Mine will only go up about two thirds of the window’s length. :-/ I’d like to be able to hide them behind the valance during the day but darn it they won’t do it. Should I return them or are all shades this way?
They’re roller shades, I hope they’ll let me return them. :-s
Various types of shades/blinds take up various amounts of room when fully retracted. Roller shades probably take up the least amount of room (a couple inches). Miniblinds take as much room as necessary with all the slats stacked together (usually several inches, depending on the window height). Other types may take more.
I would recommend going to a home improvement or specialty blind shop and look at similar blinds to yours on display. Operate them and see if they retract more than yours. If so, then yours may be faulty. If not, that’s just the way they’re supposed to operate.
Roller shades work on a tension spring located within the roller. If your shades can’t be “hitched” up all the way, it’s likely a simple adjustment to the tension spring is necessary.
1. Pull the shade down halfway. Lift the roller out of the brackets.
2. Roll up the shade by hand. Replace the roller in the brackets.
3. Test the shade and repeat if necessary until the tension seems correct.
Other fixes for roller shades can be found here: http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Fixing_Window_Shades-Treatments-F2192.html
Hope this helps,
TX Griff