How do I wash curtains?

Curtains hold years of dust and smell, and the usual disaster is shrinkage — lined curtains have two fabrics that shrink at different rates.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 1 hr 30 min
Read: 3 min

Short answer

Vacuum them first, check for a dry clean symbol, and wash unlined cotton or synthetic curtains cool on a gentle cycle. Rehang them damp so their own weight pulls the creases out. Lined curtains and anything with an interlining should be dry cleaned.

Curtains are the largest textile in most rooms and the one nobody thinks about, so they carry an enormous amount of dust, cooking smell and, in a smoker's house, tar. They are also the item most likely to shrink dramatically, because the lining and the face fabric are usually different materials with different shrinkage rates.

What you'll need

A vacuum with a brush attachment
A large drum machine or a bath
A steamer or an iron (optional)
Somewhere to hang them damp

Step by step

Vacuum them in place first.Brush attachment, top to bottom, both sides, including the header tape. A great deal comes out dry, and it saves the machine a load of grit.
Check the label before anything else.Dry clean only on lined and interlined curtains is usually genuine advice, not caution. The lining and face fabric will shrink by different amounts and the curtain will pucker permanently.
Take the hooks out and note the setting.Photograph the header tape and the hook spacing. Rethreading forty hooks correctly is much easier with a reference.
Loosen the header tape cords.Untie and release the gathering so the curtain lies flat. Washing them gathered leaves the tape distorted and the curtain unhangable.
Weigh the load honestly.Wet curtains are extremely heavy. One pair is often a full load, and cramming them in means neither washing nor rinsing happens properly.
Wash cool on a gentle cycle.Thirty degrees, delicate, low spin. Cool water is the main defence against shrinkage, and a low spin prevents deep creasing.
Bath-wash anything too large for the machine.Cool water, a little gentle detergent, treading them gently, then several rinses. Drain fully before lifting, because the weight of water is enormous.
Rehang them damp.Straight back onto the pole while still damp. Their own weight pulls the creases out as they dry, which saves ironing an object the size of a bed.
Put a towel down underneath.They will drip for an hour or two. On a wooden floor or carpet that matters.
Steam any remaining creases in place.A hand steamer down the hanging curtain is far easier than getting a curtain onto an ironing board.

Tips

Curtains that have never been washed may look worse afterwards — sunlight degrades the fabric and washing can reveal it. Vacuum and steam instead if they are old and fragile.
Voile and net curtains wash well in a pillowcase on a cool cycle, and rehanging them damp removes every crease.
Blackout linings with a rubberised backing must not go near heat, and often crack in the machine. Wipe them down instead.

Common mistakes

Washing lined curtains warm — The lining and the face fabric shrink at different rates. The result is a permanently puckered curtain that hangs badly, and it cannot be corrected.
Leaving the header tape gathered — The tape twists and sets in the wash, the cords tangle, and the curtain will not gather evenly again afterwards.

If it doesn't work

Curtains too short after washing

Cause: Shrinkage from a warm wash or tumble drying — Fix: Rarely recoverable. Steaming and stretching while damp regains a little. Let down the hem if there is one.

Puckered seams and wavy edges

Cause: Lining shrank more than the face fabric — Fix: Steam and stretch the seam while damp, and hang with weights. Severe cases need the lining replacing.

Deep creases that will not hang out

Cause: High spin or left folded while damp — Fix: Rehang damp, or steam in place. A hand steamer is much easier than an iron for this.

Colour faded unevenly

Cause: Sun damage revealed once the dust was removed — Fix: Not a washing fault and not reversible. Rotate curtains between windows to even out future fading.

Questions people ask

How often should curtains be washed?

Once a year is plenty for most rooms, with vacuuming every couple of months in between. Kitchen curtains and those in a room where someone smokes need it more often.

Can curtains be tumble dried?

Avoid it. Heat is the main cause of shrinkage and it sets creases into large flat fabric. Rehanging damp is both easier and better.

What about the smell rather than the dirt?

Vacuum thoroughly, then hang them outside on a dry breezy day. Several hours of moving air removes a surprising amount without any washing at all.