I think they were pretending to be Spiderman when the twist rods got yanked off, and the strings have been tangled for years. First, make a new twist rod. I don't know if there is a more accurate name than twist rod. It's the stick thing that you twist to move the louvers.
I started with just a cheap dowel from the craft store (they sell them at Wal-Mart too). I wanted them shorter than the original for two reasons. 1. Maybe they'll be harder to reach by little hands? And 2. I didn't want to buy 3 dowels and have all the waste.
So I bought 2, measured the half-way mark,
And cut with this little hacksaw. *Tip: I've tried cutting small dowels with a power saw and DON'T recommend it. It's a good way to lose the dowel, fingers, and an eye!
After quickly sanding the burrs off, I took a nail and pressed it into the center of one end, creating a tiny hole to start my screw-eye into.
These are screw-eyes. They are usually sold next to the picture-hanging hardware. I bought this pack from Wally World for 97 cents. We had another "accident" with the label, so unfortunately I can't read the size but it was the smallest they sell.
Simply, twist the screw-eye into the marked hole. I had to use a small screwdriver through the hole to help me twist it. Once you're done, you have this.
I thought I had some white spray-paint lying around, but evidently I don't. So pretend I spray-painted them white. Lastly, hook the loop on the little hook on the blinds
And you're done!
Next, as long as there is plenty of string above the knot, you can just cut the cord off at that point. That was the case for mine. If not, you have a little untangling to do before you can cut it short.
Feed the cord through the top of the bead.
Tie a double-knot on the end of the cord.
And you're done. Try to tie the knots all at the same length so they hand evenly.
It's a couple of small fixes, but I'm glad I finally have fully functioning blinds!
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