Cleaning Your Lampshades

Here are some steps to clean your lampshades:

For fabric lampshades, start by removing the shade from the lamp and dusting the shade inside and out with a microfiber cloth, vacuum brush or even a make up brush. Plastic, glass or ceramic shades can be wiped with a dry cloth.

Next it’s time to wash. For all shades, look at the cleaning directions first and proceed as directed. For non-fabric shades - plastic, glass, ceramic, etc. - you should be able to use window glass cleaner applied with a clean cloth - rub and repeat until all traces of dirt are gone. Then use a damp cloth to remove cleaner residue and wipe dry with a clean paper towel. For fabric shades, take a 1/4 cup of mild detergent (I like Dawn) and combine with 1 cup warm water. Take a clean white cloth and immerse in the cleaning mixture - wring out so it’s damp and gently wipe down the shade. Take another clean cloth, dip in clean water, wring out and use to remove any residue. Let all shades completely air dry before replacing on lamps.

Also take this opportunity to wipe down the lamp base from top to bottom. If you keep on maintaining your shades by dusting/vacuuming regularly, you should be in good shape.

* A lintroller also works well on smooth lampshades.