You need to know how to fix broken mini blinds if you have kids or a naughty pet that repeatedly love to break and damage them. It’s actually way easier, and cheaper than I thought to do your own mini blind repair!
Find out how to fix common problems so that your window coverings can function again.
We live in an apartment, like a bajillion other people, so every window comes pre-installed with white mini-blinds. The apartment contract and rules state that the mini-blinds need to be free from damages in order to help keep up appearances.
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Broken mini blinds apparently equal ghetto apartment complex.
To keep future residents interested in renting, via the pristine mini-blinds, they periodically replace any broken ones for you. However, they charge us an outlandish $50 per mini blind replaced. Considering it takes them all of about 1 minute to replace one, and they only cost $3-6, it is major highway robbery happening!
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Our apartment recently stated that if they had to replace three or more mini blinds for you, you could be kicked out your apartment. Ca-razy! Especially considering at the time of that notice, we had, you guessed it, three broken mini blinds. Our kids really love destroying mini blinds!
In order to avoid $150 in charges and a potential boot, I determined to figure out how to fix mini blinds and save myself a bunch of money. So, I did what any sane 21st-century mom does, and searched Pinterest for a tutorial on how to fix mini blinds.
I came across this old post from DIY Project Crazy, and followed it to do my mini blind repair.
I picked up one brand new set of mini blinds for $6.25 from Lowe’s. I bought the cheapest one, because, well, we live in an apartment, and my kids regularly break the slats of the blinds.
There were some nicer, better light blocking blinds, on rollback at Walmart, randomly sitting right by the entrance, for $5, last week, but I bought the wrong size, so I had to return it. By then they no longer had the size I needed.
Because one set of mini blinds was so mangled by my kids, I just replaced the whole thing with the new blinds, using the rest of the mangled blinds as the supply source to repair mini blinds in two other rooms.
The good news is that I was able to repair some so that I didn’t have to do a whole new window treatment on every single window.
Keep in mind that high-traffic areas will have needs for repair more often than other areas. Some people opt to put in a different type of window treatment in those areas, but I think that no matter what, they’ll all need repairs.
However, if your mini blind is already longer than you need, and you only have a few slats to replace, you can use them for this tutorial and not have to spend any money!
Simple Steps for Repairing Common Issues
If you have a blind problem, there are a few common repairs that can work. If you can fix the individual pieces on your own, you’ll cut down on the repair costs and not have to buy all new window treatments!
Make sure that when you buy blinds, you select blinds that you’re able to repair. In the long run, you’ll have a few pieces that will need replacement slats more than likely. It’s just the way it is.
New window blinds are expensive to make so skip having to do blind installation and just try to get a new replacement slat or try another quick fix.
Using your own personal repair services is a great way to save money and time! Once you get to work on your window shades, you’ll have confidence that you can fix other things yourself, too!
How to Fix Mini Blinds
Materials Needed to Repair Horizontal Mini Blinds:
Flathead Screwdriver or butter knife
Long-nose tweezers
Extra blind slats (may require buying a new set of mini blinds)
Time needed: 10 minutes
How to do mini blind repair
Purchase or locate extra non-broken slats
If you don’t have extra slats at the bottom of your blinds (or need to replace several slats), buy a new set of mini blinds. You can find blinds in stores like Lowes, Home Depot, or Walmart and online through Amazon. Just order one set. I needed extra, non-broken slats to fix my blinds.
Take off plastic stopper from bottom of blinds.
At the bottom of the blinds are little plastic tabs. Pop off the right one and the left one, with a flat head screwdriver, or butter knife, but leave the center one.
Pull cord out of holes.
Pull out the cords that are in the holes. You’ll likely need to grab a pair of long thin tweezers to grab the knotted string in the center out.
Unknot strings.
Unknot the center string. If you really can’t undo it, cut it right above the knot and burn the ends.
Pull out center string to height of broken slat.
Pull the center string out of every slat until you reach above the last slat you need to replace. Do it on both the left and the right side. If you are using another set of blinds to replace a different set, you’ll have to do steps 2-5 on it, pulling out the number of slats you need to fix the broken set.
Pull out all the broken and damaged slats you want to replace.
Slide in the new, unbroken blinds in their place.
Restring all the blinds with the center cord, making sure to come through from the same side.
Push the string back through bottom rung and tie a new knot.
Shove the knot and the extra strings back in the hole and cap it with the plastic piece you removed.
You’re done! You fixed your mini blinds!
If I wasn’t taking pictures the whole time, this simple DIY mini blind repair would only take 5-10 minutes. It is SO easy! Way easier than I thought it was going to be.
I was able to fix three blinds (one completely replaced) in only about 20-30 minutes and it only cost $6.25!
That’s much better than the apartment complex’s charge of $150!
I kept the broken blind, and because there were so many empty rows, I cut some off the excess strings, and moved the bottom up, and tied the center knots and put the plastic stopped over the holes.
Because I now know how to fix mini blinds and do my own mini blind repair, I won’t have to stress so much, or yell as much, when my kids break another slat on the mini blinds…. again.
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