A couple of weeks ago, one of my small Seitz blackout blinds stopped retracting. I sprayed it with Holts Silicon Spray in the hope it had just become “stuck” but after two weeks it still was not retracting. Yesterday I carefully removed the screw caps using a fine sharp tip to carefully prize out as they are easily marked fully expecting to be ringing around on Monday for a replacement blind.
Much like a conventional roller blind, one side rotates and the other side (in this case the flat end piece) has a spring inside the steel tube. The side that rotates can be unscrewed and lifted out easily. The spring loaded side (flat end) is held in a plastic grove within the frame and is retained by two staples....quality! It reminded me of a friend who works in the MH and caravan trade who once said to me “regardless of whether you pay 10k or 100k, they are all crap”....and he may have a point.
I removed the rotating end of the blind and initially tried rotating it with the spring loaded side held in place but I could get no tension whatsoever. I then removed both sides so the blind was out of the frame. With a flat headed screwdriver I carefully prized off the plastic end cap of the spring loaded side and discovered the spring had detached completely and was loose inside the steel tube.
I simply twisted the spring back onto the plastic threads of the end cap and pushed the cap back into the steel tube. After a quick scan through Youtube, there appears to be a number of ways to retension the blind. I found it easier to roll up the blind outside the frame, twist the spring loaded side with a pliers until I could feel enough tension and then put it back into the frame – this took a couple of attempts as I didn’t want the blind to have too little/too much tension.
All back together, a quick clean up and then carefully refitted the frame making sure that all of the screw holes line up exactly. Also making sure that the screws were tightened up evenly around the frame.
Pleased to have saved at least £50 and if it ever happens again, I have the confidence to fix it!
Much like a conventional roller blind, one side rotates and the other side (in this case the flat end piece) has a spring inside the steel tube. The side that rotates can be unscrewed and lifted out easily. The spring loaded side (flat end) is held in a plastic grove within the frame and is retained by two staples....quality! It reminded me of a friend who works in the MH and caravan trade who once said to me “regardless of whether you pay 10k or 100k, they are all crap”....and he may have a point.
I removed the rotating end of the blind and initially tried rotating it with the spring loaded side held in place but I could get no tension whatsoever. I then removed both sides so the blind was out of the frame. With a flat headed screwdriver I carefully prized off the plastic end cap of the spring loaded side and discovered the spring had detached completely and was loose inside the steel tube.
I simply twisted the spring back onto the plastic threads of the end cap and pushed the cap back into the steel tube. After a quick scan through Youtube, there appears to be a number of ways to retension the blind. I found it easier to roll up the blind outside the frame, twist the spring loaded side with a pliers until I could feel enough tension and then put it back into the frame – this took a couple of attempts as I didn’t want the blind to have too little/too much tension.
All back together, a quick clean up and then carefully refitted the frame making sure that all of the screw holes line up exactly. Also making sure that the screws were tightened up evenly around the frame.
Pleased to have saved at least £50 and if it ever happens again, I have the confidence to fix it!
