We got these blinds a couple of years ago from Amazon, and recently one of the string take-up mechanisms jammed because the string apparently came off the pulley wheel and wrapped around the shaft. I contacted customer service about how to address this and they basically said “buy a new one.” (No thanks.) So I figured it out myself. Here’s how to do it: (If both sides are messed up, then you should do one at a time.)
First, here’s a picture of the tangled mess. Ignore the vice grip placement — this was my first attempt at stopping the spring. Read on for a better way to do it.
Step 1: Stabilize the Blinds
Use string, a clamp, or some other convenient method to stabilize the bottom of the blinds so they don’t move up or down during the repair. Do this at both sides. Each side can move down under its own weight during the repair, or up due to the spring. The spring, by the way — the thing that provides the “pull” to make it easy to raise and lower the blinds — is the part in the middle, and it’s pictured here. You want to try to keep this from moving during the repair.
Step 2: Keep the Spring from Unwinding
Attach something like vice grips to one of the drive shafts to keep it from spinning during the repair. If the spring is allowed to unwind, it with do so very quickly and you’ll likely end up with a bigger tangled mess, especially if you’ve already tried to loosen the knot (damhikt). Do this carefully because you only want to keep it from moving and you don’t want to crush it. Here’s I’m blocking the rotation on the side opposite from what I’m repairing. You can also attach it to the drive rod itself so long as you’re not planning on removing that drive rod.
Step 3: Free the Drive Shaft
There’s a little plastic pin that keeps the drive shaft attached to the spring. Grab the head of it and pull it out to free the drive shaft. Do this on the side you’re repairing.
Next, pull the drive shaft out from the opposite end of the jammed mechanism. You may need to finesse it like I did to loosen it up.
Step 4: Remove, Untangle, and Rewind the Mechanism
Using a Philips screwdriver, remove the mechanism from the board and slide the pulley wheel out. Untangle the string, and re-insert the pulley wheel.
Step 5: Carefully Lower the Blinds
Get some help for this step. Stabilize both ends of the bottom of the blinds so that they don’t move when you remove the tool that’s keeping the spring from spinning (Step 2). Carefully lower both sides simultaneously. You’ll feel resistance only on the side that is not being repaired, but it’s important to lower them carefully anyway. Once they’re lowered as much as possible, it there shouldn’t be a lot of string taken up on the working side. Re-attach the tool again to keep the shaft from spinning for reassembly.
Step 6: Wind and Reassemble
Wind the string around the pulley you’re repairing about the same amount (and in the same direction) as the working one, and re-fasten the pulley. Re-insert the drive shaft through the mechanism you repaired and back into the spring mechanism. Re-insert the small plastic pin that keeps the shaft connected, and finally remove the tool that’s stopping the spring. It should work properly now.
