Introduction to Blinds
Blinds are basically coverings that are used on doors. They are made up of vertical or horizontal slats which may be of different types namely, wood, plastic or metal. The maneuverability of these blinds can either be controlled manually or with a remote control. Blinds are used not only for blocking out the sunlight but their variety of color, texture and designs add grace to the room. Look below and find the best sliding glass door blinds.
Sliding Glass Doors
These are unique within their design. These are doors as well as windows. This makes it extremely hard for homeowners to decide as how to cover a sliding glass door. Nowadays, the market is flooded with different types of blinds giving the buyer the option to select a blind that is perfect for their sliding door. But this may turn out to be a double-edged sword because a blind should neither block out too much light nor obstruct the ease of access through the door.
Things to Consider when Selecting a Sliding Door Blind
Things that must be considered when deciding the perfect blind for your sliding glass door are;
- Privacy
- Light control
- Energy efficiency
- Control of sound of outside heavy traffic
- Durability
- Cleaning
- Price
Types of Blinds
There are a lot of versatile and attractive options available in the market for covering sliding glass doors. Following is a list of the most popular blind options for your glass sliding door.
- Vertical Blinds:Nowadays, these are the most popular variety available in the market as they are easy to install and maintain, cheap and ideal for sliding doors. They not only create a very attractive look for your sliding door, but can be easily pushed back for full sunlight or closed to keep the room shady or dark.
Although efficient and attractive, proper kind of treatment is mandatory to preserve privacy and control light filtration.These blinds are commonly made in Faux wood, real wood, PVC plastic or plastic. Slats or vanes are used for their construction with an adjustable cord, wand or remote control to adjust these overlapping slats. This adjustability determines the degree of privacy and amount of light entering the room.
Depending on the size of your sliding door, choosing the right slat size is vital. They come in 1-inch, 2-inch and 3.5-inch sizes.
- Horizontal Blinds: These have been around for longer than the vertical blinds. They can be conveniently pushed up to get maximum sunlight or pulled down to make the room dark. They can also be opened partially to allow controlled amount of sunlight into the room.They are available in different designs, textures and materials to suit your door. They use the same slats or vanes as in vertical blinds but arranged in a horizontal overlapping fashion.
- Sliding Doors with Built-in Blinds: These are especially ideal for sliding glass patio doors. Here vertical blinds have proven to break easily, get dirty, make noise when sliding and mostly unattractive. So, these horizontal blinds sandwiched between the two glass pieces of the door and controlled by a slider knob, are the best choice you can come across. These blinds are dust and dirt resistant, have a great visual impact and just a flick of the switch opens and closes them.
- Woven Wood Panels: This is a unique hybrid combination between the traditional fabric drapes and a folding door. Their panels are made from environment friendly sustainable, pesticide-free bamboo. These elegant drapes can be easily installed with a curtain rod. Their stylish texture and beautiful paneling add beauty to the room along with blocking the glare and ensuring your privacy.
- Sheer Shadings: These fall under the category of vertical shades but the emerge ahead of their cousins, in style and elegance. Sheer draperies provide that soft look to the room along with light control of the blinds. This sheer fabric is seamlessly integrated with the underlying rigid fabric-covered vanes. These vanes may be opened or closed to control light and ensure privacy.
- Sheerweave Sliding Panels: An excellent choice for sliding glass doors. These panels operate over a track which makes it ideal to slide over large areas of glass work. They give clean lines to smaller spaces like patio sliding glass doors.The unique solar screen textile blocks the harmful UV rays and the glare without obstructing the beautiful view from your glass door.
- Vertical Cellular Shades: These are recent addition to the blinds family. These particular blinds can either be transparent or opaque and are arranged as wide vertical pleats like an accordion.They can be pulled open, closed or gathered in the middle as per your desire.Their vertical design is great for energy efficiency in rooms especially those with large amounts of glass work. They are barely noticeable when fully collapsed.
Its honeycomb designs is not only stylish but provided excellent insulation against light and sound.These are available in a wide variety of colors, materials and fabrics.
- Plantation Shutters: This is a very stylish option for blinds on sliding glass doors. These shutters either have a track to slide on or have hinges which enable them to slide open and shut.They are available in wide or narrow louvers, which can be rotated to control the light entering the room. These shutters provide greater energy efficiency as compared to the vertical blinds.
Keeping the Blinds Working Well
- Be Gentle: Do not be rough in handling the blinds. Each blind is attached to their separate gear mechanism. If even one gear is damaged it will affect the operation of the whole blind.
- Fix Disconnected Blinds: Each blind is an individual unit operating independently. If even one is disconnected it will not function in unison with the other blinds. Best would be to install a new wire and slider for the damaged blind.
- Regular Cleaning: Soft feather duster should be used for cleaning the blinds as it not only cleans but prevents damaging the delicate blinds. If the blinds are heavily soiled, just remove the blinds and wash them. Due to the slat orientation, dust accumulation is seen more on the horizontal blinds as compared to the vertical ones.
