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Cellular Fabrics
Double-cell fabric or single-cell fabric? Light-filtering or room-darkening? And what makes EcoSmart cellular honeycomb fabrics better than so many others? All of your fabric questions are answered right here!
Why Choose Cellular Fabric?
What Makes Cellular Fabric Such a Great Choice?
- It’s Gorgeous: Cellular fabric, also known as honeycomb fabric, has a clean, elegant, pleated look that adds style to any room.
- It’s Super Insulating: Cellular fabric is formed into rows of ‘cells’ which trap air in order to provide amazing insulation against heat and cold.
- It’s Long-Lasting: Cellular fabric, especially the premium-quality bonded fabric that we use, is super durable and looks fantastic for years.
- It’s Easy to Clean: Cellular fabric (again, our premium bonded type) is simple to clean.
- Bottom line… you can’t find a better combination of great looks, outstanding insulation, and durability than you get with EcoSmart cellular fabrics!
Are EcoSmart Cellular Fabrics Better?
We Use Only the Best Cellular Fabrics
Did you know there are two types of cellular fabrics? Most name-brand cellular shades use ‘spun lace’ (a woven polyester fabric), because it’s less expensive to produce. We use superior bonded polyester fabrics, which have the following advantages…
- Bonded fabrics provide greater insulation. Woven polyester is put together much like cotton candy, which allows air to pass through. Our bonded fabrics trap air inside the cells, which is what gives you such amazing insulation!
- Bonded fabrics are dust and stain resistant. The bonding process adds anti-static properties to the material, repelling dust. Liquids roll right off our fabric (seriously, order free samples and try for yourself!) Woven polyester can actually trap dust and stains in the material.
- Bonded fabrics are easy to clean. You can use a feather duster or even give them a light vacuuming. You can use a damp rag and even a mild detergent to wipe them. But what’s really incredible is our light-filtering fabrics can be completely submersed! For several our our shade types, you can wash the entire shade in a bathtub. You wouldn’t want to try this with woven polyester.
- Bonded fabrics are durable. Our shades aren’t just pretty, they’re tough. You can stretch, yank, pull all you want… they’ll still retain their shape. Because they don’t absorb dirt or liquids, they don’t degrade like woven polyester can.
Most of our fabrics are produced right here in the U.S.A. and those that aren’t have been rigorously tested to ensure they meet the same high standards. We settle for nothing less!
Our fabrics are child-safe. They are GreenGuard Gold Certified for use in schools, hospitals, and of course, in your home.
Our fabrics are more affordable. Among the small handful of manufacturers who use these premium fabrics, we might be the only one who sells ‘factory direct’ to you. No middleman means no inflated pricing!
How Do I Know Which Fabric Is Right for Me?
How to Choose the Best Fabric Option
Simply follow these steps and you’re sure to select the perfect fabric for your situation!
- Do I want light-filtering (translucent) shades or room-darkening (blackout) shades? The short answer is that most people select light-filtering fabrics for the majority of applications, and room-darkening fabrics for specific purposes (like darkening a bedroom). However, there are a few other considerations and we’ll help you sort through those in the section below!
- Do I want single-cell shades or double-cell shades? These two fabric types do have some minor differences in appearance, energy efficiency, and price, and the answer will depend on your priorities. Don’t worry, we have all the information you need, below!
- Should I choose from the Champlain Collection or the Mansfield Collection? In most cases, you can’t go wrong either way! The main difference between the two collections is simply the color options, so it could be as easy as selecting the color you like best. We delve into the other factors you might want to consider, below.
- Should I Order Free Fabric Samples? Absolutely! Your new shades are an investment that will be in your home for years. We want you to be thrilled with your choices – and we’re sure you do, too! There’s just no substitute for seeing and feeling our premium fabrics for yourself, before you make your final decision.
Should I Choose Light Filtering or Room Darkening Fabric?
Light-Filtering or Room-Darkening Fabric?
Each fabric type has advantages, depending on the intended purpose. The short version is, room-darkening fabrics are usually reserved for those areas where you need (you guessed it) darkness. However, there’s a little more to it than that…
Light-Filtering (Translucent) Fabrics
- The most commonly purchased fabrics for most situations.
- Allow a glow of light in the room, while still maintaining privacy.
- While not transparent, a person or object directly between a light source and the shade might show a silhouette from outside (especially in lighter fabric colors).
- Are always white on the back, to provide greater heat reflection and to work with any exterior paint color.
- Although they provide fantastic insulation, they are not as insulating as room-darkening shades.
- Can be completely submersed in water for thorough cleaning.
- Are somewhat less expensive than room darkening fabrics.
Room-Darkening (Blackout) Fabrics
- Excellent for rooms that need nearly total darkness.
- Block 99% of light, although there will be light leakage along all four edges of the shade. Order side tracks to eliminate most (but not all) light along the sides.
- Provide total privacy, as they are opaque from outside the home.
- Do not have a white color option, as pure white would allow light to penetrate. However, different shades of “off-white” are available.
- Are off-white on the back, to provide greater heat reflection and to work with most exterior paint colors.
- Offer the greatest insulation from heat and cold.
- Can be cleaned with a slightly damp cloth. However, the blackout material inside the cells should not get wet. Room-darkening fabrics are not recommended for bathrooms.
- Are somewhat more expensive than light filtering fabrics.
Should I Choose Single Cell or Double Cell Fabric?
Single-Cell or Double-Cell Fabric?
Double-cell fabrics are certainly more popular, and they provide greater insulation. However, single-cell fabrics have some advantages, too. So let’s see which one is right for you…
Double-Cell Fabrics
- No doubt about it, our double-cell fabrics are our most popular, outselling our single-cell fabrics by about 4 to 1.
- Double-cell fabrics provide greater insulation than single-cell fabrics.
- Double-cell fabrics have smaller pleats (approximately 3/8″) than single-cell fabrics.
- Double-cell fabrics do have a slightly higher cost than single-cell fabrics.
Single-Cell Fabrics
- Single-cell fabrics are just as elegant, durable, and easy to clean as double-cell fabrics.
- Single-cell fabrics provide less insulation than double-cell fabrics.
- Single-cell fabrics have larger pleats (approximately 1/2″) than double-cell fabrics.
- Single-cell fabrics have a slightly lower cost than double-cell fabrics.
Should I Choose Champlain or Mansfield Fabric?
Champlain or Mansfield Fabric Collection?
For the most part, there’s very little difference between the Champlain and Mansfield Fabric Collections! They are quite similar in both appearance and energy efficiency. More often than not, you can simply choose the color you like best and you’re all set. In specific situations, though, you might find one collection suits your needs best. Here are the details for each collection…
Champlain Cellular Fabric Collection
- Formerly known as Symphony fabrics, we’ve renamed the collection after beautiful Lake Champlain in Vermont.
- We’ve been offering this incredibly durable, remarkably insulating, cellular honeycomb fabric for over 30 years and its reputation is stellar.
- Champlain fabrics are available in double-cell only, with both light-filtering and room-darkening options.
- Champlain Double-Cell Room-Darkening fabrics are not available with Cordless shades.
- Champlain light-filtering colors have no corresponding colors in the Champlain room-darkening options (although both have many color choices to allow for a coordinating look).
- The cell/pleat size for Champlain fabrics is 3/8″.
Mansfield Cellular Fabric Collection
- Named after stunning Mount Mansfield in Vermont, this is our newest fabric collection.
- We added this collection after years of searching for a fabric line that would expand our color options and still live up to our demanding quality standards.
- Mansfield fabrics are available in single-cell or double-cell, with both light-filtering and room-darkening options.
- All Mansfield fabrics are available with any of our cellular shade operating styles.
- Most Mansfield light-filtering colors have a matching color between the single-cell and double-cell options and a similar (but not matching) color in the room-darkening options.
- The cell/pleat size is 7/16″ for Mansfield double-cell fabrics and 9/16″ for Mansfield single-cell fabrics.
- Mansfield Double-Cell Light-Filtering fabrics have a slightly lower cost than the Champlain equivalent.
Are EcoSmart Cellular Fabrics Safe?
Of course! We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Our cellular fabrics are GreenGuard Gold Certified. This means they are approved for use in schools and hospitals. It means they’re safe around kids and pets. In other words, wherever window shades are needed, you can feel confident that our materials aren’t transmitting dangerous gasses. We even used our fabric to make safe, comfortable masks during the pandemic!
How Do I Clean My Cellular Fabric?
Our Cellular Fabrics are Super Easy to Clean
Although our fabrics are dust and stain resistant, when something lasts as long as our shades do, they might need a little touch-up now and then. Fortunately, our premium bonded fabrics are a snap to clean. Here are some of your options…
- Give our fabrics a simple dusting with a feather duster. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
- Use a brush attachment with your vacuum hose and gently vacuum.
- Use a damp cloth, and even a mild detergent, and gently wipe.
- For light-filtering fabric, you can completely submerse the material in water and mild detergent. In fact, aside from the headrails of cordless and motorized shades, all of our shade components can be submersed.
- Please note that the blackout material inside the cells of our room-darkening shades should not get wet. If wiping the fabric, take care not to let liquid soak through to the inside.
Where Can I Learn More About Cellular Insulation?
We’re So Glad You Asked!
We’ve devoted an entire page to EcoSmart Cellular Shades Insulation and R-Value. We’re incredibly proud of the way our shades keep your home cool in the Summer, warm in the Winter, and saving you money all year long!
Should I Order Free Fabric Samples?
Yes, We Highly Recommend Ordering Samples
Isn’t it great when you can SEE what you’ll be getting? We think so, too, and it’s not just because we love to show them off. Here are some great reasons to order free fabric samples…
- See the Colors: Have you ever ordered something online and the color doesn’t look like what you saw on your screen? Yup, screen colors vary. We want you to love your fabrics as much as you do, and what could be better than seeing the real thing?
- Evaluate the Transparency: How much light shines through a light-filtering fabric? How much does a room-darkening fabric block? What’s the difference between lighter and darker colors? Hold your samples up to your window and find out!
- Test the Toughness: Our fabrics really are superior. We want you to stretch, pull, tug, and try to tear them. We want you to pour your stain-inducing liquid of choice on them (over a sink, of course!) and watch it roll off. You’ll be amazed.
- Did we mention they’re FREE? 🙂