Improving Your Home

Roller blinds offer optimal privacy, and they operate on a tube-shaped roller with springs, which makes lifting and lowering easy. When you lower the blinds, it places extra tension on the spring. 

However, you may find them giving you trouble after much use. In some cases, the problem can be fixed without replacing the blinds. Fix problems with roller blinds by following these steps.

Prepare to Fix the Blinds

To fix the blinds, gather:

• soft cloth
• flat-blade screwdriver vacuum with brush attachment
• needle-nose pliers 
• spray lubricant 

Pull the blinds down to determine the problem. If the blinds snap or take too long to lower, the spring could be too tight. A shade that hangs indicates the spring is too loose.

Fix Loose Blinds

To repair loose blinds, detach them from the brackets. You should see a rolling round pin on one end and a flat roller pin on the ratchet inside the other roller. Use a screwdriver to pull off the roller cap that has the flat pin. 

Vacuum inside the ratchet and pawl ( the tiny arm that latches onto the racket teeth). Dirt can hinder proper operation of the ratchet.  Alternately, use compressed air. Coat the ratchet with a thin layer of lubricant, and reinstall the caps. 

Lower the shade several inches, and place the fabric back on the roller by raising the flat-pin end. Place the blinds back on the brackets, and test operation.

Sometimes, the pawl may get stuck. To unstijck the pawl, rotate the flat-pin with pliers as you turn rollers to the left. 

Repair Tight Blinds 

Lower the blinds as far as possible to detach them from the brackets, and clean as instructed in the previous section. Raise the flat-pin, and lower the blind by turning the pin three to four rotations.

Reinstall the blinds, and check operation. If it doesn't work, repeat the process making two or three pin rotations at a time. 

Adjust Uncoiled or Stuck Spring

Remove the blinds, and roll the blinds by hand to midway. To fix uncoiled springs, grab the pin with the pliers, and rotate it to the right until you feel the tension increase. Since the pawl only turns in one direction, top briefly, so the pawl can grasp onto the ratchet. If you don't feel the tension increase, check for a stuck pawl.

To loosen tension on the spring, lower the shade half way, rotate the pin to the left and let it go briefly. Once the spring works again, repeat the directions for fixing loose blinds or tight blinds.

Contact a company, like Classic Curtains & Interiors, for more help.