Spring Cleaning Your Blinds and Window Treatments

When caring for window treatments we often overlook some of the important cleaning tips in how to care for our blinds once they?ve been hung in our home. Yes, custom blinds may be one of those items you?d rather install and then forget about them, but don?t put blinders on when it comes to maintaining and caring for your custom blinds. Here are a few helpful tips to keep your window treatments looking fresh, clean, and well cared for. Dusting Any window treatment could benefit from a good dusting at least once a month. With regular upkeep, dust will brush off the surface of the slats of mini blinds, wood blinds, and the vanes of vinyl and aluminum vertical blinds since they are quite smooth. These surfaces can easily be dusted regularly by tilting slats up first, then down to reach the entire top and bottom surfaces. A soft dusting cloth can be used, and a feather duster works well on fabric shades. You can find several products specifically made for dusting online, so do a google search and you?ll discover the possibilities are endless. Vacuuming Use the brush dust head attachment for your vacuum for a more thorough cleaning. If cleaning a mini or wood blind, tilt slats as described above. Often vacuuming is a preferred method for cleaning fabric shades. Spot Cleaning Spot clean with a soft cloth or sponge and a mild detergent and warm water when cleaning vinyl or aluminum blinds. Blot gently and allow to dry completely. Spot cleaning is not recommended for fabric or wood window treatments. Also, do not try cleaning fabric or wood surfaces with water, club soda, soaps, or cleansers of any kind as they could damage the fabric or wood. It is recommended that all fabric products be cleaned by a professional drapery cleaner or dry cleaner with specific experience in decorative fabric window treatments. Professional Cleaning When caring for your window treatments you?ll want to be sure to follow the manufacturer?s recommendations for care and cleaning. Also, it?s important to know when to call in the experts and hire a professional cleaner who can help you properly maintain and care for your window treatments. If you are looking for a local expert to help you, we highly recommend Wally Bashaw with Clean as a Whistle. Give him a call at 208-859-3363. Frequency Clean your window treatments at least once a month to help keep dust and dirt away. This not only helps keep your window treatments looking fresh but also helps you keep a better eye out for damage. If you purchased your blinds or window treatments from Blind Appeal , you will never pay for any repair. The Blind Appeal Service Guarantee means you can call us anytime to repair your blinds or window treatments for free! For more information on how to clean your blinds or window treatments or if you are looking for new window treatments, we can help! Call us today at 208.888.1056.

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This March Join Us in The March to End Hunger

The Boise Rescue Mission has been serving individuals and families in the Treasure Valley for over 60 years. When they first opened their doors back in 1958, they were a humble single-facility rescue mission. Now, they serve the community with several shelters from Nampa to Boise that in 2017 served 347,477 meals and provided 144,930 nights of shelter. They have been blessed to have grown so much over the years, but they still need your help! Since they rely upon the community for donations, they need our help to be able to provide the much needed food and supplies for Treasure Valley families. And, there?s no better time than now because starting March 1st, 2019, the Boise Rescue Mission is having an exciting competition that will help encourage people to donate food and have fun in the process. We at Blind Appeal have been competing in this food drive for years! It?s called the ?March to End Hunger Can Castle Competition.? Here?s what you need to know. For the entire month of March, businesses, groups, teams, schools, neighborhoods etc. will be hosting food drives throughout the Treasure Valley. Their goal is to stock the cupboards for the leaner summer months. This is crucial as even in March the weather is still cold and even snowy so people will be in need of as much food as possible to keep them going. Don?t forget to donate clothing, including socks and shoes as well! Join us! At the end of March, anyone who wants to participate will build a ?Can Castle/Creation? out of the food they have raised. There will be a contest on Facebook with voting from our followers. There will be a Golden Can Trophy presented to the winner. The larger and more creative, the better! So come on and join us ? Fill out the information sheet here to get started! We at Blind Appeal love helping the Boise Rescue Mission gather food in order to feed those in need in our community. We challenge YOU at your business or office to rally together and try to outdo our awesome can castle we put together every year. Talk to your managers and team leaders and let them know that you want to help boost office morale and help people get food in the process. This is the perfect competition to help motivate your team in the lead up to summer and good weather! Join us in the March To End Hunger. Build your can castle and take lots of pictures to share on your social media accounts. The bigger and cooler the castle, the more people in need get to eat! And, the winner gets the awesome ?Golden Can? to display in their office. It is a great conversation starter and a perfect way to remind your employees and customers that you went above and beyond to help feed people in the Treasure Valley. See you at the finish line!

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Free Cordless Upgrade to (most) Graber Blinds. Now Through April 24th!

Blind Appeal is running a great promotion right now! If you purchase a set of Graber brand blinds, we will upgrade your purchase for FREE to the cordless option package. Having fantastic quality blinds and shades like Graber is always a good thing, but when they are cordless, it?s that much better! Let?s explore a little more about the benefits of having cordless blinds for your home. Cordless blinds are less of a choking/strangulation hazard It?s pretty simple but very powerful: cordless blinds are typically much safer than traditional corded blinds. Children love to play and explore, especially if there is a big dangling cord that looks fun to pull and manipulate. These cords can be a strangulation hazard as well as a choking hazard for young children. Don?t forget our four legged kids as well! Cats and dogs can get tangled up in them, typically when they?re home alone and roughhousing to pass the time. Cordless is just a safer alternative to traditional cords. Cordless blinds are more visually appealing Cordless blinds and shades have a more visually interesting and modern look. They are the perfect style upgrade to your home, especially if you?ve just purchased a new home and want to make everything perfect or if you like to entertain and have guests over regularly. Springing for the cordless option just makes good style sense. Cordless blinds are sleek and modern and fit in with every decorating style. Whether you?re a fan of a vintage/modern blend or prefer the futuristic designs that involve bold colors and smooth lines, these blinds will blend right in to fit. You can even use them to help slightly increase the resale value of your house since they are typically energy saving and safer for children. Check out these exquisite woven wood blinds we have available . We also sell roller shades and romans too! Cordless blinds are easier to operate Ease of use is very important, especially if you use that thing every day! Cordless blinds and shades just make each day a tiny bit easier. When you go cordless, you no longer have to think about where to store the cord when the blinds are raised which makes for an easier daily experience. Cordless blinds are easier to fix Thanks to the ingenious yet simple internal mechanisms of cordless blinds, they are very easy to troubleshoot and repair compared to more traditional corded blinds that typically have more points of failure. Easier repairs can also save you money and valuable time over the course of the blinds? lifetime. These types of blinds can also be easier to clean and more stable than traditional corded blinds as well. The honeycomb or cellular shade cordless option is especially popular for our customers who have children or grandchildren or simply want a clean look without cords. For the months of March and through April 24th, you can purchase cellular shades with FREE upgrade on the cordless option. Contact us today to get started!

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Limited Time Deal Announcement: 12% off all exterior shades, including motorized shades!

We are excited to announce a fantastic winter deal. We are offering a deep 12% discount on all of our exterior shades, even the motorized options! This sale won?t last and will be over in early February at the latest. So, why wait? Grab your exterior shades today. This is the perfect time to start gearing up for spring and summer. What better time than now? Why are exterior shades special? Here are some great reasons to upgrade your home this year! They help absorb harsh summer heat. Idaho has its fair share of cold winters and wet springs, but we all know that when summer finally hits, she doesn?t pull any punches. Give your air conditioner a break and take other steps to help keep your house cool this summer, which is approaching fast! Exterior shades can go a long way to reducing the internal temperature of your home and allowing you and your family to enjoy the summer without having to constantly fight over the thermostat. They reduce glare and block the sun. Exterior shades work wonders when it comes to reducing the amount of harmful UV radiation that gets into your home. UV rays are not only harmful to your skin and eyes. They have been known to have far reaching harmful health effects, and they are also devastating to the inanimate things in your house as well. Carpets, furniture, even artwork on the walls and near windows suffer. These harmful rays fade carpet and bleach leather couches and can damage priceless photographs and artwork. Anything that is in a sustained patch of direct sunlight is vulnerable. With exterior shades, you can rest a little bit easier knowing that your house has an extra layer of protection against these rays. Exterior shades practically pay for themselves. Not only can you save money on buying them right now with our spectacular 12% discount, but just having a good set of exterior shades can save you money on everything from your air conditioning bill to your furniture and carpet upkeep costs. By making the interior of your home cooler by blocking sunlight (and the heat that comes with it) exterior shades make it so that your AC unit has to run less often and for a shorter amount of time each day. With the damage of UV rays lessened, you will have to replace your carpets and furniture less often which, even though not a monthly bill, is still a bill that is better off being pushed off as long as possible to get the most value out of your major purchases. We carry popular brands like Corradi, and Polar Shades and just about anything you would want for your exterior home experience. John Pitts is our expert in sales for the exterior shades as he has had hours of special training in these products?.both motorized and manual. We have several videos and pictures of these on our website which you can see by clicking here to learn more about our exterior shade products and to see pictures of them in action. You can also click here to see videos of our various beautiful exterior shades as well. There?s no better time to buy! Get started today with a free estimate if you click here or call 208-888-1056. With summer just around the corner, having shades will make you the coolest house on the block, both inside and outside.

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Welcome to the New Year From Blind Appeal!

With the new year comes a chance for new beginnings and new challenges. This is a time of reflection, planning, and building. We like to reflect on the last year and discover ways that we can become better at what we do and at serving our customers. We plan for the next year and the future beyond while building up on the momentum carried over from the year before. We are always looking for new and better ways to achieve greatness for our customers and this time of year is the perfect time to make that a priority as the shape of the new year develops.

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Christmas Decorating Safety Checklist

Christmas Decorating Safety Checklist Safety is important regardless of the time of year, but around the holidays it can be especially crucial. Unlike in the summer, winter poses a whole new set of safety challenges: heavy rains and snow, freezing temperatures, and slick roads to name just a few. But, the holidays are also some of the best times of each year, filled with treasured memories, family, friends, and lots of hot cocoa! Let?s go over some safety tips that you can use while decorating this year that can keep you and your family safer during the holidays. Tree Safety Many Americans buy live Christmas trees each year. According to one study, about 30 million live trees are sold to American households each year, while approximately 20 million artificial trees are purchased in the same period. Even though ?real? trees pose more of a fire hazard, both types of tree introduce new potential risks into your house. #1. Whichever tree you choose to use this year, make sure to keep it at least three to six feet away from any and all sources of ignition, which include candles, stoves, and fireplaces. #2. If you have a live tree then make sure to chop at least three inches off the base when you first get it home so that it can soak up water more readily. Also, make sure to water your tree every day! A dry Christmas tree is a more flammable Christmas tree. #3. Unplug your tree lights when you are going to bed for the night and when you?re leaving the house. An unattended tree can be a fire hazard! #4. Trees are very tempting and tantalizing to young children! Make sure that ornaments are placed high enough to be out of reach of little ones as they are choking hazards. Safety With Lights Hanging lights in and around your house for Christmas is as American as apple pie, but it comes with its own set of considerations. Keep these in mind as you decorate your house with Christmas cheer this winter! #1. Make sure your ladder is on sturdy dry ground. #2. Always use the buddy system when going up a ladder. Your buddy can help stabilize the ladder and look out for other potential dangers like cords getting tangled or people walking through the area. #3. Check every strand of lights thoroughly! Any cracks or breakages could be potential fire or electrical shock hazards. #4. Replace all broken or burnt out bulbs with manufacturer approved lights of the same size and wattage. If you?re not sure, then simply toss that strand of lights out and buy a new one. Always tread on the side of caution! #5. If you?re using extension cords, make sure to periodically check them for warmth. If they are getting unusually warm or even hot to the touch, then there is an unsafe connection and you must unplug them immediately and re-evaluate your lighting setup. That may be a sign of an overloaded line. Bonus: If you?re decorating indoors this year and you have young children in the house, make sure to check your blinds and window coverings for hanging cords. These cords can also be tempting for children to play with and tug on which could either potentially pull the blinds down on them or get them dangerously tangled. Make sure your cords are tied up safely out of reach or consider replacing corded blinds with alternative window coverings. In addition to being safer for children they also look great! Check out our Designer Shades. We have great styles to fit any house. All of us at Blind Appeal wish you and your family a very safe and a very merry Christmas this year.

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