Dimout Fire Retardant Curtains

What is a dimout curtain?

A dimout fabric is woven densely enough to cut most of the light coming through a window while still letting a soft glow into the room. It sits between a standard curtain cloth and a blackout: enough control to kill glare and give privacy, without the cave-like effect that blackout produces in a room people use during the day. Every dimout here is inherently fire retardant and tested to BS 5867 Part 2, with the certificate supplied for your fire risk assessment.

Where dimout is the right choice

• Care home lounges and dining rooms, where residents spend the day and full darkness would be disorienting.
• Hospital wards and waiting areas, softening daylight without losing the sense of time of day that helps recovery.
• Classrooms and lecture theatres, controlling glare on whiteboards and screens while keeping the room lit.
• Meeting rooms and open-plan offices, the usual specification for screen-heavy workspaces.
• Hotel restaurants and function rooms, and holiday lodge living areas where blackout is not needed and the saving across many units is significant.
• Changing rooms, where a dimout weight is the safe way to make sure a curtain is opaque when backlit.

Choosing a dimout fabric

Dimouts are plain or lightly textured by nature, so the decision is mostly about colour, weight and handle. A few points:

• Colour changes the effect. A pale dimout lets more light through and glows; a dark one comes close to blackout. Sample it against the actual window.
• Layer with a voile. A dimout on the outer track and a voile on the inner gives daytime privacy and evening light control from one window.
• Washability. Woven dimouts generally launder well, which is why they are favoured in healthcare and education. Check the care guidance on the product page; the FR rating is inherent and unaffected.
• Wide widths. Many dimouts are available railroaded for seam-free curtains on large windows; see wide width fabrics.

Specifying and ordering

Every curtain is made to measure in the UK. Choose the fabric, enter your drop and width, select a heading (pencil pleat, eyelet, wave or pinch pleat), and the configurator prices it immediately. For a project, request a quote with your window schedule and we will price it as a single quotation across every fabric house we carry, with certificates supplied for your fire risk assessment and O&M files. Samples are available on every fabric.

Dimout curtain FAQs

How much light does a dimout block?

Most of it, but not all; expect a soft glow rather than darkness, varying with the colour and weight of the cloth. If a room needs to be dark, choose blackout.

Do dimout curtains need a lining?

Not for light control; the weave does the work. A lining can still be added for extra body or thermal performance if the scheme wants it.

Are dimouts Type B or Type C?

Both are represented. Where the room is sleeping accommodation, filter to BS 5867 Type C.