I got the cordless ones and ended up replacing them in less than four years because they pooped out and would not open and close anymore. Replaced them with corded!

I have had a cordless one (on a smaller window than yours are) and it has worked perfectly for about five years, but we only pull up or down a few times a day.

Thanks for your comment, Jamie. Can you tell me what brand of cordless shades you got that didn't last? Also how often did you lower/raise them? I've heard there is a lot of difference between brands. Hunter Douglas have a great reputation but are expensive so I'm thinking of Bali.

With blinds and shades you truly are going to get what you pay for. Most manufacturers for blinds and shades will offer a Premium or Designer Line which come out to be twice the cost of an economy line like you might find in a big box store. The Designer Lines are built to last and many come with a lifetime warranty (cord wear not usually covered but like it was mentioned above easily replaced or repaired).

It will definitely depend on who you purchase from. At Smith & Noble we have a limited lifetime guaranty. However we only warranty cords for 5 years. In our case the better option is to do a cordless honeycomb, only $59 more per shade. If a cordless shade stops functioning (as long as you still own them) we will repair or replace. If a cord breaks, on a corded shade, after 5 years we don’t repair or replace. You can usually find someone locally to restring the. I hope this helps.

"like not having a cord dangling down"

I have several Hunter Douglas corded cellular shades, and the cords don't dangle. They are fixed onto a small pulley installed at about my shoulder-height into the window frame which keeps the cord taut and contained and unobtrusive. I actually recall the installer told me they aren't permitted to install shades with dangling cords due to the choking hazard for children. I don't know if that requirement he mentioned is just for that installer, or a city Code, or a Hunter Douglas requirement.

I've had my Hunter Douglas cellular shades for about 12 years, and did have to re-string the very large one once. It was not a big deal, and the shade was as good as new. I was told that the larger cellular shades will have the strings break sooner, just cause they are required to pull so much weight up and down. The smaller shades that I have, which have less stress on the cords, have not need re-stringing in 12 years. I don't know about the cordless shades, but I can tell you the corded ones I have seem like they will last longer than I will be in this house.

I’ve noticed cordless only work if they are raised and lowered at least once a day. If I let it remain “still” for weeks, there’s going to be problems. I now buy them with cords to avoid the headache.

Hi Olla, I discovered the hard way that what you say is true. Now I am wondering, if I buy a set of cordless cell blinds for back up (it is a color that may be discontinued), is it OK to leave them unpacked in their shipping boxes until I would need them or will storing them unused for long term cause them to not work?

H Briz,

I wouldn't think you'd have a problem storing an extra set of shades. You may want to take them out and make sure they work before placing them back in the box and I would also suggest keeping them in a climate controlled location.

It might be possible to repair the cordless shades if they ever failed, but it probably depends on the brand. Contact some window treatment companies in your area and see if they know of any local repair shops. Fortunately, there is a repair shop in my area and they just restrung a 30 yr old cellular shade for $65. Then I paid $30 to have it cleaned at a dry cleaners that uses ultrasound.

We recently purchased this house and all the HD cellulars still work fine, except for the one my cat chewed on. I'll eventually have all of them cleaned.

Hello everyone. Just now reading all the comments. The brand that I have is Levolor. Does this change anything for those who know a lot about the cellular shades?

I had corded shades and they broke often. Now I've had the cordless brand they cut to fit at Lowes in-store and they have worked great over 20 years. Open and close once each day in bedrooms.