Cleaning Blinds

[ZedPM]

Hello All,

Now after a month and a half of no analogs and having my sense of smell coming back I noticed cig smell coming from my horizontal blinds. This was the window with an exhaust fan used to vent out the smoke. I started to clean off the yellow stain and dust crud off each vane at a time. What a PIA there has to be a better way.

So, I popped off the whole thing and took it up to my shower. Wet it down then sprayed with 409. Rinse and repeat a few times. Shook off the excess water then hung it back up. Rolled it down, wiped off the left over water and good as new!

Took about 25 mins

Note:

I only rolled it up 3/4 of the way to help get the spray and water in to each vane. Try to spread the vanes out while spraying and rinsing as the wetness makes them stick together. All in all it was way easier than cleaning each vane at a time.

Hope this may help,

~Zed

 

[mattiem]

That is the way I used to have to clean all my mini-blinds. It is easier though if you can hang them up outside, spray with 409 or what ever and then take the water hose to them. When I can do them outside I like to use bleach water or clorox kitchen cleaner.
Now that I don't have to clean all the smoke gunk off them all I have to do is dust. Yea!!!!!!!

 

[jdrewry]

This might surprise you...you know what you might want to try cleaning? The inside of your PC, if you were inclined to smoke around it a lot--especially the CPU fan.

 

[mattiem]

This might surprise you...you know what you might want to try cleaning? The inside of your PC, if you were inclined to smoke around it a lot--especially the CPU fan.

It is awful just how bad the inside of your computer gets. Fortunately we haven't smoked in our new home so we no longer have that problem but it doesn't hurt to open up and clean the fans in your computer occasionally. My hubby does pro bono computer repair for friends and family so sees quite often just how dusty they get and if they are smokers it is twice as bad.

 

[fauno]

I read this and just cleaned the inside of my pc. holy .....

 

[Bradder]

It is amazing how many "little" areas that we forget when trying to clean out tar/ni/cig gunk. Had a friend who tried for weeks to get the smell out of her car then discovered three cig butts in the ashtray for the back seat. Personally, I tend to use white vinegar for cleaning - lots cheaper and seems to work well for odor and gunk removal - but it does smell, for a short while, like a food fight broke out in a vegan restaurant.

 

[The Red Wolf]

Used to do repair work on PCs that had shorted MBs do to the shear volume of tar and other gunk that would build up from smoking clients... never again...

Like Bradder, I tend to use a 50/50 White Vinegar and water solution. Works very well and doesn't take alot of money from my precious juice fund.

- Xeno

 

[ZedPM]

Bradder, Yes it is so true. Amazing how blinded we get over the almighty cig.

I too found a couple of old butts in my car ash tray today.

mattiem, great idea next on my list.

~zed

 

[otakueric]

+1 on the vinegar. the smell sucks at first, but really works.

I use a bowl of vinegar in my car overnight to get rid of the cigarette smell.

 

[ZedPM]

+1 on the vinegar. the smell sucks at first, but really works.

I use a bowl of vinegar in my car overnight to get rid of the cigarette smell.

I used vinegar too, Distilled White Vinegar, to rid my project car from a nasty musty smell. It had sat for quite some time.
Coffee grinds work good too but, at the price per pound now days.

Keep the ideas coming, great inspiration for others.


~zed