Tips For Understanding And Fixing Stuck Window Blinds

Window blinds make it easy for you to protect your home's privacy without having to sacrifice the benefits of natural light. Unfortunately, some blinds also come with cord mechanisms that can bind and pinch in the gear system. This will keep your blinds from lowering properly. Understanding how those cords work and what steps you should take to fix them when they're stuck will help you keep them working at their best. Here are some tips to help you with both.

How the Blinds Work

Most window blinds are crafted with two or three cords fed through a small roller device. The teeth of the roller grasp the cord to move it through the assembly. This movement raises and lowers the blinds. The track that the roller sits in is slotted, which keeps the cord moving freely without the roller slipping. If the cord shifts behind the roller or off the track, it binds the gear and can prevent the blinds from moving.

How to Free Stuck Blinds

  • Pull The Cord Free – Start by grasping at the cord and pulling it toward the middle of the blinds. This will draw the cord away from the gears to break it free. If it's only lightly bound, this can loosen the cord and restore the blind operation.  
  • Manually Move the Roller – The roller, also called a prawl, may be too bound up to come free with the type of movement created by pulling on the cord. If so, lift the blinds out of the mounting bracket. Place them flat on a table with the lock facing up. Use a flat-bladed screwdriver to apply pressure on the prawl, pushing down to force it into the lowest position on the bracket. This often loosens the pin enough to allow it to move again.

    Another thing to look for is an uneven cord. Sometimes, the roller ends up sitting uneven in the track because the pins shift. If this happens, the cord will sit uneven as well, keeping it from moving the way that it should. Use a flat-bladed screwdriver to move the roller back where it belongs, then treat the area with a lubricating oil to keep the pins from binding up again.  

As you can see, you can easily restore the normal roller function and blind movement. Now that you understand how the blinds work and how to care for them, you'll be able to keep them in good condition. Visit a shop like Ardy's Gallery of Window Coverings for more tips about caring for your blinds.


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