Life is full of frustrations – and having your blinds stuck at the very top of your window is one of them. No matter how much tug, it just never gives—each time you’re restrategizing on what to do to make it eventually go down.
Mounting frustration can have you angrily tugging at the rope incessantly. Yet, that scenario can usually make things worse – the more tugging, the higher the possibility that you will damage your blinds.
In which case, what can you do when your blinds are so stubbornly stuck at the top? To avoid this in the future, or you’re currently dealing with it and searching for an article that can help, don’t look any further and read on to see what you can do!
How Does This Happen?
Many can attest to having their blinds stuck at some point – it’s inevitable. That’s why it’s a fairly familiar problem when you have horizontal slatted blinds in particular. Yet, other blinds like vertical ones and even shutters come with their own malfunctions. Like anything else, blinds are also susceptible to wear and tear after a couple of years. It’s natural that things eventually don’t work as they used to when you had first bought them. After a while, quality dips and certain parts of your blinds become prone to such issues. The common culprit behind your blinds getting stuck at the top generally comes from the cord getting trapped in its lock mechanism.
What to Do About it?
As we have established, the issue lies within your cord getting trapped in the lock mechanism, and its condition can dictate what method will effectively fix your blinds.
Gently Tug Cord
If your first approach to fixing your blinds were to tug harshly on the cord, this method would be a good exercise in patience. Plus, you might find you can effectively release your blinds from the top. But how can you do this? It is not as simple as gently tugging the cord – there is a technique you need to implement for it to work properly. Gently pulling on the ropes can help loosen them enough to lower down. You will want to hold the cords and pull them towards the center of the blinds so that they are parallel to the headrail.
In doing so, tension will be applied as you tug the cords, which will allow the pawl to fall. If you’re unsure what a pawl is, it’s located in the headrail in the lock mechanism since it’s designed to grab the cord from your blinds. After allowing the pawl to fall, create a space between the pawl and the pin, releasing and lowering the blinds. It’s good to check the pawl since it moves along this track up and down, which helps lock or release the cord. The pawl’s purpose is to allow blinds to be lowered, so when the pawl is locked, this is where your blinds can end up getting stuck on top.
Take Blinds Off
If the first method didn’t work, then the next best thing you can do is remove the blinds from the brackets and windows. To do this approach, you will need to have a flat-bladed screwdriver. Look for the cords threaded through the lock mechanism and use the screwdriver by pressing the pawl down to keep the blade perpendicular to the roller. What exactly does this accomplish? In doing this, it’s in the hopes of moving the pawl to its lowest position on the track.
Pawls can get stuck at the top due to excessive pressure when tugging the cords, resulting in bunched or knotted cords. Once you have checked for these issues, return your blinds to your windows and test if the method worked by raising and lowering them a few times.
Getting Professional Help
Normally, you won’t need a professional to step in when it comes to stuck blinds since they’re a fairly minor issue that you can fix. Yet, if you exhausted all your options by trying everything above, then it’s safe to say that there is nothing you can do about it. The final thing you can do is reach out to an expert who can help when all else fails. By calling a professional, you can consult with them on the matter, and they can run you through what to do and how they can help fix it. Depending on the lock mechanism, you might need to get it replaced if the damage is irreversible.
Stuck blinds are a hassle. Yet, hopefully, one of these methods has provided you with the solution needed to fix them effectively!
