How to Steam Velvet Curtains? Velvet curtains are a brilliant addition to your living room or bedroom, but you need to be careful when washing them. If you want to avoid ruining them by accidentally creating a giant tear, it is essential that you know how to properly steam velvet curtains.
Here are a few steps on how to steam velvet curtains correctly. Read on – How to Steam Velvet Curtains?
Table of Contents
1) Prepare the iron and the steamer
First things first! You’ll need an adjustable ironing board and both a regular iron as well as a steamer. It’s also necessary that the steamer has high heat because otherwise, it won’t do its job of getting rid of the major wrinkles in the fabric quickly enough for your needs.
2) Use lots of water inside your steamer
It’s best to fill the steamer with water up to the marked line, but not more than that. Since you can’t really see inside the machine, it’s best to overfill it and then let some of the hot water out after you’ve started using it.
3) Steam velvet curtains at their seams
One of the most common mistakes people make when trying to remove wrinkles from velvet curtains is by applying too much heat and steam on them for too long. This ends up making these curtains appear not only wrinkled but also dry and damaged.
It’s best if you take a few minutes and focus specifically on removing the wrinkles along all of the seams in order to avoid tearing them prematurely and ruining your expensive velvet curtains even before they’re able to give you a look you’ve desired for so long.
4) Use the correct amount of pressure
It’s essential that you use plenty of pressure while steaming your velvet curtains, but at the same time, this doesn’t mean pressing down too hard. If you press down super hard with your ironing board and no steam comes out because it’s all concentrated on a single spot, then damage to the fabric will be unavoidable.
The key is finding a balance between pushing down hard enough to remove wrinkles without putting too much weight into them and creating new ones in their place.
5) Re-steam if necessary
In some cases, especially if your velvet curtains are particularly wrinkly or damp from being outside for a long period of time, you’ll need to re-steam your curtains in order to get rid of the wrinkles.
Of course, this could result in dampening your velvet curtains even more, but sometimes that’s just how it goes. It can be hard to avoid such a thing.
6) Fold and hang when done
Once you’re sure you’ve removed all of the major wrinkles from your freshly steam cleaned velvet curtains, fold them up and hang them on a well-made garment rack for storage until they’re ready to be used again either in their current spot or elsewhere in the house.
Remember: it’s always best not to leave velvet curtains hanging in one spot for too long despite how beautiful and lush they look when dressed up because doing so can lead to yellowing and even mold after a few months.
7) Practice makes perfect
It’s important to remember that the more you steam your velvet curtains, the better at it you will get over time. If they seem particularly difficult to remove wrinkles from or have tons of very small creases in them, then it might be best for you to practice on a pair of less expensive curtains first so that you can learn how exactly this must be done before dealing with your velvet beauties.
8) Air dry if necessary
While steam ironing is great for most fabrics, some fabrics have very specific instructions when it comes to being cleaned or otherwise cared for. In the case of velvet curtains, air drying them is usually best since putting them through an ironing machine might damage the fabric even more than it already has been.
9) Take them to a professional if necessary
In some cases, you might feel that your velvet curtains have been too damaged by the steam iron or that they’re just too hard for you to remove wrinkles from properly.
In such a case, you might want to consider taking them to a professional dry cleaner in order to see what they can do about getting rid of these wrinkles and restoring your velvety goodness.
10) Avoid plastic hangers at all costs
It’s important to remember that if you hang your velvet curtains up using plastic hangers, then this will cause any potential drapes or other decorations on the back of them to fall down very quickly.
When hanging velvet curtains, the absolute best thing to use is a nice wooden or bronze hanger in order to avoid tearing down your beautiful decor.
11) Avoid heat when storing
It’s important that you not only remove velvet curtains from any heat source in order to avoid damaging them but also make sure that they never come in contact with flame while being stored for long periods of time.
12) Use vinegar when laundering
If you want to keep all of the dirt and grime off of your velvet curtains after you’ve used them, then one of the best things to do is to add equal parts vinegar and water into your washing machine.
This solution not only keeps your velvet curtains looking nice and clean but also helps to prolong their lifespan by removing any potential bacteria that might be living on or in the curtain.
13) Remove all furniture from behind before hanging
This tip ties into the previous one about using terracotta pots and wooden boxes in order to keep your velvet curtains safe during storage. When you use these items, then it’s important to remember that you should never put anything directly behind your velvet curtains while they’re being stored.
This means that when hanging them up again, you’ll have to move these items out of the way in order for there to be enough room for the curtains to breathe and to avoid damaging them with any potential dents or burns.
14) Use glass panes as design elements
It might seem like a good idea to create some nice backsplash designs on your glass shower doors by adhering velvet curtain panels behind them, but you should never do this since excessive heat from showers and baths will likely be dangerous for these types of curtains.
Instead, make use of glass panes as design elements on walls and ceilings where they can’t come into contact with any heat sources – even bathroom lighting can warp velvet curtains, so it’s best if you avoid this at all costs.
How to Steam Velvet Curtains? – Conclusion
Velvet curtains are a classic choice for people looking to add elegance and style to their homes. It’s important that you take care of your curtains so they will last as long as possible. Follow these simple tips and tricks on how to steam clean and iron your beautiful velvet drapes, which should help them look new again in no time.