The operation of the shades is a friction event, I am surprised they work as well as they do, but after a year or two, if you examine the often used shades, you may see a frayed cord, or in the case of the larger shades, cords. I have a simple solution that should extend the cord life by at least a factor of three.
Men, it involves raiding the wife's votive candles, (100 for $5.00 type) or whatever candle you can scam. Put the shades up, then rub the wax all up and down the cords, operate the shades a few times, then re-apply the wax. You will be surprised at the difference.
I don't raise and lower both shades at once, don't think it is a good idea, too hard on the cords, one at a time.
Day and night shade maintenance
Day-Night Shade Adjustment & Repair
Most late model coaches are equipped with pleated window shades, commonly known as “day-night blinds” with a shear section for daytime use and a solid section for nighttime use. They are pulled up and down on two to four strings woven through the blind material. The strings on each side are attached to one end of a spring contained within the metal section at the top. The other end of this spring is attached to a string that runs down the inside edge of the covering valance beside the blind to a spool located on the bottom of each side of the blind. The spool has a retaining screw through its center and a tooth on the back, which holds it in position and provides a method of adjusting the spring tension.
These blinds do require some adjustment to operate properly and the adjustment is quite easy to do. The first step is to determine what needs to be done. If the blind is very difficult to raise then the blind needs less spring tension. To decrease the spring tension carefully loosen the spool retaining screw on one side, while holding the spool firmly against the valence so that it does not twist free then rotate the spool counterclockwise 1/4 turn at a time. Tighten the screw and repeat for the other side. Move the blind completely up and down a few times then check to see if it operates correctly. If not repeat this procedure.
If the blind goes up in a zigzag fashion then one side of the blind has more tension than the other. In this case you may be able to see which side is loose and tighten the spool on that side. If you are unsure I suggest loosening both sides and apply an equal number of turns on the spool until the blind operates correctly. If the tension is too loose then the blind will not stay in position. Again adjust both sides one at a time to place the correct tension on the strings. My experience suggests adjusting the blind to have sufficient tension to stay in place and no more. This will give you the ability to increase tension should the spring weaken with age and it also places less tension on the strings
If the string rubs against the blind mounting hardware it will fray and eventually break. Restringing the blind is not difficult however you will need to remove the blind from its mounting base. There are a number of different retainer styles, so you will need to examine yours to see what method is required to detach the blind. Once you remove the blind from its mounting hardware place one or two elastics around the folded blind to keep it tight and make it easy to handle. Do not use tape since when you remove the tape it may lift the paint as well. Restringing kits are available at many blind shops or through web stores on the Internet. If they do not include the stringing needle then get one as well. I ran across this website which has more information on blind repair (
www.fixmyblinds.com) Listing this website should not be taken as an endorsement of the business, it is provided as a source of information. Follow the instructions and you will have a shade that is as good as new. Remember to adjust the tension of the blind after it is re-installed.
(Thanks to Ole Bob from rvpartsplus)
Linear Mode
