Venetian blinds have horizontal slats with strings running through them. The slats can be tilted up or down for light control by using a tilt wand. Occasionally, the wand may be difficult to tilt because an internal part gets moved out of place. It will take just a few tools and about 30 minutes to adjust the mechanism for the tilt cord to get your blinds working properly again.

Push in the tab on the brackets fastening the blind to the wall, using the tip of a flat head screwdriver to release the blinds. Some brackets do not have a release mechanism, so you can just lift out the blinds.

  • Venetian blinds have horizontal slats with strings running through them.
  • Push in the tab on the brackets fastening the blind to the wall, using the tip of a flat head screwdriver to release the blinds.

Look inside the head rail, located at the top of the blinds, and find the long metal rod that runs the width of the blinds. The cord runs alongside the rod.

Push the rod back through the tilt mechanism if the rod was pushed out of place. The tilt mechanism is on the same side of the head rail as the tilt wand and will look like a wheel with a hole on the side. Push the long metal rod into the opening of the tilt mechanism if it is disengaged. When the tilt wand is twisted, it opens and closes the slats. If the rod is moved out of place, the blinds may not tilt or may be difficult to adjust.

Alter the cord length if it is entwined around the rod or is stuck in the head rail. Either cut the cords or retie the length so it will not get caught in the rod.

  • Push the rod back through the tilt mechanism if the rod was pushed out of place.
  • Alter the cord length if it is entwined around the rod or is stuck in the head rail.

Hang the blinds back on the wall. Check that the chain is in the open position when the blinds are installed.

TIP

Sometimes the cord will fray or break in the head rail and will cause the tilt wand to malfunction. If this happens, the blinds should be restrung by a professional. When you make adjustments with the rod in the head rail, make sure the string does not get caught in the blind's mechanism. If you reinstall the blinds and they tilt to one side when you pull the cord, the string inside the head rail may have got stuck or pushed out of place.