Easy Fixes for Window Blind Issues

Window blinds can be decorative and preventative. Blinds help keep heat from building up in a room and prevents furniture and floors from fading. Keep your blinds working with the following tips and tricks.

Unjam the locking mechanism

If your venetian blinds sag at one side or won't move up or down at all, the gear that grips the control cord has probably seized.

• Try exaggerating the action you use to operate the blinds, pulling the cord high up to the left and then to the right to free it from the gear.
• If this doesn't work, use a stepladder to climb up so that you are at eye level with the top bar of the blinds. Peer into the hole where the control cord enters the bar; you should be able to see a small metal lever or gear. Use a small flat-head screwdriver to lift this mechanism and free the cord.

Tip: Close blinds when you're out of the house because strong sunlight will bleach exposed areas of carpet, leaving behind darker patches beneath objects that become all too obvious when the objects are moved.

Adjust the tension by hand

Sprung roller blinds are made of an aluminum tube that encloses a coiled spring. When you pull down on the blind, the tension on the spring increases; when you stop pulling, a ratchet engages with a pin to keep it extended until the tension is released and the blind rolls back up. If your blind won't roll up, there's a simple solution.

• Unroll the blind a further 0.6 metres (24 inches), then lift it off its mounting brackets. Roll up the blind evenly by hand and replace it in the bracket. Repeat the process until it rolls up freely.
• Conversely, if the blind won't stay down, the tension is too tight. Take down the blind, unroll it by about 0.6 metres (24 inches), then replace it and test the tension by opening and closing it. Repeat if necessary until the blind operates perfectly.