How to look after everything we install
Most of the damage we get called out to inspect was avoidable, and nearly always comes down to the same few mistakes: a timber blind wiped with a wet cloth, a wooden floor cleaned with a mop and bucket, furniture dragged instead of lifted. Everything below is what we tell customers on site, written down so you can find it again at eleven at night.
Cleaning and caring for blinds
The rule that covers almost everything: dust often, and keep water away from anything natural.
Wood venetian blinds
Dust along the slats with a soft brush, a duster or a vacuum brush attachment — never across them, which pushes the slats out of line. If a slat is marked, wipe it with a barely damp cloth and dry it straight away.
Never let water stand on a timber slat, and never use solvents, bleach or a spray cleaner applied directly to the blind. Timber that gets repeatedly wet swells, warps and loses its finish, and a warped slat cannot be repaired — only replaced.
Aluminium venetian blinds
Dust along the slats, then wipe with a cloth wrung out in mild soapy water and dry them. Kitchen grease comes off easily, which makes aluminium a sensible choice above a stove.
Avoid abrasive cleaners and scouring pads, which scratch the powder coating. Support each slat with your other hand as you wipe, so you do not put a kink in it. A silicone spray on the headrail keeps the mechanism running smoothly.
One honest caveat: aluminium is our most affordable venetian, but it is not the most suitable option right on the coast. Ask us to advise for your particular house before you decide on price alone.
Roller blinds
Roll the blind fully down and vacuum it gently with a brush attachment on low suction. Spot clean a mark with a barely damp cloth and a little mild soap, working from the outside of the mark inwards, and leave the blind down until it is completely dry.
A roller blind cannot be washed. It does not go in a machine, and the fabric cannot be taken off the tube to be cleaned separately — so all cleaning happens in place, on the window.
Never soak or scrub the fabric either. Many carry a coating that scrubbing takes off, and a fabric rolled up while damp will grow mould along the roll where you cannot see it.
Vertical blinds
Close the slats flat and vacuum them with a brush attachment, then spot clean marks with a damp cloth and mild soap. Fabric slats can usually be unhooked from the headrail and laid flat, which is far easier than working at the window. PVC slats simply wipe down.
Do not machine wash fabric slats. They are stiffened, and washing takes the stiffener out, after which the slats hang crooked and no amount of ironing brings them back.
A silicone spray along the rail once in a while keeps the carriers running freely. It is the single easiest thing you can do to extend the life of a vertical blind.
Bamboo blinds
Dust only, with a soft brush or a vacuum brush attachment. Bamboo is a natural material and water stains and swells it, so keep it dry and lift it clear of open windows in wet weather. If one does get soaked, lower it fully and let it dry flat and slowly, away from direct heat.
Blind specifications
Everything is custom made to your measurements, so there are no stock sizes. What varies is the slat, the fabric grade and how it is operated.
What the fabric grades mean
Sheer softens the light and keeps the view. Dim-out cuts most of it. Solar screen cuts glare and much of the heat while you keep the view out. Blackout stops the light almost entirely — bedrooms, nurseries and media rooms. No roller fabric stops radiant heat completely, though: a sunny window will still feel warm through the blind.
Motorisation
Tubular motors for rollers, vertical motors for verticals, curtain motors for tracks. Remote controlled, or brought into a smart home system. Worth the money on high windows, very wide blinds, and anything you would otherwise leave shut.
Blinds are not sun barriers
Worth knowing on a window that bakes: blinds are made for light control, privacy and decoration. Sustained heat above roughly 35°C and harsh direct sun can make any blind material lose its shape, and manufacturers exclude that from warranty.
The single best way to make a blind last on a sunny window is a UV blocking tint on the glass — it takes the ultraviolet out before it ever reaches the fabric. Clear tinting is available that cuts UV without darkening the room, so you do not have to lose the light to protect the blind.
Inside or outside the reveal
A blind fitted inside the window recess looks neater; one mounted on the wall in front covers the frame and blocks more light at the edges. We advise per window when we measure.
Cleaning and caring for floors
Sweep before you clean, every time. It is grit underfoot rather than ordinary use that wears a floor out.
Never use a mop and bucket. Use a microfibre mop and a spray bottle of water.
Spray the floor lightly, go over it with the microfibre, done. This applies to laminate, engineered wood, vinyl and novilon alike. A bucket puts far more water on the floor than any of them want, and it is the single most common cause of the damage we are called out to inspect.
Laminate
Sweep or vacuum to lift the grit, then spray the floor lightly with water and go over it with a microfibre mop.
Never a mop and bucket, never steam. Water finds the joints, the core swells and the edges lift permanently. Wipe spills as they happen, felt or pads under every furniture foot, mats at every outside door.
Engineered wood
Sweep or vacuum, then spray lightly with water and clean with a microfibre mop. No mop and bucket, no wet mopping, no steam, no standing water.
If you use a product, match it to the finish — an oiled floor and a lacquered floor want different things, and an oiled floor needs re-oiling periodically. Timber moves with the seasons, so keep humidity reasonably steady where you can.
Vinyl and novilon
The most water tolerant floors we install, which is exactly why we recommend them for bathrooms, kitchens and busy commercial floors. Sweep or vacuum, then spray and clean with a microfibre mop, the same as everything else.
Avoid abrasive pads and solvent cleaners. Avoid rubber-backed mats too — they can discolour vinyl over time.
Carpets
Vacuum regularly, and more often in the traffic lanes than in the corners. Blot a spill immediately with a clean cloth, working inwards — do not rub it into the pile. We recommend a professional deep clean at least once a year.
Two things are normal on a new carpet, and neither is a fault. It sheds loose fibre for the first few weeks, and the joins may be visible to start with. As the fibres relax and settle, those joins become far less noticeable.
Synthetic grass
Brush the pile up against the lay direction now and then to keep it standing, and rinse it with a hose to clear dust and pollen. Lift leaves and organic debris before they break down into the base. Keep braais and fire pits well clear — synthetic fibre melts, and a melted patch has to be cut out and replaced.
Choosing for the room
Ten years of installing in coastal houses, condensed. This is the advice we would give you standing in the room.
Bathrooms and damp rooms
A 50 mm wood venetian is perfectly acceptable in a bathroom — just not inside the shower itself. Bamboo is the one material we would keep out entirely. On the floor, vinyl or novilon.
The rule of thumb: if you get steam on your mirrors, you will have trouble with any blind in that room, whatever it is made of. Ventilation matters more than the product — open the window or run the extractor after a shower.
Houses close to the sea
This is where it pays to ask us rather than order off a price list. Aluminium is the affordable option but not the most suitable one this close to the salt. For floors, engineered wood well outperforms solid timber, because its layered core stays stable as humidity swings.
Bedrooms
A blackout roller if you want real darkness, or a dual vision roller if you want the view during the day and privacy at night. Carpet underfoot is still hard to beat first thing on a winter morning.
Large sliding doors
Verticals or panel blinds. Both are built for width, and both stack clear of the doorway so you can still walk through. Consider a motor on anything very wide.
Rooms that cook in the afternoon
A solar screen roller cuts the glare and much of the heat while you keep the view out. Be realistic though: you will still feel radiant heat through any roller blind at a sunny window. No fabric stops it completely.
Holiday houses standing empty
Choose for neglect, not for looks. Vinyl on the floor handles months of being shut up with nobody checking on it. Tell us the house stands empty and we will factor that into what we recommend at the windows.
Common problems, and what they mean
If you recognise something here, phone us rather than live with it. Most of these are quick fixes when they are caught early.
The edges of my laminate boards are swelling
Water has got into the joints, usually from mopping with a bucket, a slow appliance leak or a spill left standing. It does not go back down. Find the water source first, then talk to us about replacing the affected boards.
My wooden floor has lifted or gone hollow underfoot
Usually moisture from below, or a floor laid without enough expansion gap at the walls. Both are fixable, but the cause has to be identified before anything is relaid.
My vertical slats hang crooked or twist
Most often a slat that has been machine washed and lost its stiffener, or a broken carrier in the headrail. Individual slats and carriers can be replaced without redoing the blind, and a silicone spray on the rail prevents a lot of it.
My roller blind will not hold its position
The clutch or the chain mechanism, not the fabric. It is a mechanism replacement rather than a new blind, so keep the fabric and call us.
There are marks on the roll of my roller blind
The blind was rolled up damp, and mould has grown where it was in contact with itself. Leave a blind down to dry fully after any cleaning or after a wet window.
My carpet has flattened in the walkways
Normal in traffic lanes, and a professional deep clean often lifts the pile considerably — another reason for the yearly clean. Rotating loose furniture and rugs spreads the wear so it happens more slowly.