Mini Blinds & Crank Handles

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Anyone have any ideas how to prevent 1" mini blinds from being destroyed by crank handles? All of my mini blinds are coming apart at the right bottom corner because of repeated opening & closing of the windows using the crank handles. Has anyone here with jalousie windows found any other type of blinds (aside from roll-ups, which I'm not fond of) that stand up to the repeated use of the cranks? It's a pain to raise the blinds every time I want to open or close a window. The slats are pretty flimsy on the plastic mini blinds and I think the metal ones would just bend over time.
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Yanita
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Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:16 pm
Location: Eastern N. Carolina

Kind of pricey but you could get verticals, or good ole spring loaded roll up shades.

Yanita
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
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Maureen
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Location: Sun Valley, Nevada

Hi Wayne,

I don't have the jalouise windows with cranks, but I do have a big old German Shepard that destroys my mini blinds every two years! If he hears a noise, he goes at one window where he can peek though. After a while they are trashed! I've tried drapes and the mini blinds so far. He gets the drapes very dirty, the mini blinds he ruins.

The only way around it is to pull the blinds up when trying to close and open the window. I have thought about the vertical blinds, but, even the fabric verticals flap when the wind blows, even if they are fully opened! Personally, I found this a bit annoying.

I just deal with it! I have a long term plan to change those huge living room windows out. But, that includes some big bucks to redo siding and interior work! I want the Eastern exposure, but not quite as much light during the Summer. It's great in the Winter to heat that part of the house passively, but horrid in the Summer when the sun is beating down half the day! Once I get that done, my problems should be over with!

Oh, I've also considered some really good wood blinds over those windows also! Just a thought!

Maureen 8)
Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.
'Plato'
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Oh well, guess I'll just have to replace them every year or so. I agree that verticals make too much noise in the slightest breeze, which can be really annoying. If I used spring loaded roll-ups, they'd have to be mounted on those ugly wall brackets that stick out because of the inside storms and screens. Maybe if I try to be diligent about raising them before cranking they'll last a bit longer. At least if I buy a new set every year I won't have to worry about the worst thing about mini blinds - cleaning them! Thanks for the input.
Ketta

I hate mini blinds, and MobileWayne's comment just solved a mystery for me. I've seen a lot of the older mobiles in our park with little bits cut out of bottom corners and wondered why, even though I have cranks on the windows we haven't replaced yet.

Duh.

We had verticle blinds when we moved in, but I hated them because they reminded me of icky hotels. Currently we have the vinyl 'bamboo' blinds and they're easier to move for cranking windows, more flexible, less noisy, and not attractive to our cats. They clean easy and seem to take abuse well. And they we're cheap!

I purchased ours at Home Depot, but they're common and I imagine easy to find at most dept. and home repair big boxes.
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