Remove dust from your pillows, drapes and stuffed animals using…your clothes dryer
Modern appliances have a lot of unused features, and we wanted to let you know about this one to make your life easier. The “air fluff” setting, also called “air-dry” or “no heat” cycle, is perfect for knocking dust off stuff you can fit in the dryer. (My Favorite Dusting Tool Is My Clothes Dryer) The hardest part about it may be removing the item (such as drapes), but other than that, it’s a cinch! The fine fabric manufacturer Calico even recommends this method for plain draperies with no dangling trims that could tangle in the dryer:
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First, remove the window treatments from the rod. Then remove all drapery pins--this is critical!
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Without washing or dry cleaning the draperies, place one panel at a time into the dryer. If multiple widths are seamed together, a large capacity commercial dryer may be preferable.
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Next, add an old, dry cotton terrycloth bath towel. The cotton towel will absorb grime that is released in the tumbling action.
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Set the dryer on an air-fluff or no-heat cycle and tumble for about 30 minutes. (A hot setting may cause shrinkage.)
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Remove panels immediately and hang on skirt hangers or rehang at the window. Rumples should hang out, but ironing or steaming may be necessary to make wrinkles disappear. Even if an installer is called for professional steaming, the total cost will be a fraction of the expense for professional dry cleaning.
If your dryer doesn’t have an air fluff setting, you could set the temperature down to its lowest setting and tumble dry for 10-15 minutes. Most cycles naturally have a “cool-down” at the end, anyway. If your blanket needs a bit of extra “fluffing”, you can add a few dryer balls in the drum.
This type of “dusting” can easily extend the time between professional cleanings of fabrics, if they’re not soiled. What an easy “hack” to the boring and not-so-easy task of dusting large items like curtains!
Photo by PlanetCare on Unsplash
