The Pulley Rope on the Vertical Blinds Does Not Work

How Vertical Blinds Work

• Vertical blinds usually have ropes threaded though each slat that are connected to both the slat adjustment rod and the pulley mechanism inside the molding at the top of the blind. You adjust the slat angle by turning the adjustment rod to alter the rope tension, and you adjust the height by pulling on the rope hanging from the other side of the blind. The rope is attached to a flywheel that turns to wind or unwind the ropes connected to the slats. You set the height by swinging the rope to one side, which locks a cam to hold it.

Tangled Ropes and Stuck Flywheels

• The pull rope winds through teeth located around the rim of the pulley and can easily get wedged between a tooth and the pulley housing if you swing the rope too far when setting the height. When this happens, and pulling on the rope has no effect on the blind, you usually have to disassemble the pulley mechanism to free the rope. Disassembly is also required when you need to lubricate the pulley, which can stick after years of dust has accumulated on it or it has become corroded by moisture.

Disassembly and Repair

• After unhooking the blind from its brackets and taking it down, pop the cap off the end of the blind with a screwdriver to reveal the pulley mechanism. If the rope is tangled, you may have to pry it out or even cut it to remove it. Once it's free, spray lubricant on the pulley and turn it to make sure the flywheel turns with it and controls the blind properly. Whether you reuse the old rope or install a new one, you can wind it through the teeth in much the same way that you replace a chain on a bicycle sprocket.

Considerations

• The rope that controls the side of the blind farthest from the pulley sometimes winds through a separate pulley and then through the molding on the top of the blind to the main pulley. In this type of blind configuration, it isn't unusual for the rope to tangle and make that rope unresponsive so that you can't make the blind hang straight. You can usually untangle the rope by setting the molding on a flat surface. When you can see inside, you can usually work the rope loose with a screwdriver or a straightened-out coat hanger.