Thanksgiving is coming and there is be a good chance that you will have some guests in your house. Now is a good time to take a look at the corners, baseboards, window sills and other places that the everyday eye tends to overlook and dust or clean as required. Another household item that is a dust magnet is your lampshades. If you rub your finger over a lampshade, you’ll be surprised by the amount of dust it can accumulate. Clean lampshades make a big impact on your room - with clean lampshades, the lights will seem brighter and the room will seem cleaner.
Here are some steps to clean your lampshades:
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For fabric lampshades, start by removing the shade from the lamp and dusting the shade inside and out with a microfiber cloth, vacuum brush or even a make up brush. Plastic, glass or ceramic shades can be wiped with a dry cloth.
Next it’s time to wash. For all shades, look at the cleaning directions first and proceed as directed. For non-fabric shades - plastic, glass, ceramic, etc. - you should be able to use window glass cleaner applied with a clean cloth - rub and repeat until all traces of dirt are gone. Then use a damp cloth to remove cleaner residue and wipe dry with a clean paper towel. For fabric shades, take a 1/4 cup of mild detergent (I like Dawn) and combine with 1 cup warm water. Take a clean white cloth and immerse in the cleaning mixture - wring out so it’s damp and gently wipe down the shade. Take another clean cloth, dip in clean water, wring out and use to remove any residue. Let all shades completely air dry before replacing on lamps.
Also take this opportunity to wipe down the lamp base from top to bottom. If you keep on maintaining your shades by dusting/vacuuming regularly, you should be in good shape.
11.19.08 @ 1:31 pm
I have a leatherlike lamp shade on one of my favorite lamps. would mild detergent be o,k, for this one too?
11.19.08 @ 6:26 pm
I find that a lint roller (the sticky kind) works really well on smooth lampshades!
11.21.08 @ 4:24 pm
I’m all about the lint roller. Works on all surfaces AND the best part - MY KIDS FIGHT OVER WHO GETS TO CLEAN THE LAMPSHADES!!!
11.22.08 @ 1:56 am
fabric shades, i wouldn’t wash it, keep the water off. just use a tooth brush to get into the corners, and use a swiffer duster to clean the shade. on other shades a clean cloth should do the trick with or a lint roller like courtie said.
11.24.08 @ 9:26 am
Great advice here. You don’t often hear about this necessary project. But your lampshades are clean, it helps everything to sparkle.
11.26.08 @ 11:53 pm
I never put water on my fabric shades. I use the soft brush attachment on my vacuum cleaner and it works wonders. Having a good vacuum cleaner makes all the difference.
12.16.08 @ 2:22 pm
I think a dry chem sponge works great (or is it chem dry?) — it’s a dense, sort of “heavy-ish” sponge that you can buy at paint stores. Do NOT use it wet — it is strictly a dry process — works great on things that you don’t want to get wet as you clean — lamp shades, books, etc. (Used these when cleaning at smoke damage jobs)