I am not sure as I have only had for a week. I like the way they look hanging and they do keep out a lot of light when closed.  I do find that you have to pull down quite hard when closing blinds which makes me wonder how long the strings will last with the force of pulling each day. I also found it difficult to get the blinds to open right out of the packaging but eventually figured out a system. Time will tell if they are durable enough to withstand opening and closing.