Filth

[Penners]

Aha - I thought that title would catch your attention!

But I'm asking about grubby lampshades. The previous owners of this house left us some very nice Jim Lawrence wall lamps, fitted with very mucky lampshades. They're the small type with wire clips that fit over a candle bulb. And they've obviously been accumulating dirt for several years - fly spots, clinging dust, etc.

Does anyone have any tips for cleaning lampshades without ruining them?

 

[essexbearhunter]

Do you know what the shades are made of?

 

[FamilyWiggs]

If they're like our JL ones, then they're made of a plasticky paper on the inside and cloth on the outside.

Damp cloth (not too wet) on the inside with a little soap or spray cleaner is probably the best you'll get Penners, with a damp cloth for the fabric. I certainly wouldn't jetwash them! :shock: :lol:

Otherwise a new set of shades from the JL website.

 

[Nigel Watts]

They could well be silk.

a new set of shades from the JL website.

Or pop round the corner from JL to MacCulloch and Wallis and buy some silk to recover them yourself. Not something I have done myself but I will be attempting this shortly, now that my curtains are finally completed.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Working as I do in W1 I often see vans from this company plying their way down Portland Place and similar thoroughfares. I have not used them, but guess if anyone could dry clean a silk lampshade they could.

http://www.pilgrimpayne.co.uk/

 

[LadyArowana]

I would give them a good visit with Mr Vacuum-Cleaner first, then for any specific spots or stains a cotton bud that has been dunked in a weak solution of a biological washing agent, followed by a rinse with cotton buds that are damp with clean water. Unless of course they are made of something like a figured silk/ tafetta that wouldn't take well to water, in which case a spray on dry cleaner would be the way to go. I faced a similar dilemma last year with some that were on table lamps and even after cleaning they were still a tad sad looking so I opted for replacement which wasn't very expensive and made a big difference to the tattiness quotient.

 

[Flyfisher]

Dishwasher first, then a trip to JL for some new ones. :lol:

 

[Gervase]

I've used Pilgrim Payne in the past to clean rugs, hangings and curtains and they were excellent. Not cheap, but extremely competent.

 

[Schoolmarm]

Dishwasher first, then a trip to JL for some new ones. :lol:

Similar from me, :lol: fill a deep container with warm water and bio washing up liquid. Dunk and shake about under water. Repeat until a difference can be seen. Rinse well in cold water, balance somewhere to dry.
Buy new if trashed.

What are they made of? It would be easier to give advice if we knew. Paper wouldn't stand up to my idea. :shock:

 

[Penners]

Many thanks for all those ideas.

Silk? Taffeta? Not on the Penners budget!

They are, as FW suggests, a kind of plasticky card, with an outer layer of some kind of (simulated?) fabric. In one room the card is impressed to look (not very convincingly) like expensive vellum on the outside, but the back of it is pretty much like - card. No smart lining. And there's a circle of ribbon top and bottom to hide the wire. 'Marm, I suspect that dunking would see them off once and for all!

I think they were pretty cheap, and certainly don't warrant the expense of professional cleaning. But as the water is gushing out of the house-fund header tank faster than it's dribbling in, I just wondered whether there was an effective way of avoiding the expense of ten new lampshades.

I shall try FW's and Her Ladyship's kind suggestions. If the muck is too engrained for those ideas to work, then Flyfisher seems to have the perfect solution.

Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.

 

[LadyArowana]

................................. but the back of it is pretty much like - card. No smart lining.

If you are worried about them getting too wet and starting to disintegrate then borrow Mrs P's hairdryer ( ASK FIRST :lol: how is Mrs P now ? better I hope ) and use that on a low setting to dry them off a bit between treatments. If the ribbon trim is easily to remove and replace that might also make them look smarter. Good luck.

 

[Penners]

Ever so 'umble thanks, Yer Ladyship.

Mrs P is doing nicely, thanks. Good thing too - I've barely got a clean shirt left. :wink:

 

[LadyArowana]

Good thing too - I've barely got a clean shirt left. :wink:

If you hang them up and let them air then by the time you get to the last of the ones in the cupboard the first ones you wore are considerably less stinky and can go around again. I wouldn't try it with socks and other unmentionables though . Glad to hear that Mrs P is doing well, probably due to your expert care.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I've found most garments can also be turned inside out to get another day's wear out of them. The external seams and gussetts then showing also provide an interesting topic of smalltalk too. :lol:

 

[Penners]

Glad to hear that Mrs P is doing well, probably due to your expert care.

Substitute "despite" for "due to" and you're bang on target.

most garments can also be turned inside out to get another day's wear out of them

Another day?! What's the point of that? The first side has already done two weeks.... :x

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I think you misunderstand me. The cycle goes like this:

Day 1 - Wear garment.
Day 2 - Reverse garment. Wear garment.
Day 3 - Reverse garment. Wear garment.

Repeat ad infinitum. (or mire likely ad nausem :shock: )

NB by day 42 or thereabouts, it is preferable to attempt to wear garment in showers of rain to freshen it up.

 

[essexbearhunter]

The cycle goes like this:

Day 1 - Wear garment.
Day 2 - Reverse garment. Wear garment.
Day 3 - Reverse garment. Wear garment.

At last! Now I see why victorian vinaigrettes command such high prices at Dodds Auctioneers when Bargain Hunt visits them in Mold !

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Submariners, in the past, have taken several sets of underwear and socks, each set would be worn for one week so when all used the set worn in week 1 would be used again because they would be 'the cleanest and smell less', however the resultant smell of deisel is a bit of a problem!!!!

 

[Moo]

The blessed Katherine Whitehorne, in a list of ways to identify a fellow slut, cited the habit of rummaging through tights in the washing-basket with a view to finding the least dirty pair.




(My favourite, though, is the fact that only a fellow slut would regard something like hoovering the stair carpet, or scrubbing the kitchen floor, as a newsworthy item.)

 

[Penners]

Day 1 - Wear garment.
Day 2 - Reverse garment. Wear garment.
Day 3 - Reverse garment. Wear garment.

Repeat ad infinitum. (or mire likely ad nausem :shock: )

I believe that "mire" is a mistype - but a curiously apt one, as it happens!