Wooden Window shutters are a real piece of window jewellery. They add value to your property in addition to making your house look elegant and attractive but over time, these shutters can lose their look and appeal if not taken care of regularly because when compared with their counterparts, wooden shutters are more fragile. This will happen only if you don’t maintain your shutters properly and clean them on a regular basis. Regular maintenance and dusting are the two must-do things that keep your plantation shutters last for years to come.

Firstly, let us look into cleaning. Interested to know? Read on…

How to Clean Wooden Shutters?

Among all the interiors, shutters are the ones that are easy to clean. If you dedicate some time, you can quickly clean them. Regular cleaning will help you to keep shutters look like day one! Wow, that seems interesting, isn’t it? Excessive moisture is a real threat to wooden shutters. Being a natural fiber, wood reacts with moisture resulting in swelling, shrinking, causing the distortion of the wood. Due to this characteristic feature of the wood, you need to be extra careful when cleaning the wooden shutters. It is advised to use a dry micro-fabric material, dusters or soft toothbrush to clean the shutters.

How to clean shutters when the stain is heavy?

The above-mentioned tips are applicable when stains are not hard and it is only dust particles. So how to clean the shutters when the stain is heavy? Shutters in certain areas like kitchen, playroom, bathroom, etc are prone to heavy stain. So, when you are cleaning these areas, you have to be extra cautious, but that doesn’t mean you have to be worried. Take a cloth and wipe it till the dust and dirt are rinsed off. If in case you have to use a wet cloth or wipe off the dirt with water then you must dry the moist immediately using a dry cloth. You must ensure that moisture or water particle wouldn’t enter the wood.

When to paint over the shutters?

There will be stains that won’t go off easily even if you take time to clean sit. In that situation, you can paint over the shutters and these interior window shutters will change the outlook of your home! Shutter paints are available in the stores and you paint over the stains using a soft paintbrush. Paint the shutters on an interval and enjoy the fresh new look!

Now, Let us take a sneak peek into the Do’s and Dont’s of cleaning.

Do’s

• Do use a clean cloth without fibers.

Clean the shutters weekly. You should clean each window and shutter panel. You can clean it from the middle part of the shutter towards and from the topmost to the lowermost level.

• Do clean quickly.

If you are running out of time, there is a simple thing that will help you save time. You can close the slats and dust one-side softly and then other sides.

• Do remember water spoils wood

Wooden window shutters get spoiled if water or liquid is used. Make sure that you avoid anything that wood absorbs as it affects the life of the shutter.

• Do use the vacuum cleaner

Because the power setting and the soft upholstery attached helps you to clean the shutters fast and effective.

Don’ts

• Don’t ignore the corners

Dust accumulates at the corners. You can use a soft brush to remove the dust from the nook and edges of the shutters.

• Don’t brush hard.

If you clean hardly or harshly, it can create scratches on the surface. Be careful with the cloth you use for cleaning and the way you rub the surface.

• Don’t use all-purpose cleaners

If you use all-purpose cleaners for Interior shutters, it can result in the discoloration of the material, so it is better not to use them.

The second thing that matters is “Maintenance”!

Wooden shutters need periodical treatment. Often, you may see the shutters losing the grip and hold of the position. This happens when the shutters are opened regularly and at times careless! When this happens, you need not worry. All you have to do is to tighten the screw which dislocates its current position. This can be done quickly with a screwdriver. Keeping a track of the shutter position and the strength of the holder is inevitable to maintain the look of the shutters. As part of maintenance, you should apply polyurethane once a while as this saves shutters from environmental factors causing the damage.

Though maintenance of wooden shutters is easy and simple, it is better if you can make use of professional service once a year. Considering the value shutters add to a home, seeking professional help is never going to be a waste. Professionals will see what goes unnoticed in your eyes and thus you can assure the life of wooden shutters without any worry.

Wooden Shutters add beauty and safety to your home. It is a long-lasting asset of your house which needs proper care and maintenance. At the same time, shutters are one thing in any house that can get spoil easily. So it is your duty to ensure the durability and look of the shutters by dusting it regularly. You should never compromise on cleaning and maintaining the same whenever required. It is not a herculean task too hence you can easily get it done. All you have to do is to make sure that the cloth you use is soft and has no hard edges. Moreover, be soft while wiping off the dirt. However, at any point of time, if you feel that you are not good with cleaning, and the maintenance is beyond your control or you don’t have enough time, then you shouldn’t hesitate to seek professional help.