How to Fix a Shade That Won't Stay Down

Friday, October 2, 2026 — Wholesale Blind Factory

A shade that won't stay down has one of four problems: a spring holding too much tension, a worn or slipping lock mechanism, a crooked install that lets the mechanism bind, or (on motorized shades) limits that have lost their place. Two of those you can usually fix in ten minutes; the other two are a cheap part or a service call, not a new shade. Here's how to tell which you have, the safe fixes in order, and the point where tinkering stops being worth it.

First, diagnose: how does it fail?

Watch the shade do its thing and match the symptom:

It creeps up slowly over hours: spring tension set a touch high — the classic cordless and roller complaint, and the most fixable.
It springs up the moment you let go: tension far too high, or the catch that should hold position has stopped catching.
It holds everywhere except near the bottom: normal spring physics being slightly out of adjustment — tension increases as the shade extends, and the bottom of the travel is where excess shows first.
It slips with a click or ratchet sound: a worn clutch or cord lock letting go — mechanical wear, not adjustment.
It holds when lowered gently but not when pulled briskly: a tired mechanism on its way out; adjustment may buy time, a part will buy years.
Motorized shade drifts or stops at the wrong spots: not a spring problem at all — the travel limits need resetting.

Fix one: the re-cycle (try this first, every time)

Cordless mechanisms calibrate themselves through use, and a surprising share of 'broken' shades are just confused:

Lower the shade fully — all the way to the sill, evenly, using the bottom rail's centre, not a corner.
Raise it fully to the top.
Repeat the full cycle two or three times, smooth and level.

This full-travel cycling lets the internal springs redistribute and often resets a creeping shade outright. It costs nothing and can't hurt anything — which is why it's step one in our service calls too.

Fix two: check the install before blaming the mechanism

A shade that binds can't hold position properly, and binding is usually geometry, not guts:

Level check: put a level on the headrail. Even slightly off-level mounting makes one side carry extra load and the mechanism fight itself.
Bracket check: loose or flexing brackets let the headrail twist under tension — snug every screw.
Clearance check: inside-mounted shades rubbing the frame on one side (common in older homes where openings aren't square) will neither stay down nor raise cleanly. Look for scuff marks along the edges.

If the frame's out of square, an outside remount or a slightly narrower rebuild is the honest fix — and exactly the kind of thing our measure catches before it becomes your problem.

Fix three: spring tension adjustment (know your type)

Classic spring rollers (the old-school kind): tension is adjustable by hand — lower the shade halfway, remove the spring-end from its bracket, unroll or re-roll a turn or two, re-seat, test. Less tension = less creep. Go a turn at a time.
Modern cordless cellular/roller systems: most are factory-tensioned and deliberately not user-adjustable — the re-cycle above is the intended fix, and past that it's a mechanism service, not a screwdriver job. Forcing internal adjustments on these is how a creeping shade becomes a broken one.
Cord-lock shades (romans, some woodens): if the cord won't lock, the culprit is the lock's pawl worn smooth or the cord worn thin where it bites. Both are replaceable parts — a new cord lock or lift cord is a small, satisfying repair.

Fix four: motorized shades play by different rules

A Somfy or similar motorized shade that won't hold position isn't slipping — it's either lost its limit settings (fixable: the limit-reset procedure for your motor takes a few minutes and re-teaches top and bottom stops) or running a flat battery (charge the wand; erratic behaviour is the classic low-battery tell). No springs involved; don't disassemble anything. If a reset and a charge don't cure it, that's a service visit — we service motorized systems, including ones we didn't install.

When to stop fixing and start replacing

The mechanism is worn, not confused: ratcheting, slipping under any brisk pull, or needing re-adjustment monthly means the part is done. On a quality shade, replacing the mechanism or cord lock is routine — our hardware and parts counter sells components individually, and repairs are a service we actually do, not a brush-off.
The shade predates cordless standards: if the failing shade is an old corded model, put the repair money toward current product — cordless and motorized aren't just safer around kids and pets; the mechanisms are simply better than what wore out.
The fix list is compounding: a shade that needs a mechanism AND has sun-brittled fabric AND fits a frame that was never square is asking for retirement. Our free in-home consultation gives you the honest repair-or-replace answer at the window — sometimes it's a 5 part, and we'll say so.

The prevention habit

Shades that get operated smoothly and fully — rather than yanked to one favourite height by a corner — keep their calibration for years. Add the fall mechanical once-over from our seasonal maintenance checklist (work every shade through its full travel once, snug the brackets, charge the motors) and 'won't stay down' mostly stays a problem other people have.

The bottom line

Re-cycle first, check level and brackets second, adjust only the mechanisms designed for it, reset motors instead of dismantling them — and when a part is worn, buy the part, not a whole new window. Stuck anyway? That's literally what we're for: parts, repairs, and straight answers at a free in-home consultation from the people who build these in Coquitlam.