Curtains stay on the rail. We clean them where they hang, which saves you taking them down and keeps the pleats and header tape out of a washing machine. With the tall sash windows in a Fulham terrace, that alone saves most of a morning up a stepladder.
Short drop or long drop
Curtains ending around sill height count as a short drop, £35 a pair. Floor-length ones are a long drop, £42 a pair. Floor-length curtains in a bay are common in Victorian front rooms, and a bay dressed with more than one pair is priced pair by pair.
Testing the fabric
We test on the back of the hem, where a mark won’t show. Cotton and linen can shrink a little, and silk and some viscose blends ring and spot with water. Interlined curtains, the heavy ones with a padded layer between the face and the lining, hold water in that middle layer and dry slowly and unevenly, so we use very little and send some of them to a dry cleaner instead. Blackout linings with a coated back can crack if they are scrubbed, so the lining side only gets a light vacuum.
The clean
A soft-brush vacuum goes top to bottom first, with the pleats opened out, because curtains hold a surprising amount of dry dust. Then comes the low-moisture pass with the upholstery tool, again working downwards and overlapping each stroke. We lay a sheet on the floor beneath so drips never reach the carpet or the boards. The curtains stay drawn while they dry, which stops the folds setting with damp in them.
Before we come
Open the curtains fully the night before so the folds relax, and clear the sill. If a sofa sits under the bay we can move it, but a desk covered in papers is better cleared by you. Houses on a bus route, Fulham Road or the New King’s Road for instance, get a grey film of traffic dirt on the street-side curtains, and that comes out well.
Mildew in damp rooms
In lower ground floor rooms and at the back of a side return, condensation runs off the glass into the hems and grows small black spots of mildew. Cleaning lightens them, but mildew feeds on the fibre and old spots often leave a shadow. Sun fading, usually along the edges and folds that catch the light, is lost dye, and no clean brings it back.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Two-seat settee | £57 |
| Armchair | £33 |
| Mattress | £35 |
| Dining chair (seat) | £13 |
| Curtains, short drop | £35 |
| Long curtains | £42 |
Curtains pair well with a carpet visit, since the machine is already in the room; see carpet cleaning for room prices. Fabric sofas and chairs are on the upholstery page, and if you are unsure whether yours count as short or long, ring us from the contact page and describe them.
Questions we get asked
Our curtains are floor-length in a bay. How are they priced?
By the pair. Each floor-length pair is a long drop at £42, so a bay with two pairs comes to £84. A short pair on a side window would be £35 on top.
Will the pleats hold their shape?
Yes. The curtains never come off the hooks and never get soaked, so the heading and pleats stay as they were dressed. We leave them drawn and ask you not to tie them back until they are dry, which is usually by the evening.
The curtains in our basement room have black spots. Can you shift them?
They will lighten, and fresh spots come off better than old ones. Mildew feeds on the fabric, so old spotting often leaves a grey shadow. Unless the condensation is dealt with it will grow again, so a dehumidifier or more airing in that room will help afterwards.
Do you clean nets and voiles?
We would suggest washing those at home on a cool cycle. They are light, they dry quickly back on the rail, and paying us to clean them makes little sense.