How To Clean Picture Frames

If you’re a human chances are your home sometimes gets a little dusty and dirty. It’s easy to dust and clean most parts of your home, but what is the best way to clean those precious frames that protect your memories and artwork? We’re here to help you out. The outside of the frame will more often than not be the only thing that you need to clean. Once your frame is hanging up the inside of the frame will be protected from splatters, spills, dust and dirt. All you need is a soft cloth to wipe down the frame itself. We recommend a microfiber cloth to wipe down the outside of the frame. The benefits of the microfiber cloth is that the fibers will attract the dust and the dirt better and quicker than just a plain old kitchen or bath towel.

Once the outside of the frame is back to its original glory, you might now notice that the styrene or glass, is less than sparkling. The first thing you have to determine is whether or not the frame in question has styrene or glass, as the cleaning methods are vastly different.

If you have purchased a Frame USA  standard size or custom frame that is 11×14 or smaller (Including 12×12) your frame will have arrived with glass. If the frame is a standard size or custom frame that is 11×17 and larger they will come with Styrene, a form of Plexi-Glass. In case your frame was created using our Design A Frame, Acrylic is an option for you to choose from. Acrylic, similar to styrene, is a thicker, more durable plexi-glass.

So now that you’ve got a good understanding on what your frame has, it’s time to clean!

How to clean Glass:

Glass is probably the easiest to clean as it has the most in common with windows in your household. All you need to clean glass on your picture frames is a soft cloth and regular old glass cleaner. While chances are that the dirt and dust is just on the outside of the frame, In the event that your frame has arrived to you a little dusty or you want to be extra sure your piece sparkles, you should carefully remove the glass and clean it. Our recommendation is to make sure you’re a safe distance away from your artwork before spraying down the glass so as to not harm it.

How to clean Styrene or Acrylic:

Styrene and acrylic is slightly trickier to clean. If your styrene looks slightly cloudy, check to make sure that you have removed the protective film from both sides. We want to protect your styrene from scratches in transient so it will always ship with this film. Our acrylic is a little easier to detect since its shipped with a bright blue film.

If you have removed the film, and your styrene or acrylic is still dirty, our best recommendation is to clean it using a clean microfiber cloth and warm water. This will allow any static packing material or dust to be wiped away. DO NOT use a solvent cleaner like you did with your glass. The components of the cleaner will actually cause it to disintegrate over time.

If you are wanting a magic product that will clean all three glazing options and much more with ease, just call us your fairy god framers as we have a Glass and Plastic cleaner that will make your life incredible easy!

We hope that these tips on how to clean picture frames have helped your frames get as clean as can be. If you have a picture frame, custom framing, home decor, or company question leave them in the comments, or reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram!