Curtain rails and blinds before the heating season: what to check

Why the gap between radiator and curtain matters at all

A radiator heats a room mostly by warming the air that passes over its fins, which then rises and circulates. If a curtain hangs down in front of or touching the radiator, that airflow is blocked, and much of the heat gets trapped between the fabric and the glass instead of reaching the room. You end up paying for heat that goes straight out through a cold windowpane.

There is also a fire safety side to this that gets overlooked. Curtains resting directly on a hot radiator can scorch or, over years, become a fire risk, and thick fabric bunched against the heat source ages faster than fabric that hangs clear. Neither problem is dramatic on its own, but both are avoidable with the right length and position.

Checking curtain rail height and length before winter

The rule of thumb in a room with a radiator below the window is to let the curtain hem stop two to three centimetres above the top of the radiator, or above the windowsill if there is a sill between them. If your curtains currently pool on the floor or drape over the radiator casing, that is worth fixing before the heating season rather than after.

Rail height matters just as much as hem length. A rail mounted too low brings the whole curtain down into the radiator's zone regardless of how you hem it, while a rail set higher on the wall, above the window frame, lets you keep length for the look while still clearing the heat source. This is also the moment to check that the rail itself is still firmly fixed — plasterboard walls in newer builds and old plaster in Kalamaja or Nõmme wooden houses both tend to loosen their wall plugs over a few years of opening and closing curtains.

• Measure the gap between the current hem and the top of the radiator or sill
• Check the rail is level and the brackets are not pulling away from the wall
• Look for a wobble when you tug the rail gently at the centre
• Confirm curtains can be pulled fully clear of the radiator, not just to its edge
• If it is time to rehang at a better height, our curtain rail fitting starts from 35 € per job

Roller blinds and pleated blinds after a damp summer

Estonian summers bring enough humid stretches that roller and pleated blind mechanisms, especially near kitchen or bathroom windows, can pick up moisture in their spring or chain mechanism. By fitting some doors close, some don't, and blind mechanisms are no different: a chain that used to run smoothly can start catching, or a spring roller can lose tension and no longer sit flat.

Before winter, pull each blind fully down and back up a few times and listen for grinding or uneven resistance. Check the brackets at each end are still square, since a mechanism under strain from a slightly bent bracket wears out faster once it is working daily through the darker months. A blind that will not sit flat against the window also lets warm room air condense on the cold glass behind it, which is its own small problem through winter.

When the radiator itself needs to move, not just the curtain

Sometimes the real issue is not the curtain but the radiator's position: it sits too close to the sill for any reasonable curtain length to clear it, or a previous renovation left it awkwardly placed relative to the window. In these cases, adjusting the curtain only patches the problem for one season.

Moving or reinstalling a radiator is plumbing and heating work, and if your building is on district heating, changes to radiators often need coordination with the apartment association since the risers are shared. We do radiator installation from 85 € per job, with the exact price depending on pipework and whether the radiator itself needs replacing rather than just repositioning.

When it makes sense to call for help rather than try it yourself

Rehanging a rail at a new height, tightening loose brackets, or shortening a curtain are all jobs most people can do themselves with a spirit level, a drill and an afternoon. Where it gets harder is solid concrete panel walls common in Soviet-era blocks, where finding a secure fixing point takes the right drill bit and some patience, or where the rail needs to span a wide window with a heavy blackout curtain that will pull hard on the brackets over time.

If a mechanism has stopped working rather than just sticking, or if you are not confident drilling into a load-bearing panel wall, it is often quicker and cheaper in the long run to have it done properly once. Call-out within Tallinn is 25 €, deducted from the bill if the work goes ahead, and for anything larger than an hour's work we give a fixed quote in advance.