Blinds, Shades and Shutters - venetian blinds crooked

Hello.

We have 10 year old patio door vinyl blinds. Several of the vanes have started going wonky, as in they wont open and close as far as they are supposed to go. The individual vane holders are not hanging in the right direction. They cannot be turned by hand, so is there a way to turn these vane holders so that all the vanes hang the same direction?

Thanks.
Jolynd.

Some vertical blind tracks are self clutching meaning that if you pull the chains, with some force, in both directions the vanes will go back to the proper position. Other tracks require that you hold the vane holders that are out of sync while you pull the chain and rotate the other vanes until they all line up. If the vane holders seem to turn freely by hand, they are broken and require a professional to replace them.

Hi, Johnam

Thanks so much for your reply. At one time, when this crookedness first started, we were able to get them back "on track", by doing as you first suggested, by opening then closing them with some force, but over time this has stopped working. The vane holders don't turn by hand, so we'll try holding them while pulling the chain as you suggested.

Jolynd

If these are 10 years old, you definetly need to replace the carriers, they will start to dry-rot next. Getting them regut (should) be about $5.00 per foot by taking them in to a professional. However, if you know how to do it yourself, you can buy the parts for a few dollars from them and be done with it, it depends on what type you have. Just make sure you take one of them in with you so they can match it up, being ten years old, it will probably have to be something similiar rather than the same thing.

~Tiger's Paw :)

Now, I'm really confused!
What exactly will start to dry rot? Everything is made of plastic? By regutting, do you mean that all the vanes have to be removed, so that the vane holders can all be slid out the end, then replacing crooked holders with new ones?

Thank you in advance

On a vertical you have a metal headrail, which encases the carriers, these are the things that slide back and forth inside the track. The carriers have "stems" on them, which clip to the vanes. The carriers are either plastic, or metal AND plastic. the stems are also plastic. When vanes are hanging crooked, the first thing you look at is simply the stems holding the vanes to the carriers. sometimes you can simply replace the stems for pennies, and/or the gears that are inside the carriers that hold the stems inside the carriers.
Next would be replacing some or all of the carriers. because the plastic on the hardware items can dry-rot from all the exposure they get to the sun over the years. Some happen fast from being on the side of the house that gets the most direct heat of the day, some can last alot longer. It also depends on the quality of the track when it was first purchased.
The stems can be bought in singles, they usually just snap back in at an angle, however, some need a small gear inside as well. There are many types, but most you can find a similiar one even if yours was discontinued when something newer came out.
Even if you don't know if your track is a ( G-71 / G-85 / Deco / or some other type) take one of the carriers in to see if they have the same or similar to replace it with. You can get the entire "train", just make sure you counted how many you need.
Anything plastic eventually dry-rots, especially if in direct sunlight for ten years.
I hope this helped...
~ Tiger's Paw :)

By the way, yes, take the vanes off, or they will be in the way.

~ Tiger's Paw :)

What a great explanation! Thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate it!

Originally posted by jolynd
What a great explanation! Thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate it!

It's a great explanation but let me know when you do it.

That's pretty smart of you, Johnam! I have printed out your answer and have given it to my husband, so we'll see what happens next!
I will definitely reply to you when and if something gets done.

Jolynd.

You guys are funny! Ha! I guess it doesn't do much good to know what to do, if you never do it, it never gets fixed in any case. Good luck! I hope it all works out.

TigerPaws :)