How to Remove Yellow Tobacco Stains From Blinds

Yellowed blinds from tobacco can make a room look dingy.

If you've noticed that your once-white blinds have gradually turned yellow over time, clean off the yellow tobacco stains to restore the blinds to their original color. Perform this task whenever you start to notice your blinds turning yellow.

1. Pull the blind string to extend the blinds to their full length. Turn the dowel on the side of the blinds to close them completely. This will make the blind slats lay flat when placed on the ground.

2. Remove the blinds from the fixtures at the top corners of the window. Lay the blinds on the floor. Though there shouldn't be much moisture dripping from the blinds, you may want to lay down newspapers first to protect the floor. You could also lay the blinds on outdoor cement instead.

3. Fill a bucket with 2 pints of cool water. Mix in 2 tsp. of traditional table salt. Dip a paper towel in this mixture and squeeze out the liquid so the towel is not dripping.

4. Wipe the damp paper towel along each blind individually, taking care not to bend the slats. Depending on how thick the yellow tobacco stains are, you may need to rinse the paper towel and go over the blinds a second or third time to get them clean.

5. Wipe down the wet blinds with dry paper towels. If you've laid the blinds outside, you could also let them dry under the sun.

6. Turn over the blinds and lay them back on the ground. Perform the same cleaning task on this side of the blinds as well, using a freshly dampened paper towel. Dry this side of the blinds in the same manner. If your paper towel was dripping wet, the other side of the blinds may have gotten wet again. Dry the other side as well.

7. Lift up the blinds from the floor. Insert the top of the blinds into the fixtures at the top of your window. Open and close the blinds as you normally would.