Blinds for your windows and doors, come in a variety of shapes and sizes as well as being made out of various different materials. There are plenty of off the shelf varieties that you can buy, or you can even get them custom-made to fit your windows exactly.
• Wood
• Fabric
• Plastic
• Metal
Each of the different types of material used can give a completely different effect on the overall ambience of a room. If you do not wish to have blinds of a solid colour and would like a pattern on them to bring a bit more life into your room, you can get printed blinds in a variety of different patterns and colours.
A Clean Home
Your house can build up with dust over time, which can attract mites and other bugs. Curtains can attract a lot of dust, and as such, should be taken down and cleaned regularly. If you have not done this for a while, try taking your curtains down and soaking them in the bathtub, you may be surprised at how much dirt come out of them!
Blinds, however, are much easier to keep clean than curtains, and a few minutes a couple of times a week will allow you to keep on top of dust and dirt. Blinds which are made from Wood, Plastic and Metal, are much easier to keep clean, as blinds which are made from fabric, will need to be soaked in water and detergent every now and then, just like curtains. With blinds made from a hard surface, you can easily clean your blinds with a damp cloth and a bit of detergent, or even use your vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment. This makes the job of cleaning the blinds even easier. If you have wooden blinds, then you can also get some anti-static polish which you can use, once a week, and will help reduce the amount of dust that builds up. Of course, you can always use the tried and tested method of a feather duster, which is an excellent way to collect dust from your blinds.
The Health Benefits
It is well documented that dust mites can appear in almost any home, and can trigger allergic reactions and also asthma. If you reduce the amount of dust in your home, then you will also be helping to safeguard your health, and that of your family. Another key factor with dust mites is humidity. This is because they do not drink water like other animals and insects, but they absorb water through the humidity of the house. The more humid the house is, the better an environment for dust mites to survive and reproduce. So if you can reduce the humidity in your home, you can also help control the dust mites, and if you live in an area that has very little humidity, you may be lucky enough to have none at all in your home.
Saving Money
By not covering radiators underneath windows with curtains, you can also make sure that the heat can radiate properly in your home. You may be surprised at how much difference this can make in heating your home, even though you may think it would be colder. As long as you look after your blinds then they will have a very long lifespan, meaning it will be longer before you need to replace them. All in all, blinds are much better for your pocket, your health, and also are a lot less hassle to clean!
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Christina Goodall is a mother of four young children, as well as balancing a career as an interior designer and home improvement consultant. Christina loves to have a good looking and clean home, so likes to share her thoughts and ideas in the articles and blogs that she writes. Anything that can help her save time cleaning she gets very excited about!