The Best Window Treatments for Pet Owners in Salt Lake City
It’s an image Salt Lake City pet owners are all too familiar with: leaving your home only to look behind and see your furry friend’s face peeking through the window as you leave. For pet owners with certain window coverings, regular trips to the window might spell disaster, as pets can cause some of the worst and lasting harm to your window treatments.
So what can you do to protect against pet damage? The easiest way is to pick a pet-friendly window treatment that can stand up to even the rowdiest pets. Let’s dive into some of the best (and worst) window coverings for pet owners in Utah.
Window Treatments That Aren’t Pet-Friendly
Let’s start by taking a look at which window treatments homeowners with pets should avoid.
Corded Window Treatments
Just like with window safety for children, cords are a problem for pet owners. Pets–especially cats–are known to play with hanging cords, which can result in damage to your window treatment or worse, injury to your pet.
Look into window treatments without cords, such as shutters that attach to the window frame or other window treatments that feature a bottom-up top-down configuration or are automatic.
Metal Blinds
Photo courtesy Carlos Castro via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Metal blinds are probably the worst window treatment for homeowners with pets. Not only do they usually operate via cord, but they’re very susceptible to damage from even the most gentle pets. Dogs or cats looking through aluminum blinds can bend, warp, or even snap the thin slats, so you’ll have to replace the whole thing.
Fabric Window Coverings
Depending on your pet and the type of window covering, fabrics might or might not be something to avoid. Long fabrics like drapes can “puddle” on the ground, making them easy for dirty paws to stomp on. Fabric window coverings also have a tendency to collect pet hair which nullifies any aesthetic value they can add. Finally, fabrics can tear, something cat owners know all too well.
Pet-Friendly Window Treatments
Now that you’ve seen which window coverings don’t mix well with pets, we’ll take a look at the most pet-friendly window coverings.
Wood and Faux-Wood Blinds
Almost all of the problems aluminum blinds have, wood and faux-wood blinds solve for pet owners. No matter if your pet likes to peek through the window, sturdier wood blinds can stand up to more abuse than aluminum blinds. Plus, their usual wide slats make it more difficult for pets to get their bodies tangled in between them.
But, make sure that if you choose wood or faux-wood blinds that you choose ones without cords.
Plantation Shutters - The Most Pet Friendly Window Treatment
If injury to your pet or damage to your window treatment has you concerned, plantation shutters can help minimize those worries. Because they’re mounted directly onto the window, there are no hanging cords or fabric able to cause issues. And, even if your pets are able to climb up, Polywood® plantation shutters are resistant to scratches and incredibly sturdy so damage is rarely an issue.
Plantation shutters can help keep pets happy too. Does your dog want to peek out the window as you leave? Shutters can let it do so without any chance of damage. Does the cat want a patch of sunlight to nap in? You can easily adjust the louvers and let the sunbeams come through without losing any privacy.
In short, plantation shutters are the most ideal window treatment for homeowners with pets.
