How to Set Up Your Windows During the Rainy Season

Outdoor Blinds for Patio & Windows

If you have a patio or a porch adjacent to your house, it presents a great opportunity for spending quality time outside with friends and family. Stepping out of the closed doors of the house into the fresh air is good for both the mind and body. It is an opportunity to enjoy good weather, to bond with friends over a barbeque and a beer or simple idling away time with a good book and coffee. Weather elements, however, can often play a spoilsport and ruin all your fun. Wind and rain can make your plans go for a toss and you have to settle indoors.

As the clouds begin to disappear and the sun comes out peeping you know that summer is here and summer means an abundance of sunshine and abundance of outdoor activities and fun fare. But a word of caution: summer does not always mean dry and warm weather. Unseasonal rains or a sudden cloudburst can put a halt on all your plans. So, irrespective of the weather it is recommended that you install outdoor shades for your porch or patio so that you do not have to suffer due to whims and fancies of the weather. These outdoor blinds are extremely advantageous and help to effectively block out rain, wind, sun and cold. These shades are also used for safeguarding your windows from the various elements of nature.

Before investing in your outdoor shades ensure that they are waterproof blinds that can survive harsh monsoons. If the shades are not waterproof then once it starts pouring, not only will the shades be ruined, it will cause water to seep into your outdoor open space which you wanted to secure. Outdoor shades are often installed to protect the walls of the balcony from being exposed to water and sun rays. Without waterproofing these shades will fail to protect the walls, make the walls and interiors damp and cause plaster to crumble.

Things to Remember When Ordering Outdoor Waterproof Shades

Now, let us focus our attention on setting up our windows during the rainy season. This factor is often not considered while we are purchasing stuff for our home, but this is something we must be extremely cautious about. Sometimes it becomes necessary to spend a little more to go for the right kind of blinds for your home. Because if your place isn’t suitably protected, it may make the interiors damp with moisture and lead to cracking and crumbling of the plaster on the walls.

Outdoor roller shades are one of the most reliable window coverings that you can choose for your balcony or patio. Apart from blocking the moisture from entering your home, these outdoor waterproof shades are also extremely effective against light and heat. However, there are a few precautions that you must take before setting them up:

1) Check for Safety: Checking for the safety of the blinds is necessary if you do not wish to do any additional damage to your home. You need to ensure that these blinds are tip-top and good in shape, as in case of harsh rains and stormy weather, the loose parts may fly inside the home and present danger to children or pets.

2) Go for Sturdy Materials: There shouldn’t be any compromise on choosing the best quality material there is. Go for Graber custom window coverings to choose the best roller shades there are, as they guarantee high-quality, premium construction to rid you of your home protection woes.

3) Install Shades in the Right Direction

Check for the common direction of storms or rain. If that is away from the house, there is no point in installing the shades on windows that are simply not impacted.

4) They should be stain resistant

Being exposed to moisture for a long time can damage even the strongest materials. If the windows have been left open, blinds that are left with stains after the rains must be cleaned properly. However, if they are stain-resistant, they can be managed easily.

5) They must be easy to clean

There is no point in buying stuff for your windows that present problems while trying to clean them off. The easiest cleaning methods are washing them by hand or by wiping it with a clean, dry cloth.

Different Ways to Set Up Your Home During the Rainy Season

Let us look at some time-tested and rather effective measures to protect the house against rain. They might not provide 100% resistance, but they curb the effects of high weather to a substantial extent.

1) Two Different Window Treatments in the Same Room

Why not, we say! Let one of them, say shutters, provide protection against the elements. The other (might be valances) can lend the house their elegance and accentuate the enchanting appeal of the decor. Beyond assuaging the effects of incessant rains or storms, this fabulous amalgamation would also provide a great insulation feature that will cut down your electricity costs to a great extent. Hence, mixing two different window treatments in the same room can essentially be a great idea.

2) Velvet Curtains

Velvet curtains can be great window treatment options when they are mounted on a rod pocket in a single pair or with a pair. The materials that are used in designing them are thick and sturdy, which help in lessening the distracting sounds of the rainwater beating against the windows less distracting and by their soundproofing quality.

The kind of fibers that are used in making velvet curtains range from silk and raw silk to acetate, rayon, and polyester. Their darker colors give a touch of boldness to your interiors. Before buying them, it is always a good idea to do some research on soundproofing materials and textures.

3) Adding Layers to Curtains

The beauty of having sheer curtains set up in the exposed areas of your home is that they let the natural light in and retain the outside view while providing the necessary protection against harsh weather. To ensure they meet their objective, you can consider adding a lining to already installed curtains to make them heavier and more effective. This is a better option than buying multiple window treatments. A layer would suffice in keeping the house ready for any kind of season.

4) Setting Up Bermuda Shutters

Bermuda shutters, also known as Bahama shutters, are slowly gaining prominence as go-to outdoor window coverings for houses when the weather gets a little tricky.

Bahama shutters are basically used in areas that experience heavy storms, winds, and rains. They are mounted on the other side of a window at a slanting angle. As they are hinged at the top, you can pull them over your windows on the onset of heavy rains. Bermuda shutters can be left either partially open or be completely closed to ensure privacy.

Their main purpose is to protect the house against storms, and their unique mounting style allows them to be quickly closed when you experience harsh winds or rains, instead of regular deployment which can take hours.

Apart from their obvious feature, Bahama shutters are very pleasing to the eye and give the house a nice unconventional touch when viewed from the outside. They also provide natural blockage against heat and glare.

They also come in a variety of colors and designs, so you can choose the ones which match the exterior walls of the house, as they are the ones these shutters will be pitted against. A majority of them are made of sturdy aluminum, but a lot of them are also made of premium-quality wood.

5) Outdoor Roller Shades

As discussed previously, outdoor roller shades are one of the most reliable and time-tested window coverings that can be used to combat the perils of any season. When the sun is up and shining at its merciless best, they prevent the glare from entering your home while maintaining a clear view of the outside. When winters arrive, they ensure the heat inside doesn’t escape, hence cutting down on your central heating system’s high expenses. And when the rains threaten to dismantle the look of your windows and stain the insides of the walls, outdoor roller shades prevent them from doing so with their custom high-quality fabric that can withstand the effects of moisture.

Since roller shades come in a variety of fabrics, it is better to go for those with room darkening or blackout features. Those with polyethylene fabric do not absorb humidity and moisture, and a heavy design comes with a built-in UV protection feature that makes them amazingly durable for years to come.

To sum up, there are multiple window treatments that you may use as essential rain-resistant options. While Bermuda shutters and outdoor roller shades are natural protectors against the rain, you may also experiment by adding more than one window treatment or layering existing curtains or blinds with additional fabric. Double-check with your manufacturer to ensure that your blinds are treated to be used in moisture-heavy conditions or outdoors.