Ten years out of a set of mini-blinds sounds pretty good to me but I do understand the hassle keeping them clean in a workshop environment. Maybe some kind of curtain that could be laundered would be a better idea???

As for cleaning mini-blinds my method is a bit odd but I've had good luck with it. I'd only use it on blinds with metal or plastic slats. You'll need a warm, sunny day with low humidity and a breeze. Also some place outdoors to hang up the blinds while you clean them (like a fence or the railing of a deck). Get a pump-up type sprayer and a gallon of degreaser. Mix up the degreaser according to the directions in the sprayer. Spray down the blinds with degreaser, which should cause the dirt just to run off. Then rinse well with a hose. Allow to dry in the sun (you may want to give them a bit of a "shake" to get off the excess water).

Thanks, Mike. Yeah, I'm probably being kind of cheap hoping inexpensive blinds would last more than 10 years. As for your cleaning method, do the strings hold up very well getting wet like that?

The strings aren't the problem, you don't want the mechanism to rust. That's why you need a warm, breezy day so that the water can evaporate before it causes problems.