VERTICAL BLINDS

Easily cleaned and repaired

Vertical blinds have individual slats they can be easily replaced, one at a time if necessary and you will usually have spare blades supplied to enable that to happen. Most of the fabrics currently used are easily cleaned with a mild product and water or wipes available at most outlets.

Ideal for sliding and bi-fold doors

Despite new products that provide sideways access to doors there is still a lot to be said about verticals which also tilt to allow light and air to come in whilst still providing access and privacy. 

Blades stack away when not needed

Probably the best thing about verticals is that they stack to within a small area off the glass or half off and can then still be tilted to some degree. The width of the stack varies in keeping with the number of blades which can increase if smaller blade widths are used. They are generally available in 3 widths being 127mm, 100mm and 89mm.

Great range of fabrics and colours

There is a huge choice of colours and fabrics available these days, usually dependent on which supplier a manufacturer chooses to use. Many people prefer a block out fabric which of course has the versatility to allow light in when tilted. There is also a range of translucent fabrics which allow filtered light through them but of course can cast a silhouette once inside lights are on.  There seem to be more block out fabrics these days than translucent.

Available with or without pelmets and bottom chains

Pelmets are not used a great deal today - they were more of a feature of earlier decades. They did however perform a function of course which was to hide the track and carriers which some people find unattractive. The chains along the bottom of the blades which are known as link chains are still available but not often used these days as they were found to be a source of frustration as they often became loose and broken. They were designed to help the blades from flying around too much but if a door is open they are more often than not drawn back. The weights can be stitched in or weights with small wings stop them coming out.

Cord operation or wand operation and of course motorized for a price

For many years the preferred option has been cords although this differed from state to state. During recent years since there have been laws on loops to safeguard against child strangulation and the wand operation has become more popular. However the mechanism needs to be treated kindly and can be over wound and damaged over time. There is a requirement these days on all blinds with loops to be tied down so the cord option is still a reasonable choice. The use of motorized tracks in domestic situations is rare.

VERTICAL BLIND SLAT REPLACEMENT

Many people have a need to replace just the blades as the tracks are still fine but the fabric is either out of date or damaged or too bad to try to clean. It is not always possible to match a fabric, especially if it is an old blind, however you may be surprised to learn that from under $10 per blade you can change the whole look of your house for a fraction of the cost of new blinds. If you are a landlord and the tenants have trashed your blinds this is a great way to salvage the situation. Likewise if your track is the problem this can also be changed however bear in mind that sizes of tracks heights have changed over time so you need to be sure that the blade length isn’t going to be affected.