How to repair curtains and blinds with your own hands. Types of breakdowns of horizontal blinds and their repair

Blinds are a very convenient and practical human invention.
They protect rooms from direct sunlight and daylight. These curtains are made from a wide variety of materials. Most often these are wooden, aluminum, plastic and fabric products. Like other interior items, roller blinds and blinds sometimes fail. Many people don’t know what to do in this case and simply throw them away. However, there are times when by replacing one small part, you can return the curtains to working condition. Repairing blinds is often easy to do at home using a minimum of materials and tools.

Device

More often, manufacturers offer to purchase ready-made devices.
However, you often have to assemble the curtains yourself. At the same time, structurally the products have the same mechanisms. The individual elements can be divided into 3 groups. The top consists of several parts:

movable axis;
cornice;
brackets;
clamps;
rotating device;
decorative strip.

The middle consists of lamellas and a cord, with the help of which the slats are assembled into a single web.

The lower part includes a cornice with decorative end elements.

The principle of their operation is to regulate the flow of light by turning the slats at different angles relative to the street.

In addition to turning, you can raise the canvas to the level of the cornice. The main thing is that the lamellas are turned to a horizontal position. How to lower the blinds? A cord will help with this issue. To avoid problems, you should manipulate the devices smoothly and without haste. Any sudden jerk can lead to various types of damage.

Causes of breakdowns

The blinds themselves can be considered a durable product and easy to care for and maintain.

However, curtains often fail before the time specified by the manufacturer.

Popular reasons include:

low quality of components;
violation of operating rules;
improper or no care and maintenance at all;
aggressive effects from the environment, including mechanical ones;
incorrect repairs made without understanding the issue,
presence of foreign elements in the control device.

In fact, all the reasons can be called violations of various kinds regarding the correct use of curtains. This does not exclude the uncontrolled behavior of animals, which are often the culprits of damage to the slats and breaking of the cord.

Types of faults of different types of blinds

Blinds are made from natural and artificial materials:

plastic;
duralumin alloys;
fabrics (cotton, jacquard, fiberglass, polyester);
valuable or inexpensive wood species.

By design they are:

lamella (horizontal and vertical);
with solid fabric (pleated, corrugated, rolled).

When using different types of blinds, the following problems are possible:

In horizontal blinds, the slats may become deformed, the control mechanisms may become unusable, the lifting threads may break, and the ladders securing the slats may break.
In vertical structures, damage to the lamellas, breakage of the cord for their regulation, breakage of the control chain, and destruction of hangers (runners) are likely.
In fabric models, the lifting mechanism may break, the control chain may break, or the fabric or fastening threads may be damaged.
If the operation of the blinds is regulated by an electric drive, then there are cases when the electric motor, power supply or radio receiver fails, or the control panel breaks down. When connecting to the Smart Home system, the software may crash (but this happens quite rarely).

Most faults can be eliminated yourself by replacing structural elements that have become unusable. During repairs, spare parts are used, which are usually sold complete with blinds. If there are no spare parts, then they are purchased in the store: the City Blinds company offers any components for roller and classic blinds, pleated, corrugated.

Common breakdowns and troubleshooting methods

Most often the lamellas become unusable. They may become deformed, break or lose their appearance relative to the coating.

According to their prevalence, cords can be called further. In most cases, they are wiped due to frequent changes in the position of the slats. It is less likely that this cable will break.

Mechanism breakdowns are less common. This could be a crack in a plastic part or foreign elements getting into metal parts that are driven.

Most of them can be eliminated. You can contact specialists, which you will have to pay if the case is not covered by warranty. Therefore, owners of blinds often begin repairs on their own.

Swivel mechanism

If the blinds do not close completely, then this is a sign of a malfunction in the mechanism. Of all the possible troubleshooting processes, repairing it is considered the most difficult. Therefore, you should prefer to contact specialists.

If, nevertheless, the replacement of the damage will be carried out with your own hands, then you should start by remembering the location of all structural elements.

Next you need to do the following:

remove the plugs;
pull out the shaft with the device attached to it;
separate parts;
pull the cord out of the broken one and insert it into the new part.

Then everything happens in reverse order. That is, fastening the mechanism and assembling the structure. The main thing is not to break the sequence. Otherwise, new troubles may soon arise.

Slat repair

It is almost impossible to fix an unusable plank. Therefore, the only way to fix the problem is to completely replace the lamella.

The process looks like this:

plugs are dismantled;
the cable is pulled out;
The defective part is replaced.

Next, the work is carried out in reverse order.

Most craftsmen recommend entrusting the repair of wooden blinds to specialists. It will be more difficult to resolve this issue on your own due to the fragility and softness of the material.

Replacing latches and hooks

This activity has to be carried out if the slats stop turning. Replacement parts can be purchased at specialty stores or ordered directly from the manufacturer. In both cases, it is important to understand that the dimensions of the elements may be different. Therefore, you need to measure the parts or take them with you for comparison.

Replacing the slider

This repair is the most labor-intensive. First of all, it is necessary to purchase new runners and the so-called connecting distances that serve to secure them.

When removing a broken slider, you must be careful, since you will have to disassemble the mechanism and reassemble it in exactly the reverse order.

The procedure is as follows:

We remove the control cord (otherwise it will interfere with the work process).
We unscrew the control mechanism and carefully remove it from the cornice.
Carefully remove all the runners.
We take the broken element, compress the distance on both sides and remove it from the damaged slider.
Insert the distance into the new slider until it clicks.
We pass the control cord through all the runners.
We insert the runners into the cornice, stringing them one by one onto the shaft.
We fasten the control mechanism. It is advisable to do this together: one person holds the cornice, the second one screws the mechanism.
We return the control cord to its place.

This is what sliders for vertical blinds look like (on the left is a slider with a distance inserted into it)

What parts of vertical blinds break most often?

Before you start studying the repair instructions, let’s remember what elements vertical blinds consist of:

Load-bearing and decorative cornices;
Runners to which slats are attached;
Slat holders (hangers) connecting the slats to the supporting cornice;
Weights that give weight to the canvas;
Chain connecting the slats at the bottom;
Control chain (with its help the lamellas rotate around an axis);
Control cord (moves and expands the slats) with a plastic tensioner;
Lamels.

The most common breakdowns are:

break in the chain connecting the lamellas from below;
breakage of the adjusting cord;
breakage of the runners on which the lamellas are held;
breakage of the “shoulder”;
loss of the presentable appearance of one or more lamellas.

None of these breakdowns are critical, and you can fix them yourself. How to repair vertical blinds with fabric slats will be discussed step by step below.

Conclusion

There is no need to repair blinds if you follow the rules for operating sun-protection systems and initially check the quality of the components. Cheap models won't last long, so don't chase false savings.

If you identify a breakdown that cannot be fixed on your own, consulting a specialist will be very useful, but it is worth considering that repair teams can exaggerate the complexity of the problem. If possible, it is better to initially purchase systems with a guarantee, this will help save money and extend the life of the blinds.

Required Tools

To implement your plan, you may need a screwdriver and a knife to carefully disassemble the structure. A needle for convenience in threading the cord through the slats.

To put everything back together and fix it, one screwdriver will be enough.

Based on the information provided, it follows that the most common problems can be resolved without the involvement of third-party specialists.

To do this, you just need to get a tool, replaceable parts and show a little patience.

How is the work done?

The operation is done in several steps:

You need to figure out where to fix the structure. To do this, we apply it to the top sash of the window.
Mark locations for fasteners. Using a pencil, marks are made for the screws.
Then the holes are made. Some craftsmen immediately secure it using a fixation element. But this is not so easy, because the material is viscous and multifaceted.
The brackets are installed on the top sash of the window.
You should take the plugs on the sides at the top of the cornice, after which the blinds are placed on the bracket. You need to match them with the latches. After the plug you need to put it back in place.
When the windows are opened for ventilation, clamps are installed so that the curtains do not sag. In order not to make a mistake with the installation location, you need to completely unwind the blinds, lean the clamps against the plane of the lower sash, and mark the locations. Only after this you need to secure the entire structure.

What to do if a breakdown occurs?

Sometimes owners wonder how to repair horizontal blinds with their own hands. Breakdowns occur for various reasons and are not so easy to avoid. Both vertical and horizontal blinds can have slats made of different materials, but this does not affect the principles of dismantling and maintaining them.

The simplest situation is failure of the lifting mechanism during operation. But that's not all. Contamination is an equally common problem that requires correction. Because the movement process is disrupted, and with force, a breakdown occurs. It's easier to prevent than to repair.

Replacing hangers

There should be no problems during the process of replacing the hanger. This is done quite simply:

Before repairing the shoulder, we purchase a new part corresponding to the width of the lamella.
Carefully remove the broken shoulder from the canvas.
We put the new part in place of the old one.

During the production of blinds, slate holders are either sewn into the canvas using fishing line, or simply inserted. To get a broken shoulder in the first case, you will have to first cut the fishing line.

This is what the lamella holder or “shoulder” looks like

Do blinds need to be washed?

When the opening system begins to slow down, it is worth checking for dust. And then periodically wash the blinds. Many people consider this process difficult and delay it as long as possible. It is clear that maintenance of alternative curtains is necessary. The whole problem is a large number of lamellas, each of them requires washing.

How to wash horizontal aluminum blinds? In any situation, they will have to be removed from the window, otherwise the cleaning will be delayed. Then the choice of detergent is important. One of the effective ones is a car wash for contactless washing. The procedure is performed in several steps:

The curtain must be closed.
Afterwards it is freed from the brackets. To do this, the latch mechanism opens; it must be lifted and pulled out.
Place the entire structure in the bathroom so that water flows into it.
Dilute the contactless car wash product and spread over the surface. It lifts all the dirt and grease in one or two minutes.
Using any spray or shower, the soap is washed off.
Leave for 15 minutes until all the water drains away, then wipe with a dry cloth.
Antistatic agent is applied. This creates a barrier to further clogging.
They hang it in place.

There is a disadvantage to this procedure - the high price of such a product. If you have a car, there won’t be a big problem, but if you don’t have one, there is no rationality. You can use any other compositions, but cleaning will take more time.

Why are our blinds repair services in demand?

Here everything can be explained in 5 accessible points:

The presence of professionals in their field with sufficient experience to solve a specific problem. This could be the replacement of individual deformed parts, replacement of a side corded ladder, replacement of a block with a lifting-lowering and rotating mechanism. Vertical and other types of blinds are also accepted for work. It does not matter which control mechanism has failed, since a solution can always be found to restore the functionality of the structure.
Individual approach to each problem. Our specialists preliminary assess the condition of the blinds, after which they render a verdict: will the repair be economically justified or will it be easier to purchase new blinds.
Providing various options for where work will be performed. After calling a specialist for a preliminary assessment, the blinds are repaired either on site or in the company’s workshop.
Flexible pricing policy. In most situations, repair work on blinds of any type is more profitable than purchasing a new design. And all work is provided with a quality guarantee.
Possibility of travel even to remote areas of Moscow. There are standard tariffs for work within the Moscow Ring Road, and orders further than 10 km from the Moscow Ring Road are charged for each subsequent kilometer.

If you don’t want to pay twice for one job, choose companies that issue a Warranty Card and are responsible for their work.

Features of independent work using a cord

If the control cord in a structure breaks or is stretched, its complete replacement is required. Instructions for repairing horizontal blinds with a cord:

The bottom bar bends slightly where the plastic plugs are attached, making them easy to remove.
They are pulled back a little, the cord is cut above the plugs.
It is completely removed from the system, while maintaining the location of all structural parts motionless.
The new cord is first threaded through the lifting and turning mechanism, then through the cornice, and after that, using a “gypsy” needle or other similar device, it is inserted between the outer holes of all the slats. You need to make sure that the cord does not get tangled and maintains the required tension.
The cord is threaded through the last lamella and the bottom bar, followed by its insertion into the previous plugs. It is necessary to tie a very strong knot to secure the cord well in the system.

Attention: If all actions are performed correctly, the blinds will regain their previous mobility and functionality.

Replacing the control cord

The control cord is, in general, just a rope on which the movement of the slats along the eaves depends. And like any rope, it is not immune to breakage. But this rarely happens; most often, the quality of fixation of the control cord deteriorates and it does not stay in place. To replace and straighten a broken control cord, the following steps must be taken before removing the blinds for repair:

We measure the width of the cornice of vertical blinds and the height of the slats. This data will allow you to calculate the required length of the new cord. The calculation is performed as follows: the width of the cornice is multiplied by 2, the height of the lamellas is multiplied by 1.5, the resulting values are added together.
We remove the tensioner from the old rope and attach it to the new cord.
We pass the ends of the new control cord one by one through the holes in the side cover of the cornice, and then through each slider.
Then we fix the first end in the fixing device, and thread the second through the roller on the opposite side of the cornice, return it to the fixing device, fasten it in the form of a loop and twist it on top with any suitable tool.

The tensioner holds the control cord in a vertical position

Do-it-yourself methods for repairing horizontal blinds

If you are the owner of a horizontal type of structure, then you need to know how you can repair horizontal blinds with your own hands if one of the breakdowns described above is detected.

Now the question of how to repair blinds does not cause you any difficulties and, if necessary, you can make the repairs yourself.

Roller blinds look very stylish in the interior; even a girl can install them. Read our article about.

How to install horizontal blinds, read the instructions on our website.

Repair of vertical structures

Before you repair vertical blinds, you need to accurately determine the cause of their breakdown. The final result and the amount of time spent will depend on this. All faults can be easily fixed at home.

Broken connecting chain

The bottom chain is a structure made of plastic balls through which a strong rope or fishing line is threaded. If used carelessly or incorrectly, it often breaks. Therefore, all repairs to this breakdown come down to replacing the chain. Decommissioning the old chain and installing a new one occurs like this:

Measure the width of the lamellas of the product and multiply by their number. Having calculated the required length, you can buy a chain for blinds in the store.
Remove the damaged or broken chain without removing the curtain from the curtain rod.
Insert a new part in its place.
Adjust the blinds and check their functionality.

Replacing the control chain

The reasons for the failure of the control chain are the same as for the connecting circuit.

The replacement process is a little more labor-intensive and includes the following sequence of actions:

Set the sliders to the open position and disassemble them.
Measure the length of the slats and buy a chain of the same size.
On the ledge, remove the side cover and take out the plastic gear.
Replace the damaged chain with a new one.
Replace the gear and side cover.