September 2019 - McNeill Palm

Keeping Window Shutters Clean

April 21, 2023September 23, 2019 by McNeill Palm Team

When you’re considering window shutters in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, it’s a good idea to know how to keep them looking as good as the day they were installed. With regular care and maintenance, window shutters can be a stunning decoration accent throughout your home.

To keep window shutters clean, you’ll want to make sure that you dust the slats of the window shutters frequently. Use a clean cloth that won’t shed fibers to dust the window shutter slats. The best way to dust window shutter slats is to work from the middle to the outside and from top to bottom of the window. Do each window shutter panel this way on a weekly basis, and your window shutters will stay clean.

If you want to save time cleaning window shutter slats, close the slats and dust lightly, going top to bottom on both sides of the window shutters.

You can use a vacuum attachment to clean your window shutters as well. Use the very soft upholstery attachment that came with your vacuum cleaner and a medium power setting, if your vacuum cleaner offers it. In the same way that you would clean with a cloth, work from top to bottom and middle outside of each window shutter panel.

Be careful not to neglect the nooks and crannies of the window shutters. These are the corners or the places where the vertical piece comes down through the window shutters. The easiest way to clean the nooks and crannies of window shutters is to use a soft toothbrush to get rid of dirt in them. You can also use a feather duster for the taller portions of the window shutters to make sure the nooks and crannies get regularly cleaned.

It’s important that if you see smudges or blemishes on your window shutters to not start scrubbing them to clean them up. The best way to clean these types of dirt on your window shutters is to take a slightly moistened cloth (without soap) and clean the areas with very light pressure. Once you’ve removed the smudge or blemish from the window shutters, be sure to dry the area with a clean, dry cloth.

When you cleaning your window shutters, you should always be thinking about what material the window shutters are made from. When you’re cleaning wooden window shutters, you should not use a lot of liquid cleaners or a lot of water because the wood will absorb it. Over time, as the wood of your window shutters accumulates liquid, it may warp or get damaged.

With wood faux window shutters (which are an excellent choice for bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms), using liquid cleaners or water to clean them is okay and will not damage or warp the window shutters. You can use a damp cloth to get rid of any dust that’s on the window shutters, and then you can dry it with a microfiber cloth to get a nice finish.

There are cleaning tools made just for cleaning window shutters. They have a set of dust removing heads that are evenly spaced apart so that you can clean multiple slats of the window shutters at a time, making cleaning quick and easy.

If bathroom or kitchen window shutters that are waterproof get grease on sticky spots on them, use a little mild detergent mixed with water to clean them off. Then wipe the window shutters with clean water to remove the soap residue and dry them with a clean cloth.

A neat way to hinder dust accumulation on window shutters is to rub both sides of the slats with a dryer sheet. Because dryer sheets are antistatic, they will repel dust particles from accumulating on the window shutters.

If you’d like learn more about cleaning window shutters in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm. You can visit our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can contact us at (850) 613-6228.

The History of Window Blinds

April 21, 2023September 16, 2019 by McNeill Palm Team

When considering window blinds in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, it’s interesting to know how modern window blinds came into existence. Many people don’t realize that window blinds have been around for a very long time. Although they didn’t necessarily look like window blinds we’re used to seeing today, and they were made to some very unusual materials, window blinds originated as a way to provide light control, privacy, and ventilation.

Venetian window blinds are one of the most well-known kind of window blind. However, they did not originate in Venice, as many people might suppose. It is believed that Venetian window blinds were brought to Venice by traders from Persia between 1100 and 1500 A.D. Even before the time of Christ, Egyptians used river reeds to manufacture window blinds. Animal hides were also used as window blinds, because when they were dipped in water they produced a cooling effect when they were hung in the house.

Window blinds in Europe started out being manufactured out of marble. These marble window blinds were discovered in the city of Pompeii, which was annihilated by a super eruption of Mount Etna. The marble window blinds were made with slats that diverted sunlight and helped ventilate homes. The slats of these window blinds also gave some protection from bad weather, and they provided privacy. Later the marble slats of these window blinds were replaced by wood.

Wooden window blinds originally had nonmoving slats. They looked much like exterior window shutters, with fixed slats that provided privacy, ventilation, and allowed some light into the rooms of a home. Eventually, a tilting mechanism was added that allow the slats to be opened and closed.

Although window blinds originally were created with horizontal slats, in the mid-20th century window blinds that had vertical slats were introduced. Vertical slats are less likely to collect dust and are easier and faster to operate. By the end of the 20th century, vertical window blinds were a popular choice for office building windows and residential sliding glass doors and large windows. It is common now to see vertical window blinds on windows that slide horizontally to open and close instead of lifting up and down.

The materials used to manufacture window blinds have come a long way from the reeds of Egypt and the marble in Italy. Now window blinds can be manufactured from wood, composite materials, and metal. For materials that are not natural wood, woodgrain colors can be applied to make them look like wood. This allows homes that are in climates with high humidity or rooms where moisture content is consistently high, such as bathrooms and laundry rooms, to take advantage of window blinds.

Initially, the earliest window blinds didn’t offer much insulation. Today, window blinds can be very energy-efficient, offering excellent insulation in both the winter and summer. Additionally, window blinds now provide excellent light control because they can be raised or lowered or slid from side to side to allow full sunlight or no sunlight.

While the earliest window blinds offered some ventilation, because the slats could not be moved the amount of ventilation could not be controlled. Now window blinds give a wide range of options for ventilation. They can be fully opened for maximum ventilation, or the slats can be moved to the open position to allow some ventilation.

If you’d like to learn more about window blinds in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm. You can come to our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can call us at (850) 613-6228.

Types of Window Coverings

April 21, 2023September 9, 2019 by McNeill Palm Team

When considering a type of window covering in Santa Rosa Beach, FL for every window in your home, there are several factors that you need to take into account. Because window coverings have many purposes for a home, four of the most important things to consider are light, ventilation, insulation, and décor.

The amount of light that you want to come in to each room will determine, in part, what kind of window covering you choose. Some window coverings are made to not allow any light in for functional reasons such as preventing glare or making a room more comfortable to sleep in. Other window coverings allow you to adjust the amount of light coming in at any given time in the day. Finally, there are window coverings that always allow the maximum amount of light to come in.

Ventilation is also a factor that will help you determine what type of window covering you want in each room. Some window coverings provide more ventilation than others. If a room doesn’t need ventilation then you can choose from almost any type of window covering. However, if a room does need ventilation, you have several types of window coverings that can provide various degrees of ventilation.

Different types of window coverings provide different levels of insulation for your home. Some window coverings are specifically designed to be insulating, while other window coverings provide no insulation.

The final aspect that will determine what type of window covering you choose for each room will be how it fits in with the décor that already exist in the room or that you want to change in the room.

Window shutters are one type of window covering that can provide light control, ventilation, insulation, and works well in most decorating schemes. Window shutters can also add value to your home. Window shutters come in many materials, many of which are designed to be durable in rooms where humidity is a factor, such as bathrooms and laundry rooms. Since Florida weather along the beaches tends to have high humidity most of the year, these type of window shutters would probably work best.

Roman window shades are nice, contemporary option for window coverings. They offer simple operation and a wide variety of fabric types and designs. They can be adjusted up or down, giving some light control, and they can be lifted to allow natural air flow to come in through windows.

Cellular window shades offer a light control, excellent insulation, and work well with any decorating style. Cellular window shades have a honeycomb texture that traps air coming in through the window, so that rooms can stay consistently at a comfortable temperature. Cellular window shades also can offer varying levels of light control, all the way from room darkening to allowing abundant natural light to come in.

Window blinds work well around the year. They offer light control, ventilation control, and look good regardless of the décor of the room they are in. Although you may be familiar with window blinds made of plastic, there are many upscale versions of window blinds, including wood and faux wood, which can give any room a touch of class. Window blinds should be cordless if you have small children or pets.

If you’d like learn more about a specific type of window covering in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm. You can visit our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can contact us at (850) 613-6228.