Bought six of these for our master bedroom and guest bedroom. They were great for about 1.5-2 years. Then one by one, the spring mechanism has exploded, sending the springs and broken plastic shards across the room. I thought it was a fluke at first and even bought a replacement after the first one broke - but now all six of the original shades purchased have broken in the same way, and I realize the error of my ways! FYI we also bought semi-sheer cellular shades from Symple Stuff and those have held up. My guess is that the weight of the blackout shade is too much for the spring on these.