Repairing Venetian blinds
The best time to replace the lift cord that raises and lowers a blind is when you first notice it's frayed, don't wait till it breaks. It's much easier to use the old cord to guide a new one (you temporarily splice them together) and pull it through the intricate pathway of ladder lines, slats and headbox hardware than to thread a new cord by itself through the labyrinth.
Miniblind repair decisions should begin with the question. "Is it easier to fix this or buy a new one?" If you've got a cheap vinyl blind that's not a custom size and colour, throw it out. We chose to fix our more expensive aluminium blind. This fix works on pleated shades as well.
YOU WILL NEED:
To figure how much replacement cord you'll need, multiply the height of your extended blinds by 4 and add the width.
While the blind is still hung, make the task easier by studying, sketching or shooting digital pics of your blind's lift cord pathways before you begin the repair.
Take 45 minutes and follow the steps below. Since the cord splice may not pass through the small hole in the bottom bar, make it above the bar. Then drop the loose end of the new lift cord through the hole in the bottom bar and tie a new knot. Keep your slats aligned in a straight vertical line by weaving the lift cord alternately in and out of the ladder rungs.
HERE'S HOW:
1. Open the support brackets, remove the blind and take it to a workbench for splicing the frayed section of lift cord to a new cord.
2. Pull on the frayed lift cord until the slats are drawn together. Cut the cord at the fray and pull the discarded piece (with the knotted end) out through the bottom bar. Splice the new cord to the old by hot-gluing the tips together and rolling them up tightly in a 10cm long strip of plastic electrical tape.
3. Rehang the shade and draw the new lift cord through the cord pathway. With one hand guiding the cord splice through the slats and headbox hardware, pull on the old lift cord. When the splice is clear of the headbox, draw the new lift cord to the bottom bar, undo the splice and attach any plastic pulls on the end of the new cord.