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Types of Damage Window Treatments Can Get

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Through the rough patches of natural weather, to the different accidents that can happen just by a chance of bad luck, it’s not uncommon that we have to think about replacing the exterior parts of our house. For instance, the fast hit of a golf ball can easily lead to some window replacements, the same way that a huge hail storm can require repairs for your roof and deck. While these are the more commonly required repairs, there is a chance that your window treatments could require full replacements as well. Here are a few of the signs of damage that you may notice and how they happen.

Warping

This particular type of damage happens most commonly to vinyl mini blinds. It’s not because the treatment itself is weak or flimsy, but the material itself can be effected by the sun if they go beyond the standard time for replacing. When the sun hits mini blinds day after day, especially on the days where temperatures get extremely high, the blinds react by having their molecules spread out, which leaves them warped. This isn’t a huge issue when it first starts happening, but over time you’ll see that there the slats slowly become more and more warped. Eventually, they don’t leave you with any control over the amount of light that comes into your house but they also lose all of the efficiency that they provide to your home.

There isn’t much that you can do to improve this situation, simply because the slats themselves cannot be replaced unless they are entirely restrung and restructured, which would take quite a bit of time and the understanding of the construction of your blinds. If your blinds are warped, then it’s time to replace them with new ones entirely.

Discoloration

Unfortunately, discoloration can happen to just about every type of window treatment. This is nearly impossible to avoid because it happens when the sun comes through the window. The only real way to avoid this is through window treatments that minimize the rays of the sun coming through, or by having some form of coverage from the sun, outside of the window. When the sun hits the window treatments, it fades the color and can quickly age the material that the treatment is made out of.

This is another tough one to fix. Depending on the material, it can be impossible. In regards to drapes or mini blinds, there’s no real way to fix them from discoloration or fading, and it’s better to invest in a replacement. If you have plantation shutters, whether they be wood or painted, you can improve the look with a good staining or painting job, though, depending on how faded they are, you might want to look into other window treatments to see what they offer.

Cracks

There is one specific type of window treatment that we’re talking about with cracks, and it’s film. There is no doubt that film is a fantastic option when you want to enjoy the view from your window without putting too much of a treatment up. When installed correctly, you shouldn’t have to worry about bubbles forming or any cracks just from the installation, however, as the film passes on through years there is a chance of it bubbling from the heat or cracking. This shouldn’t happen unless the film has been on for a while, or if there has been a purposeful action done to scratch the film.

This isn’t something that will create a huge issue, considering the film is used to block the rays of the sun from coming in, and not as much related to insulation. However, this is an issue that is going to need to full replacement if you’re going to eliminate it. Because the film is so tightly secured to your window, there’s no real way to patch it otherwise that isn’t going to be more noticeable than the crack itself.

If you need to replace the damaged window treatments in your home, you can count on Arjay’s Window Fashions to have the perfect fit. Call our office today and let us help you with scheduling an appointment so that we can sit down with you and go over a few of your options and any new window treatments that might also be a good fit. We serve the surrounding Ventura area with these high-quality window treatments, so make sure to call today and get your appointment secured.

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Tips for Cleaning Your Blinds

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If you haven’t completed your spring cleaning yet, you aren’t the only one. There are still some of us out there that are putting it off until we absolutely have to get it done. While the list is probably plenty for you to handle, there’s a chance that you’ve caught glances of your window treatments and realized that they could really use a good cleaning. If you can’t remember the last time that they were cleaned, then it’s definitely time to prioritize them this spring. Below are a few of the tips that we’ve found helpful if you have no idea where to start.

Cleaning Slats

There are a few different window treatments that you might have with slats. These are often the ones that become a little daunting with the dust that they collect. The slats really give you the perfect glimpse of how much dust is on them as the sun shines through, and they also make it look incredibly terrifying when you consider what type of work you’ll have to do to remove all of that dust. Luckily there are a few things that you can do to make the process a little bit easier on yourself.

One Direction

This is an incredible tip that you can make the most of that will provide you with a little easier of a cleanup. Whether you use a duster, a paper towel or a rag, sweeping in one direction will make it so that all of your slats are cleaned off. The primary benefit of this is that you don’t see any dust clusters that are randomly left throughout the blinds or shutters.

This also allows for you to collect dust in one place. If you’re cleaning shutters, then you can use the end of the panel as a place to collect the dust that you’ve just wiped over. If you have blinds that you’re cleaning you can easily wipe them off and collect them onto whichever cleaning tool that you’re using. This leads us to our next point.

A Splash of Water

Dust can be a frustrating substance to clean up, mostly because it’s pretty difficult to get to stick to anything, which makes it float around and feel like all the cleaning you’re doing is pointless. After you watch this, you inevitably feel like it’s going to settle and wind up right back where it started. What can make this whole process easier is dampening the towel or duster that you use can get the dust on your window treatment to stick to the cloth, rather than kick back up. Once you’ve collected all of the dust, it’s really easy to shake it into the trash bag or throw it into the washer, and then you’re left with a clean rag and clean window treatments.

Be Gentle

Your blinds might provide you with quite a bit of protection from the sun, and an added efficiency to your home, but the truth is that they’re still fragile and require care. When you are rough as you clean your window treatments, you open up the chance of damaging them. This can lead to needing to replace them, which is much more expensive than simply cleaning them.

Pull Down Coverings

If you don’t have window coverings with slats, chances are that they are pull down coverings that are going to be a little more sensitive to cleaning techniques. With those, the best way to clean off dust is going to be dampening a duster and softly collecting the dust as you make your way down the blinds. The same way that you focus from one side to the other with your blinds, you’re going to want to start from the top and make your way down the blinds. This helps you evenly clean the dust off your blinds, but also makes it easy to collect all of the dust at the bottom of the blinds.

Arjays Window Furnishings provides you with the wide selection that you need to find the perfect fit for your home. Make sure to stay caught up with our blog post so that you can learn more tips and tricks for taking care of your window coverings.

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Go Minimalist with White Window Treatments

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In the past, white window treatments may have been considered “dull” and “basic,” but they have recently seen a new resurgence in popularity. Contrary to what you may have thought about white blinds in the past, we encourage you to reconsider what they can do for your home. Though minimalism first became popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s, recently, it has made a comeback that can be reflected in the uptick in white blinds’ popularity. The minimalist style of home decorating makes your space look clean, open, and welcoming, reducing clutter in favor of simplicity, and is particularly advantageous in small spaces you want to make look larger. If you are interested in transforming your space into the minimalist style, white blinds are a great way to instantly change the appearance and ambiance of a room. Here are some different recommendations for white blinds for your minimalist home.

White Roman Shades

Originally created in ancient Rome, Roman shades provide a classic look to any room, but they often come different colors and patterns. White Roman shades are perfect for adding a clean, simple style to any room. One of the biggest advantages of choosing Roman shades is that they are very simple to clean; just use a damp cloth or vacuum attachment to gently remove any debris. This is ideal for white curtains which can sometimes look more obviously dirty when dust accumulates. Because they are so easy to clean, Roman shades are the perfect white window treatment for you.

White Honeycomb Shades

One concern you may have about using white window treatments is that they would let in more sunlight, increasing your energy consumption. Honeycomb shades are the best window treatment for energy efficiency, even if they are white. With the small air pockets inside this type of shade, insulation is easy, so you don’t have to worry about elevating energy bills with these white shades. One of the goals of the minimalist philosophy is to reduce unnecessary distractions from everyday life. With white honeycomb shades, you don’t need to direct your attention to energy efficiency; your blinds do it for you!

White Plantation Shutters

Plantation shutters first became popular in the Southern US pre-civil war; however, they have been around since ancient times, with good reason. These beautiful shutters afford you plenty of privacy when you need them, yet still allow you to bring sunlight in using slats. White plantation shutters are a popular window treatment so if you are looking to install white window treatments that still hold a tradition look, plantation shutters are a great option.

White Vertical Blinds

Vertical blinds are a great option for white window treatments. First of all, they are exceptionally easy to clean, and are much less likely to collect dust than their horizontal counterparts. Additionally, vertical blinds are great for larger windows and glass sliding doors, making them a good option for your patio entrance. Finally, vertical blinds are relatively inexpensive, so if you are looking for a cost-effective minimalist window treatment, these are ideal.

Are you interested in installing custom blinds in your home? Whether you want white blinds or another color, we can help you create the window treatments of your dreams. Contact Arjay’s to learn more about our custom blind installation services.

Benefits of Adding Window Treatments to Your Home – Part 2

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treat3 In our last blog post, we covered a few of the reasons that choosing to invest in window coverings or window treatments, is a fantastic idea. In our blog post today, we are going to go over a few of the other reasons that you should strongly consider investing in high-quality window treatments from Arjay’s for your home.

Take Control of Lighting

Natural light is one of the factors that contributes to value when a house is on the market. There’s something that is incredible about having plenty of natural light in a house. It provides a feel to the space that is incredibly light, warm and really makes it feel like home. While natural light is usually something that people want, it’s not until you’re settled in that you notice that the natural light you loved before buying is shining right on your television, or wakes you up earlier than you need to on weekends. Having control of the lighting situation is another one of the great reasons that you should consider adding window treatments into your home.

Because there are so many styles of window coverings to choose from, you really do have all of the power in dictating how much light you’d like to have in your home. Between the different styles and different amounts of thickness with window treatments, there are plenty of options with how much light you allow in while your window treatments are on. From window coverings that black out the room from any natural light coming into lighter treatments that provide you with the benefits of protection from direct UV rays and added efficiency, while still allowing natural light to make it’s way in, you can pick and choose from room to room what window treatment will be the best for your home.

In the case that you can’t find a
window treatment that gets it all done, Arjay’s also provides the option of custom window treatments for you to work with us on, that way you can have the exact treatment that you’re looking for and the results that you’ve wanted all along.

treat4Add Style & Personality

If you are big on the design feature of your home, then adding window treatments is just one more area where you can go ahead and take control of the personality within your home. These are one of the more mute additions that you can make to your home while still creating a space that reflects the style of you and your family. These design elements are something that you can take from home to home, but is more often than not going to be a feature that people are looking for when purchasing a home.

If you and your family are a group of people that move around frequently, this is an added feature that you can use to create a home right now, and then later turn into a selling point when your house is back on the market. This is something that we do see people looking for when they’re shopping around for a house. If this is the case, sticking with something a little more classic like our wooden blinds or shutters might be a great safety space that allows for you to enjoy them now, but also makes it easy for whoever buys the house to implement them into their design.

If you are going for something that is a little bit more unique, you may want to consider the amount that you’re going to invest in them or consider window coverings like curtains that you can take from home to home. We can help you create the perfect combination of window treatments that provide the effects that you like, with a great set of curtains that scream of style.

Arjay’s Window Coverings is the place to go when you’re in need of quality window treatments that you can count on. If you’re interested in learning more about the options that we have in our showroom, call our office and set up an appointment to work with a member of our team. We would be more than happy to help you find the perfect window coverings for your home, and can work through the pros and cons of various styles so that you feel confident in the choices that we are providing you with. Call our team today!

Keeping Cats Out of The Blinds

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catwinThose four legged friends of ours may be cute and fun to cuddle in our down time, but they have a way of getting into so many parts of our home that sometimes they can be extra destructive. When it comes to cats, there are few things that they don’t get into. From tearing up the toilet paper to climbing on top of cabinets, there are so many different ways that your cat can get into things. One of the spaces that you are going to want to avoid your cats climbing onto will be your blinds. Not only are these an investment into your home, but they’re extremely noticeable and provide tons of functionality and efficiency to your home, the last thing you’re going to want is for them to be damaged.

The team at Arjay’s Window Furnishings know how hard it can be to manage the well being of your window coverings when you’ve got a cat in the house, so we have worked together to compile a few ways that you can minimize the chances of a cat jumping onto your blinds anytime in the near future.

Wrap the Cords

If the window coverings on your windows have long cords that your cat can play around with, make sure that these are out of reach or tied up so that your cat can’t get into them. If you install a small hook by the top of the window so that they can’t jump onto the ledge and still manage to get a hold of it. These are usually the primary reason that cats are even aware that the blinds are something that they have access too. Taking away this dangling string could help minimize the chances of your cats messing with the blinds.

catwin2Vertical Blinds

If your home has mini blinds, vinyl blinds or really any other design that goes directly up and down, consider switching them out for vertical blinds. These blinds offer a different look, but they also allow for your cat to ex
plore and chase after their curiosity without doing any serious damage. These blinds will provide you with the same amount of privacy, coverage from the sun, and will definitely minimize the amount of damage control that you have to worry about.

Plantation Shutters

Another option that you have is switching out your blinds for shutters. These are much more sturdy and offer an entirely different look, but they definitely leave zero room for messing around with. Leave them open during the day so that natural light can make it’s way into your home or so that your cat can make the most of the view, but close them and shed your worries of your furry friend doing any damage to them.

You can find these other window treatment options at Arjay’s Window Fashions, but hopefully these tips provide you with enough to keep you from having to stop by our showroom for new blinds more than usual. While we love having you stop by, we want you to at least enjoy these blinds for a while before they need replacing!

For any other questions, reach out to our team and we would be more than happy to help out.