Prewar Apartment Drapery Care: A NYC Guide

Prewar apartments across Manhattan often come with tall windows and heavy, lined drapery that's both beautiful and impractical to maintain the way a modern apartment's simple curtains would be. Here's what prewar drapery actually needs.

Why Prewar Drapes Collect Dust Faster

Steam radiator heat, common in prewar buildings, kicks dust into the air throughout the winter, and that dust settles directly into nearby drapery folds, especially on panels close to a radiator or window unit.

The Weight and Lining Problem

Heavy, lined drapery common in prewar apartments is often impractical to remove for dry cleaning — the panels are large, hard to rehang correctly, and expensive to transport. On-site cleaning avoids this altogether.

Tall Windows Need Careful Handling

Floor-to-ceiling windows typical of prewar construction mean longer panels with more surface area to clean, and pleats at the top that need reshaping after cleaning to hang correctly.

Window Unit Air Conditioners Cause Their Own Problems

Condensation drips from window unit ACs, common in prewar apartments without central air, can streak nearby curtains and sheers over a summer season.

How Often Prewar Drapery Needs Cleaning

Because of the additional dust load from radiator heat, prewar drapery often benefits from cleaning somewhat more frequently than curtains in a newer, centrally-heated apartment — roughly once a year rather than every two.

Prewar drapery is worth preserving rather than replacing, but it needs cleaning suited to its weight, lining, and the radiator heat and window units common in these older buildings.