range of your budget and so you leave them. Well the good news is thanks to our team at Blind Concepts, you don’t have to.

Rather than getting your blinds completely replaced you can contact us and we will do a blinds replacement. We simply replaced the damaged parts and your old blinds will look as good as new again. Our replacement service covers just about every kind of blind and we can give you a free quote.

Contact us at Blind Concepts today to find out if you have to salvage your existing blinds with a blind replacement and save those hard earned dollars.