How do I slow down my window shade?

June 1, 2010 8:28 AM

I have a pull shade in my window that flies up too fast. How do I slow it down?

You know in the cartoons where there's one of those pull down window shade that, when you pull on it, it flies up and then goes WHAP WHAP WHAP as it spins around at the top?

Turns out I've got one of those. Six windowshades in my living room. One that thinks it's trying to escape everytime. Pulling it up or down is like trying to cut the red wire on a bomb. Too much and WHAM it takes off and then whole assembly comes flying out of the window. It's comical. For others. For me? Not so much.

So what's the deal? Is it too tight? Is there a way to untighten it? Or slow it down?

posted by rileyray3000 to home & garden (3 answers total)

If it's like they used to be, on one end of the shade, there is a circular pin, and on the other end of the shade is a flat blade thing, which is how they mount into the wall.

The flat blade thing is where the tension is. There are little levers that catch and hold it in place.

The way to loosen it is to raise the shade, pull the blade side out of the mount, unroll some more shade manually, and then try to raise the shade some more. When it won't go up on its own any more, unhook it again and roll it back up to the top. Now, when it grabs loose and flies up on its own, it should run out of tension by the time it gets to the top.

But, on re-reading, you've probably already done this. Maybe you can look in the end of the shade and see if the levers are gummed up or something.
posted by gjc at 8:43 AM on June 1, 2010

I can only recommend what gjc said. Also, I don't think that type of shade has a very long life span (relative to other options like blinds and curtains). If it is an often used shade and is several years old, it may just be time for something new.
posted by Menthol at 9:11 AM on June 1, 2010

If you can't loosen the spring, maybe you can attach a string to the end of the shade, so that as it flies up you can hold it back from its escape. That or tie a weight to the end of it to stop or slow its ascent.
posted by orme at 10:45 AM on June 1, 2010 [1 favorite]