Blackout bedroom blinds?

[myredracer]

We have the typical accordion/pleated pull-down shades on our two bedroom windows. It's just not dark enough for us and we'd like to install some kind of blackout blinds. What are the options? 1/2" micro- mini blinds? Double cellular type? Roller type? There are some options from this vendor but not sure what would work best. Just blinds

The micro-mini blinds look interesting but I guess they'd have to have the little holes at the bottom to go into the clips on the wall. I also wonder how much light would get through all the slats?

We also have an exterior door in the bedroom and there's no blind or shade on it. Is there a way to mount a decent mini-blind or shade between the screen door and glass?

Last summer when the sun came up it was like having a searchlight in our eyes. We ended up putting cardboard over the 3 windows. Looked pretty cheesy from the outside and there's got to be a better way.

[engine31]

We went to the automotive department and purchased the aluminum window shades they came in two sizes and fit perfectly in the frame of the windows, they also helped out in heat reduction when we traveled to Florida last summer. I do like the idea that someone suggested of getting a roll of window tint.

[BurbMan]

myredracer wrote:


There might be a solution to getting the bedroom dark, but the next problem to solve is the noisy neighbors camping next to you with kids, the idling diesel, and barking dogs at the break of dawn. 😞

Actually the dual-glazed windows do a LOT to reduce noise. We also replaced the pocket doors to the bedroom with drapes which help absorb sound as well.

[jaycocreek]

Reflextix is an rving must. More uses than one could list. I never leave home without some.I have a piece cut for every window/vent and especially the back door window that doesn't have blinds. Keeps the bedroom darker and cooler in the summer.

[myredracer]

That looks interesting. We'll have to look closer at it. Good to see at least one TT manufacturer thinking about this. 🙂

There might be a solution to getting the bedroom dark, but the next problem to solve is the noisy neighbors camping next to you with kids, the idling diesel, and barking dogs at the break of dawn. 😞

BurbMan wrote:
Our TT came with day/night shades from the factory like these. The "day" shade is a translucent fabric like you mentioned, but there's a also a "night" shade that pulls down from above the day shade, so as you pull down the night shade the day shade collapses into its accordian pleats at the bottom. The night shade is DARK, you can pull those shades at noon and thinks it's 3am from inside the bedroom.

[goducks10]

dadmomh wrote:
If you're at all even basically skilled at sewing, you can get black-out fabric at JoAnn's or one of the larger fabric stores - also check online - and just hem the edges and use Velcro to attach it to the wall. You may not even need to Velcro the entire edge, maybe just some 1" pieces several inches apart. Same thing will work for the door and in the daytime just take it down. Sticky back Velcro is your BFF for RVs....no damage to the walls, inexpensive and easy to use. If you decide at some point you want to remove it, it comes off pretty easily and any remaining residue is gone with just a bit of Goo Gone. I used it to put up our personal pictures and decorating pieces in our HTT and when time came to sell it, you'd never know anything had been on the walls.

Price-wise, I've never shopped for black-out fabric, but would imagine that black duck cloth would accomplish the same thing or even black fabric-backed vinyl.

That's exactly what my wife did. She used two pieces of Velcro at each upper corner to hold them up. 20 secs to put up and 5 secs to take down. I also painted the inside of our white ceiling vent black.

[Kittykath]

rockhillmanor wrote:
If you want something temporary to block out the light which also will keep out the cold and sun too?

I use van sized windshield sun shades. They fix exactly in the windows of an RV and slide right up under the day night shades without having to tape or velcro them.

They come in all kinds of colors and designs so it doesn't look too tacky from the outside like the plain silver ones do. Walmart's carry a good selection of them.


I bought the ones with palm trees on them. I use them to block out the hot summer sun when in Florida. I slip them under the day/night shades on all the windows on the sun side. Works Great!


http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_query=windshield+sun+shades&Find...

We use these too when trying to keep our seasonal camper cooler because of a lack of shade on one side. I cut them to fit, and because they're pleated already, they fold up and out of the way nicely.

[rockhillmanor]

If you want something temporary to block out the light which also will keep out the cold and sun too?

I use van sized windshield sun shades. They fix exactly in the windows of an RV and slide right up under the day night shades without having to tape or velcro them.

They come in all kinds of colors and designs so it doesn't look too tacky from the outside like the plain silver ones do. Walmart's carry a good selection of them.


I bought the ones with palm trees on them. I use them to block out the hot summer sun when in Florida. I slip them under the day/night shades on all the windows on the sun side. Works Great!


http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_query=windshield+sun+shades&Find...

[BurbMan]

Our TT came with day/night shades from the factory like these. The "day" shade is a translucent fabric like you mentioned, but there's a also a "night" shade that pulls down from above the day shade, so as you pull down the night shade the day shade collapses into its accordian pleats at the bottom. The night shade is DARK, you can pull those shades at noon and thinks it's 3am from inside the bedroom.

[BillyandKris]

For the shower skylight we also used the silver stuff. Glued a piece of cotton fabric to upside to prevent so much reflection upward. Had some tiny black stretchy cord. He loosened the tiny screws and wove the stretchy cord zig zag back and forth across then tightened screws back. The silver piece will just slide up over the zig zag stretch cord and stay put or can be partially opened.

[BillyandKris]

I got upholstery fabric with black sort of vinyl-like backing. No need to hem. Cut to size of window and we put command hooks up under the valance and I sewed cloth tabs on the square. But, now I see I can just cut a hole in the fabric and it will not ravel. You can also hem the bottom to fit a dowel rod in and then roll up part way and secure with a plastic toothy hair clip. You could also skip the command hooks (which I think I will do in next camper cause sometimes they come loose) and just cut the fabric larger and use quilters safety pins and pin it to the valance (leaving pin open). Will not damage valance fabric and after all, this is only done at night and so who sees it? No matter what it looks like, right. These fold up easily to store.

[Nutinelse2do]

We need darkness when we sleep or nap. The day/ night shades don't come close to dark enough. I made panels that go on tension rods inside of the valances. Found a really pretty material and doubled the black out liner on the back. Nice and dark. Easy to remove. For the shower skylight, I use the silver stuff ( reflex maybe ) and velcrod it to the skylight frame. That way it's easily removable when we want light or take a shower. Works like a champ. And inexpensive to boot!

[dadmomh]

If you're at all even basically skilled at sewing, you can get black-out fabric at JoAnn's or one of the larger fabric stores - also check online - and just hem the edges and use Velcro to attach it to the wall. You may not even need to Velcro the entire edge, maybe just some 1" pieces several inches apart. Same thing will work for the door and in the daytime just take it down. Sticky back Velcro is your BFF for RVs....no damage to the walls, inexpensive and easy to use. If you decide at some point you want to remove it, it comes off pretty easily and any remaining residue is gone with just a bit of Goo Gone. I used it to put up our personal pictures and decorating pieces in our HTT and when time came to sell it, you'd never know anything had been on the walls.

Price-wise, I've never shopped for black-out fabric, but would imagine that black duck cloth would accomplish the same thing or even black fabric-backed vinyl.

[Impkitti]

Hubby likes dark to sleep, I like windows and fresh air.

The shades that came with our RV were not dark enough for him. We didn't want to replace the shades, so as a compromise, I made covers that fit over the top of the valance.

I couldn't match the fabrics used in our quilt - too old, but I was able to match the color families and used a complementary design. They are interlined with blackout fabric. They work like a charm. He has the dark he wants to sleep on his side, and I can have fresh air. If we are parked so that the sun comes up in my eyes, I can pop my cover on. Cost - about $20 for the pair.

[myredracer]

Thanks. We tried the black paper accordion shades from Walmart and they were a bit too flimsy and wouldn't stay stuck on and didn't last. We're hoping to find something a bit more elegant than a towel, but that would definitely work! We also tried the reflectix stuff on the door glass but it's too much of a bother to take off when you do want light to get in.

I just phoned Just Blinds. The 1/2" micro-mini blinds would fit between the door screen and window - just. This blind needs min. 3/4" depth which is what the space is on our door I like the idea of being able to easily open and close something on the door. This is the first time I've seen any kind of functioning blind that will fit in the small 3/4" gap.

They recommended their 3/8" double row cellular blind for the windows (in black) as it would provide better darkening. This one requires a min. 1 1/2" depth. They thought the micro-mini blinds may not block enough light coming through the louvers but the cell type won't fit on the door.

In either one, they said to allow another 2" on the sides, top and bottom for overlap on an "outside" mounting installation.

Not outrageously expensive at $32 per each. Will have to let the boss of me see if she likes them. Seems like the older we get, the harder it is to get a good night's sleep so I'll gladly spend around $100 for better sleep. We also bought a black vent cover for the bedroom fan as that's been another source of annoying morning light.

True that blinds collect dust. You can't see it on the usual fabric ones but it's gotta be there. At least with metal ones it is easily wiped off. One thing we've found being in CGs is that dust cleaning throughout is regularly needed. There's a few too many people driving at faster speeds than they need to on the gravel roads and the thick clouds of dust spread everywhere.