We purchased some curtains from Ikea. They are the kind that you hem to fit the windows.
This past week I washed them. They came out of the dryer like a great big, wadded up ball. I spent over an hour trying to iron a single panel. Finally I gave up and took them down to the cleaners, figuring they have the equipment to handle a much bigger job.
This morning we picked them up. It cost more to have them cleaned and ironed than it did to purchase them. They look substantially better, but they still have some wrinkles.
I told GLH that we weren't ever going to buy those type of curtains again. The fabric is too cheap. Obviously there is something strange about it that makes it impossible to iron straight.
GLH responded, "I don't know why you washed them in the first place."
I explained, "You cannot hem them before you wash them. They are likely to shrink."
Looking at me as if I am insane, GLH said, "They looked better before. You should have just hung them and left them."
I responded, "Eventually you will need to wash them and they will shrink. What would you do? Throw them away and buy new curtains instead of washing them?"
"Curtains don't ever get dirty. Therefore, you never need to wash them."
What?
That is NOT the way we do things in MY house!
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11 comments:
I don't know, I may have to go with GLH on this one. They come from the store clean, I would assume. They hand vertically. Sure they get dirty after a while, but, I would think, being from Ikea, they are considered disposable. So, when they get dirty, throw them out.
You just spent too much time with The Mother.
That is just plain wrong. Curtains can become quite dirty. Especially if the windows are left open. And the windows will be open during th summer, especially given the fact we do not have a/c.
Besides, they still smelled like Ikea! Yeech!
I have to admit, I would probably wait until they get dirty and then see what else Ikea has to offer! Thank goodness we don't actually have an Ikea here yet, or my apartment could go downhill very, very quickly...
I wash my curtains. In fact, I washed curtains as soon as we moved into the new house. Curtains shouldn't shrivel! Bad IKEA, bad! No bone!
You are suppose to wash curtains?? Hmmmm I mean I know eventually they will get dirty and you take them down and wash them, but you are suppose to wash them BEFORE you hang them??
I guess I don't see a need BEFORE hanging them the first time - where was I when you were spending too much time with The Mother?? So many things didn't get passed on to me.
I just have to ask though - if it cost more to have them dry cleaned than to actually buy them - just buy new ones every year or so. OR you could always just make some from scratch to your own specifications :)
Anyway, my curtains never wrinkle like that, but I suppose they do need washing. Great now I have to find time to that too. Sigh - why did I start reading this blog, it has just created more work for me.
I would throw them out and buy new ones every year. We have an IKEA shower curtain in our guest bathroom, and I just throw that out every few months and replace it with an identical, new shower curtain.
I'm glad you reminded me about this. We have curtains in our laundry room, and I'm going to just throw them out and replace them with the "backup" package of curtains that are in our storage room.
Seems to me that some people could use a refresher course from The Mother.
By the way, Big Finn, have the Swiss not yet converted you? You seem to be wasting resources. Are you rebelling?
Seeing the cost of dry cleaning, sorry GL, but I go with your hubby too... Throw em out and buy new ones... Cheap it is... But why go through the hastle!
If they're just the light curtains, just hang them back up to dry. They straigthen out by themselves.
If they're heavy curtains, get new ones would be my suggestion.
Curtains are washable. They're just not to be dried in the dryer. Hang them up still damp (put towels on the floor should they drip) and they'll pull straight by themselves.
(Yes I'm a male BUT to pay my way through college I worked in an industrial laundry and a cleaning (the floor type) company)
The Mother said that curtains should not be washed until after they have been hung and become dirty. The orginal "clean" from the store actually keeps them cleaner - just ask her. Something about the dirt falling off of them.
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