Window curtain cleaning

Has anyone devised an effective way to clean the window curtains that are swiped and dirtied when the TM closes?
There was a suggestion on the site to close the curtains when closing the TM which keeps them cleaner. Unfortunately, I found that out too late.
Jimmie (or is it Jimmy) Davis said to remove them for washing then hang them up again to dry or they will shrink. He had no other cleaning ideas.
I'm wondering if an upholstery cleaner spray will do the trick while they are still on the window?
Any suggest stories would be appreciated.
Dick_B

Think CAREFULLY before washing your curtains.  The previous owners of our unit washed and dryed the curtains and they shrunk.  I am not clear as to what method (machine or hand) they used.  I am only clear as to the results - it doesn't take much shrinkage to make top and bottom attachment impossible.

Their solution was to remove the bottom plastic strip attachment and have the curtains be free-hanging.  This is not a good solution as the free-hanging curtains really get caught-up in the folding down of the trailer.

We first tried re-wetting and stretching the fabric; adding new plastic tab strips to the bottom; hanging back up; rewetting again while hung.  This did not solve our problem.  The stress on the upper and lower channel strips (that the plastic tab strips fit into) was substantial.

Eventually, I will complete the fun task of re-hemming all of the curtains in order to add to their length.  This requires removing the plastic tab strips from both top and bottom as there is not much hem allowance at either end.

I was not comfortable reusing the plastic tab strips as some of the tabs were spliting from the strip.  The good news is that new strip fabric is available, reasonably priced, from the TM factory.  It was not available at any of the fabric/drapery stores in my area.

Spot cleaning, a good brushing or vacuuming, or dry cleaning (possibly that new home stuff like Dryel) might be a reasonable solution.

Btw, new curtains from TM, assuming they still have your fabric available, are pretty pricey.

I'm not surprised to learn that replacement curtains are pricey.  Our dilemma is different, since we have yet to see lots of dirt on the curtains (knock on wood).  A number of the little tabs in the curtains have been pulled out of the tracks from time to time, and I really think just pushing them back into the track (which we've done a couple of times) just damages the track and makes the curtains more likely to be pulled out the next time.  

Are folks just taking the entire track off the top or bottom to feed the tabs back into the track, them reattaching the track to the wall?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I've got one curtain where the tabs are ripped off, and the track is broken, just how much is one curtain....specifically one of the two on the window to the left of the door as you face it from inside.....anyone priced out the track stuff as well? Just curious.

Happytrails.....

Happytrails, between your boat, and TM you must be one busy person!
Red

LOL........YUP.......but at least the boat runs!  ;D Can't wait till I get this trailer up and going. Had a minor setback saturday....went to lift the rear of the front section to replace my temp pocket stop fix with the threaded version with a screw, and the wall fell down from the ceiling on the door side......lol Imagine what you'd do if ya saw 7" of light and trees coming from between the wall and ceiling? Welp, only took me about 1.5 hours to fix the whole durned thing due to the fact I was very familiar with that fix from the other side, and had all the materials I needed ready to go in.....it's now comprised of all aluminum on that side instead of wood. Only problem tho was I had to put the TM down, and as I've got NO wood/aluminum screwed down in the bottom section of the front shell, it won't stand up good enough to get the rear section up where it'll support the front section. Sooooooo, I'm gonna have to do something I've not had to do so far.......lol, get a couple of friends to help getting the thing open so's I can put in the pocket stops.......I have the aluminum in the bottom for the most part, but haven't screwed any of it down as I want to make sure of the length with the pocket stops. With it up, the rear section is good, and supports the front section side to side. As it sits tho, It's gonna cost me a 12pack to get it where I can work on it......lol (Nah, I'm not cheap, just was hoping to do it all by myself). LOL just don't ask me about the Camaro I'm revamping as well, and the riding lawnmower..........As well as an old GMC work van.........which is now up for sale!

Happytrails......

;D ;D ;D...Happytrails, you do make me laugh..you are the reason I read this website. I look for you!! can you believe that !!!   ..... You have the best stories... Are you retired?
Red

F.J & Ellen wrote:
Are folks just taking the entire track off the top or bottom to feed the tabs back into the track, them reattaching the track to the wall?
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Are you asking whether or not others are removing the entire metal track from the wall in order to put the T-shaped plastic tabs back into place? All that I've needed to do has been to remove the one screw in the wall that blocks the end of the track. Then you can slide out as many as necessary of the tabs to feed into the track those that popped out. When you're finished getting them all back in, replace the screw at the end of the track. Inevitably some will pop out again. Perhaps squeezing the track slightly with pliers where it seems to have widened may help.

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Happytrails,
I can't imagine going through all of the trouble you're taking to repair your TM. I consider myself to have quite a bit of proficiency in sheet metal work, Heliarc and gas welding, woodworking, and some machining skills, but, I would have thrown my hands up in the air in despair if I were faced with the repair tasks you've taken on! By the time that you complete the rebuilding of this TM, we will recognize you as our preeminent expert on TM repairs!  ;D ;D

Larry,

That was my question, and your answer helps a lot.  I hadn't explored the end of the tracks too much, but will now be able to get some of those tabs back inside for a crisper look.  Thanks.

Oh! how easy it is to digress from the original question of how to clean YOUR CURTAINS!

Dick_B :'(