Question; “when should I clean my curtains?”
If your curtains have gotten grubby with handling or your cat or dog has messed them up, something has caused them to be wet or once they are getting mouldy, then go ahead and have them cleaned.
Once the black mould is showing then that is a good time. The more mould the more risk that it will be on the curtain fabric and the stain may not be removed.
The more mould the greater the health risk from mould spores being breathed in.
Should I leave them until after the winter?”
There is no need to leave them and cleaning them in the winter is actually more sensible.
Mould doesn’t normally grow in the cold.
Mould grows in warm, humid conditions so mould grows on your curtains during the warm summer. It may not be visible to you as it is usually a yellow/ orange colour when alive.
When it gets cold ( as in the winter), it then goes into the spore form and that’s when you see it as black, smelly mess on the curtains.
Once it turns black it then releases more spores that will come alive and grow into more mould colonies once the curtains get warm again.
Ideally its best to remove these mould spores from your rooms before they spread. The spores may attach to other furnishings and the walls and of course float around in the air. Not healthy at all.
Cleaning the curtains in the winter and removing the mould actually helps stop the spores from spreading.
For more information about mould go here or here.
Live mildew Colonies on Curtain Linning.
Very Mouldy Curtain ready for Cleaning. Mould is on blackout linng..
Life cycle of mould.