Cellular Shades Clutch Fix

It's happend to us plenty of times. The call comes in. We have to go back to see frustrated customers. Why? Because their cellular shades' moving rails just wouldn't stop and stay in place. The rails would fall down like a rock.

By pulling the lift cords toward the middle of the window, the clutch mechanism is to release the lift cords and the moving rail then travels a distance up or down. Moving the lift cords the opposite way ( to the side of the window) engages the clutch to catch the cords. That stops the moving rail right there.

But what if it doesn't?
What if you have even new window blinds or window shades and something like this happens?
Bet you'd ready to send them ^%$*&^%@ blinds or shades back to have them fixed.
How come they came already "broken"?

Wait!

There's something you can do first.
Okay, even before that … take a deep breath … and now look at the picture below.

This is one of the new cellular shades that had the same clutch problem.

Cellular Shades - A Clutch Detail(Notice the ridged roller engaging the pull cords.)

As you can see, there's a small roller with ridges all around it. That's the part you want to closely look at and see in which position it is.
If the clutch roller happens to be at the bottom and loose, great. But if you are having problems with the clutch, it probably isn't so.

You'll likely find it stuck at the top of the clutch.
Congrats - you've found the problem.
To fix it, just take a small screwdriver and push the roller down with it to loosen it up. Gently work at it (mind the lift cords). It often only takes a single push and the roller is "loose" and back in action.

Your cellular shades, other window shades, or window blinds with a similar clutch mechanism problem will now work the way you expect them to .