We clean curtains and drapery across London, most of it on-site by a low-moisture method while they stay on the pole, so there is no taking down and no shrinkage. Delicate or heavily soiled curtains we collect, clean and rehang. Fully insured.
How our curtain cleaning works
We start by checking what you have: the face fabric, the lining behind it, and any interlining in between. We test a hidden corner for colour-fastness and shrinkage first, because a curtain that bleeds dye tells us to change the approach. Most lined curtains are then cleaned in place.
For the in-place clean we groom the dust out, pre-treat the marks along the leading edge and hem, then clean with a low-moisture system that lifts soil rather than soaking it in. The curtains stay on the pole and dry in their own folds, which keeps the pleating and the drop as they were. Curtains that are too delicate or too heavily soiled come back to us instead, where we take them down, label each drop, clean them properly, then return and rehang them.
What curtain cleaning costs in London
- Short curtains from £35 a pair (sill or below-sill length).
- Long curtains from £42 a pair (floor length).
There is no call-out fee and the price we quote is the price you pay. Fabric, lining and the number of drops change the figure, so the simplest way to get an accurate number is to tell us what is hanging. Get a free quote and we will price it first.
Fabrics, linings and why we rarely wash lined curtains
The reason we clean most curtains on-site comes down to one problem: differential shrinkage. A lined curtain is two or three fabrics sewn together, and a cotton face, a poly-cotton lining and a wool interlining all react to water differently. Wash the lot and they shrink at different rates, so the hem rides up and the drop hangs short and wavy. That cannot be pressed back out.
Fabrics behave differently under our hands too. Silk is unforgiving, so it stays low-moisture and is often better collected. Velvet crushes if you over-wet it, so we groom the pile and keep the water down. Wool-lined curtains hold a lot of dust and clean up well in place.
- Lining and interlining
- The lining is the backing fabric sewn behind the face curtain to block light. Interlining is a soft layer between the two for body and insulation.
- Differential shrinkage
- When the face fabric and lining shrink by different amounts in water, leaving the curtain puckered and hanging short.
- Low-moisture
- A method that uses very little water, so the fabric is only ever damp and dries fast.
- Drop
- The finished hanging length of a curtain, from the heading to the hem. Keeping the drop unchanged is the point of cleaning in place.
- Colour-fastness
- How well a dye stays put when it gets damp. We test a hidden patch first, because a fabric that bleeds needs a gentler method.
What curtain cleaning will not do
We will not wash lined curtains, because the shrinkage risk is real and we would rather yours came back the same length they went up. If a fabric has sat in strong sun for years, the threads can be sun-rotted, and that fabric tears under its own weight when handled. We check for this and warn you first. Some linings are dry-clean-only and cannot be wet-cleaned, and where that is the label we tell you straight.
Getting ready, and how often
There is very little for you to do. Clear anything on the sill or the floor below, and give us room to set up. The curtains stay up and dry within a few hours. Most homes do well cleaning curtains every couple of years, sooner in a kitchen or a home with pets. If anyone has asthma or hay fever, getting the trapped dust and pollen out of the lining helps the air in that room.
Areas we cover and related cleaning
We clean curtains across all 33 London boroughs and the whole of Greater London. Many customers book the curtains alongside other work, so it is worth a look at our sofa and upholstery cleaning if the suite needs refreshing, or our carpet cleaning service for the floors. You can check the areas we work in for your part of town.
Curtain cleaning questions, answered
Do you take the curtains down to clean them?
Usually no. Most lined curtains are cleaned in place by a low-moisture method while they stay on the pole, which avoids shrinkage. Delicate or heavily soiled curtains are the exception: we collect those, clean them off-site, then come back and rehang them for you.
Will cleaning shrink my curtains?
That is exactly why we clean lined curtains in place rather than washing them. Washing lined or interlined curtains causes differential shrinkage, where the face fabric and lining pull in by different amounts. Our low-moisture method keeps the fabric only damp, so the drop stays as it was.
How long do curtains take to dry?
After an on-site clean the curtains are damp at most and dry hanging in their folds, usually within a few hours. Drying time depends on the fabric weight and how warm the room is. Heavier interlined curtains take a little longer, but you are never left with sopping fabric.
Can you clean silk or velvet curtains?
Yes, with care. Silk stays low-moisture and is often better collected, and velvet has its pile groomed and the water kept down so it does not crush. We always test a hidden patch for colour-fastness first. If a fabric is dry-clean-only, we clean it the right way.
We have been cleaning London since 2009, fully insured with DBS-checked cleaners, and our re-clean guarantee stands behind the work: if a spot comes back, so do we, at no charge. Call us on 020 8077 8090, 8am to 8pm any day, or get in touch and we will sort your curtains out.
