Blinds do more than just dress up your home. They block out light to prevent the fading of furnishings and protect the privacy of your family. The right set of blinds can also help cool your home by limiting the heat transferred through the window.

When your blinds start showing signs of their age, it is time to replace them. Here are five signs to watch out for to know when it is time for new blinds.

1. Changing Colors

Over time, the color of any kind of blind will eventually fade. The materials used for the blind slats only keep their color for a certain length of time before losing it, even with treatments to make dyes or natural colors fade resistant.

Fading usually happens the fastest on the blinds most exposed to direct sunlight. White blinds still become discolored as well, often taking on a yellow color that eventually will not wash off. You can't get good results from painting or dyeing blinds, so it's best to simply replace them when discoloration develops.

2. Warping Slats

After years of hanging against gravity and being moved back and forth, the straightest slats eventually lose their form and warp. This can cause each individual blind slat to become wavy along its length, or cause it to curl up along its width.

Since blinds can be seen both inside and outside of your home, warped blinds become quite a noticeable problem. Blinds also stop working correctly when warping becomes severe enough. You may not be able to get them to lay flat enough to provide privacy or block light properly. The blinds can even stop drawing up and down correctly due to severe warping or curling.

3. Malfunctioning Controls

The internal components that make blinds function only last so long before they break from wear. There's little point to this specific type of window covering when you cannot raise or lower you blinds anymore.

Waiting too long to invest in replacements could leave you dealing with blinds hanging haphazardly in the windows of your home because the controls lock up while one side is higher than the other. Timely replacement avoids frustration and helps you get the most from your window treatments.

4. Fraying Cords

One of the most important parts of your blinds is the cord that keeps the slats together. Modern blinds rely on both woven ladder cords to hold everything together and lift cords to tilt the slats and move them up and down. If either the ladders or lift cords break, the blinds will stop working and may fall apart entirely.

Look closely at the individual cords holding your blinds together. Do you see any fuzziness along the material, or thinner areas where wear is taking a toll? Instead of having the blinds re-strung at a cost nearly as high as new ones, try replacing them before any of the cords get a chance to break.

5. Cracking Materials

While fabric and aluminum blinds will never crack or split, vinyl and wood blinds are not immune from this kind of damage. Sun exposure, along with seasonal variations in temperature and air humidity, eventually make these materials brittle enough to crack during regular use.

Cracking in the slats causes problems with how the blinds mechanically function, how they look, and how they block out light. If your blinds are developing even just hairline cracks, it is time for new ones.

Take the opportunity to replace your blinds with custom window treatments that better match the interior of your home. Get in touch with us here at Genie's Drapery Service INC to start the process of having new blinds made to your specifications.

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