Day/Night Shades problem raising

[Matt_NY]

First of all, I do not believe it is a "string"problem...

We have a problem raising the Night part of our day/night shades. This has been an issue since we bought the Motorhome (used).

The "day" shades go up and down nicely, the night shades go down ok, but do not stay "pleated" as they go up! We are constantly having to manually "fix" many of the pleats to make it go up.

By fixing, I mean pulling them from both sides to straightened them.

They are Day/Night shades. The "Day" shades are a soft cloth (semi-transparent) and the "Night" shades are a darker, paper-like material.

Anyone have this issue? And can anyone give me any suggestions? I hate to buy new ones as they are not cheap.
Thank you in advance,
Matt

[Tinstar]

toolttime wrote:
I had to change strings on 2 of them in our old coach.Not a nice job to do.

I like doing my own work but it's certainly not something that you would want to tackle if you don't have much patients. The puzzle of which string goes where isn't too difficult since I made a diagram with different map colors for each string. I use a large needle to string the cord down through the blinds and I do it with them almost completely folded. The tedious part is sliding the center bar back in track without pinching the strings. Keeping a slight tension on the strings while the bar is slid back into place is the only way that keeps it from being too frustrating for me.

[toolttime]

I had to change strings on 2 of them in our old coach.Not a nice job to do.

[Tinstar]

My day/night shades are over 20 years old and they work perfectly. I'd make sure your strings are in good shape. If they are frayed or otherwise deteriorated it could cause a hard push-pull. I have restrung several of mine. I used the blind shade cord from Jo-Ann Fabrics. It did smooth out the workings of them. I think the main thing is too much tension on the cords.

Mine are six string blinds too. That might make a difference. I don't know much about those with fewer strings.

[mike_brez]

timmac wrote:

Matt NY wrote:
First of all, I do not believe it is a "string"problem...

We have a problem raising the Night part of our day/night shades. This has been an issue since we bought the Motorhome (used).

The "day" shades go up and down nicely, the night shades go down ok, but do not stay "pleated" as they go up! We are constantly having to manually "fix" many of the pleats to make it go up.

By fixing, I mean pulling them from both sides to straightened them.

They are Day/Night shades. The "Day" shades are a soft cloth (semi-transparent) and the "Night" shades are a darker, paper-like material.

Anyone have this issue? And can anyone give me any suggestions? I hate to buy new ones as they are not cheap.
Thank you in advance,
Matt

Best bet is to replace those old day/night shades, they never go up and down with ease, I went with Allen Roth roller shades from Lowes with the EZ-lift clutch, its so easy to raise and lower the blinds now, only need 2 fingers to do the job..

http://www.lowes.com/projects/decorate-and-entertain/window-shades-bg/project

Not to sure about that. My 17 year old day/night shades can go up or down with one finger but two is better to even the load. Sometimesi wonder if it's the cheap **** they are putting in newer rvs these days.

[timmac]

Matt NY wrote:
First of all, I do not believe it is a "string"problem...

We have a problem raising the Night part of our day/night shades. This has been an issue since we bought the Motorhome (used).

The "day" shades go up and down nicely, the night shades go down ok, but do not stay "pleated" as they go up! We are constantly having to manually "fix" many of the pleats to make it go up.

By fixing, I mean pulling them from both sides to straightened them.

They are Day/Night shades. The "Day" shades are a soft cloth (semi-transparent) and the "Night" shades are a darker, paper-like material.

Anyone have this issue? And can anyone give me any suggestions? I hate to buy new ones as they are not cheap.
Thank you in advance,
Matt

Best bet is to replace those old day/night shades, they never go up and down with ease, I went with Allen Roth roller shades from Lowes with the EZ-lift clutch, its so easy to raise and lower the blinds now, only need 2 fingers to do the job..

http://www.lowes.com/projects/decorate-and-entertain/window-shades-bg/project

[Tinstar]

GGeorge wrote:
Can anyone tell me how to loosen the tension to make these shades go up and down easier?

Thanks in advance

G George

The tension is controlled with the bottom strings that come out the end of the bottom blind bar. Too much tension will cause a hard pull/push. Too little tension will cause the blind to fall or not hold in place.

[Tinstar]

prstlk wrote:

Tinstar wrote:
The starch has worked on mine. A couple of years ago, mine were in need of a good cleaning. After cleaning them, I sprayed them with starch and folded them tightly together. They are still holding the pleat and I would do it again as needed.

Curious, what method did you use to clean them? The shades have yet to recover from the alaska trip this summer.

Thanks

Sorry, I just saw your question. I took them down, opened them all the way. On the ones that were more narrow, I sprayed them down with Greased Lightning. Let them soak for an hour or so in the bathtub. Rinsed them in the shower. Sprayed them with the starch and set them in the sun to dry. On the wider ones, I lay them out on my bar, sprayed them HEAVY with the Greased Lightning and covered them with plastic to keep them from drying out. The next morning, I rinsed with a water hose then put them in the pool to really get the Greased Lightning out of them, sprayed them with the starch then sun dried them.

If your blinds are made of the paper type stuff, I wouldn't try this as they will probably come apart.

[GGeorge]

Can anyone tell me how to loosen the tension to make these shades go up and down easier?

Thanks in advance

G George

[prstlk]

cseidel wrote:
I soaked mine in oxycllean. Worked great.

How did you soak them ? Spray, dunk, washing machine please let us know and thanks in advance ?

[prstlk]

cseidel wrote:
I soaked mine in oxycllean. Worked great.

How did you soak them ? Spray, dunk, washing machine please let us know and thanks in advance ?

[cseidel]

I soaked mine in oxycllean. Worked great.

[prstlk]

Tinstar wrote:
The starch has worked on mine. A couple of years ago, mine were in need of a good cleaning. After cleaning them, I sprayed them with starch and folded them tightly together. They are still holding the pleat and I would do it again as needed.

Curious, what method did you use to clean them? The shades have yet to recover from the alaska trip this summer.

Thanks

[imgoin4it]

I never had to try it but that was recommended by winnebago in the early 2000 owners handbook.

[Tinstar]

The starch has worked on mine. A couple of years ago, mine were in need of a good cleaning. After cleaning them, I sprayed them with starch and folded them tightly together. They are still holding the pleat and I would do it again as needed.