I would call the company. I have very expensive Bali blinds and they are to expensive to make a mistake.

My step daughter rented one of our houses and her son left a burning candle on his stereo and ruined it, but luckily the house was okay.

It's been a while since your post, did you ever get the soot removed?

We owned two blind cleaning shops for 15 years. We had ultrasonic tanks which did a fantastic job on just about all types of window treatments. BUT --- soot from candles will not come out of cloth shades. Sorry --- just won't happen. It can come from candles, a faulty fire place and burning incense. We don't burn candles in the house for this reason. Soot also does a number on your carpets, upholstery and painted walls.