Cellular Shades

When Cellular Shades Misbehave, Here's What to Do

All window-shade rollers have springs on the inside to provide the tension needed to re-roll the shade after it has been pulled down. This spring is attached to the inside of the roller at one end. The other end is attached to the flat rotating pin that sticks out of the roller at the end. This flat pin fits into a slotted bracket so that when the roller rotates as the cellular shade is pulled down, it cannot turn. Thus it causes the spring to wind tighter and tighter.

The cellular shade would go flying back up when released because of the tension in the spring, except that there is a little ratchet-and-pawl mechanism around the outside of the flat pin that prevents this. The ratchet engages and holds the cellular shade in place when you release it. When you want to raise the cellular shade higher, you first give it a slight downward pull to disengage the mechanism. The shade will continue rolling upward until another short downward pull re-engages the ratchet mechanism and holds it at that position.

Probably the most trouble with a cellular shade is lack of proper tension in the spring inside the roller. If it is not would tight enough, there is not enough tension to pull the cellular shade back up – or the shade will slowly lower by itself.

To correct this situation, start with the cellular shade pulled most of the way down. Lift the shade out of its brackets, then roll it up by hand. Put the cellular shade back into the brackets while it is rolled up, then pull down in the usual manner. This will wind the spring on the inside.

With the cellular shade now unrolled, lift the roller out of its brackets and roll the shade up by hand again. Replace the shade in its brackets while it is rolled up. Now see how the tension is. If it is still too loose, repeat the whole process, but this time start with the cellular shade pulled only about half way down. Pulling it all the way down before you roll it up will usually add too much tension.

Sometimes a shade will act up in just the opposite manner – it will go flying up out of control when you release it because the ratchet mechanism doesn’t have a chance to catch. This means the shade is wound too tight. To correct this you reverse the procedure described above.

Raise the cellular shade as high as it will go, then start to roll it up by hand.

If a cellular shade roller seems to stick or the ratchet mechanism does not seem to catch and hold the shade in place when you let it go, even though the spring tension seems about right, then check the brackets that hold the shade up. First see if the slotted bracket is bent or so badly worn that it allows the flat pin to slip out of its normal vertical position (the slot in the bracket should always be vertical). If the slot does not hold the flat pin vertical, the ratchet-and-pawl mechanism will not work properly, so replace that bracket.

In some cases the ratchet-and-pawl mechanism on the end of the shade sticks usually because of the dirt or dust that gets into the mechanism. Use a small brush to clean out the mechanism around the flat pin, then spray lightly with a little silicone lubricant or a graphite-type lubricant normally used in locks.

A sticking cellular shade can also be caused by brackets that are too close together. This causes the ends of the roller to jam as it rotates. Bending the brackets slightly apart if they are outside-mounted brackets, or moving them slightly apart, will usually solve the problem.

If the brackets are the kind that are mounted inside the window frame, there is another trick that sometimes works. Use a hammer to give each bracket a sharp rap, as though you were trying to drive it into the molding to which it is nailed. This flattens the bracket slightly, providing a little more clearance between the ends of the cellular shade roller and the face of each bracket.

If this doesn’t provide enough clearance for the roller to turn easily without jamming, then the roller will have to be shortened slightly. Lift the shade out of its brackets and unroll it completely on the floor. Use a pair of pliers to pull out the round pin and the little metal cap that goes over that end of the roller, then use a fine-toothed saw or a wood rasp to trim a fraction of an inch off the end of the roller. Replace the metal end cap and the metal pin (simply hammer it into the original hole, just like a nail). Now re-roll the cellular shade and replace it in its brackets.

If a shade continually rolls off to one side or the other so that the edges start to run or snag on the brackets, or so that the shade rolls up unevenly and past the end on one side, there are two possibilities: Either the brackets are mounted so that one is slightly higher than the other or the shade is attached to the roller unevenly.

To solve the first problem, move one or both brackets slightly up or down as required. To correct the second problem, unroll the cellular shade completely then see if the end of the shade is attached exactly on the line drawn along the roller. If it isn’t, pull out all the staples and reattach the shade so its edge is on the line. If it seems to be on the line but you are still having trouble, make certain the end of the shade has been cut square across initially.