Telescoping curtain rods have several advantages, including that they’re less expensive than custom-sized rods and their length can be easily adjusted if you need your rod a little longer or shorter than you expected. But there is one major disadvantage: curtain rings often get stuck on the telescoping joint where the smaller diameter rod meets the larger one:
What’s the solution? I tested the two most popular products for smoothing out the curtain rod joints, including curtain ring glide tape and curtain joint ramps. Today I’m sharing the details on each and what worked best for me! (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})
Curtain Ring Glide Tape
I’ll kick things off with the solution that worked best for me, {this curtain ring glide tape}. It’s a thin, clear strip of plastic with adhesive on one side that comes in a roll:
Installation is simple and straightforward. First, it’s recommended that you apply and then remove a small piece of tape on your curtain rod as a test to ensure it doesn’t damage the surface. It worked fine with my metal rod and I figured that even if it did remove any of the finish, if I wanted to remove it months or years down the road, I could always turn that portion of my rod to the back where you wouldn’t see it. You’ll also want to make sure your rod is adjusted to the exact length you want to keep it at because you won’t be able to adjust it once the tape is applied.
Next, clean off the top of your rod with the provided alcohol wipe. Then simply peel off the backing and stick the tape along the entire length of the curtain rod (not just at the junction):
As you continue down the rod over the joint where it telescopes, you’ll see how it totally smooths it out:
I discovered that if you apply the tape a little more toward the back of the rod rather than directly on top of it, it is less visible from below and the rings still glide well:
Once the glide tape was stuck along the entire length of the rod, my curtain rings glided right over that telescoping joint with ease! Another advantage is that my curtain rings now move more quietly back and forth across the rod. Definitely a winning solution!
Combined with {these curtain wands} that attach to the inside curtain ring on each drape (a must-have if you have tall drapes like mine or light colored drapes that are susceptible to staining over time from hand oils), my curtains now glide back and forth like butta!
Curtain Rod Joint Ramps
I also tested out {these curtain rod joint ramps} which I had thought would be the winning solution. The concept is clever – the joint ramps are round stickers that have a plastic “ramp” built into them to ease that transition at the telescoping rod joint:
What wasn’t too clever is that they came in a box lined with a black velvety fabric that shed tons of little black fuzzies onto the stickers.
To apply the curtain rod joint ramps, you simply clean your rod, butt the higher part of the ramp up against the joint in the rod, and then press the sticker down against the rod to keep it in place. I thought it would be a fairly invisible solution, but honestly it didn’t look so great:
When testing out how it worked, I found that I was now able to get my curtain rings over the joint with the ramps in place, but not nearly as easily or smoothly as with the rod tape. It did tend to catch a bit right at the point where the tape starts and I got the feeling that over time, the tape would likely start to lift up due to that. And it was more visible than the rod tape too. So while it worked, to me it was just an okay solution that wasn’t nearly as effective as the rod tape. I think the joint ramps would be fine for curtains you only opened and closed occasionally but for everyday use, the rod tape was definitely superior.
I hope this helps those of you who have had the same issue with your telescoping rods as I did! If you want more info on buying and hanging curtains and links to my favorite curtains and rods, check out my recent blog post on how high to hang curtains.
I just finished hanging {this wallpaper} on the back of our living room bookcases:
and will be putting up our new oak shelves as the final project of our living room makeover! I’ll be sharing more details on that (including the renovation of our fireplace and mantel) plus shelf styling tips in the coming weeks!
XO,
Mimi says
Already ordered! Thanks so much. Where can I find the rings in your photos? So much nicer than rings with clips!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Mimi – our bedroom has these 1.25″ rings which these which are the perfect size for 0.75″ rods: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/ringssmall. In our family room, we have these 1.5″ rings for our 1″ rods: https://amzn.to/3HZiX0Y
Hope that helps!
Anonymous says
Thanks! How did I miss them on Amazon!
Roberta Garrido says
Thanks for sharing the curtain rod solution. I too want to know where you got the curtain rings.
Kris Jarrett says
Sure – our bedroom has these 1.25″ rings which these which are the perfect size for 0.75″ rods: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/ringssmall. In our family room, we have these 1.5″ rings for our 1″ rods: https://amzn.to/3HZiX0Y
Hope that helps!
Karen B. says
Kris,
You are a genius when it comes to finding solutions to home problems. Thank you for the time you take to find out what works at the best value. I know you do it for yourself, but you share it with those of us who sometimes can’t find the solution.
Everything is looking great in your new home.
Karen B.
Peggy Summitt says
Would this tape work on shower curtain rods as well? Wasn’t sure if being in a room with steam would make it come loose.
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Peggy! I haven’t personally tried it on a shower curtain rod but the product description notes that it works with shower rods too and all 7 of the reviews from people using it on their shower curtain have five stars so it seems like a good solution for that too!
Mary T says
Thanks for finding these solutions. I ordered both the tape and rods and am very happy with both. Great solution for our very high floor length curtains on a west facing sliding door. The sun just beats in during the heat of the summer right onto our dining table. I open and close them pretty often. They are so much easier to deal with now.
Kris Jarrett says
So glad it worked well for you too!
Cyndi says
Kris
Would this work on shower curtain rods?
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Cyndi! I haven’t personally tried it on a shower curtain rod but the product description notes that it works with shower rods too and all 7 of the reviews from people using it on their shower curtain have five stars so it seems like a good solution for that too!
Jennie Wilbourn says
In a pinch though and have darker rods? Black electrical tape wrapped at the joint and an inch out on the thinner rod has helped me.