Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a great product, but what do you do if you have window shades or curtains that go across the window between the inside trim pieces? All the videos I have seen show the film being placed across the front of the entire window casement. You can do that, but then you can't adjust the window shades. I installed this product on 10 windows having shades, and after the first one, when I made all the mistakes, I was able to do them in 5-10 minutes each. Here's how (and how to avoid the mistakes). First - and this applies to any window - realize that when you first roll out the film to cut it, you are cutting to the width of the window (+2 inches). When you unfold the film after cutting, it unfolds to 5 feet, the maximum length of the window. After you install the film, you can trim off the leftover film at the bottom of the window. Start by cleaning the wood surface with alcohol. This is not part of the packaged instructions, but it will surely help the tape to stick. Also, don't expect it to stick to flaky or badly alligatored paint. Now apply the tape. You will be going around the inside of the window: across the bottom sill (facing up), up one side (facing the other side), across the inside of the top (facing down), and down the other side (facing the first side). Do not start the tape in a corner, or you will have a tough time lifting and pulling off the tape covering. Start in the middle of the bottom sill and go all the way around the inside and back to the start. Before you finish the taping, pull up the covering from the start of the tape (with a fingernail or the edge of a knife blade, then finish the tape by overlapping the start by a half inch. As you go around a corner with the tape, push and hold it into the corner with a fingernail; pull the tape part way along the next side, then relax the pull and stick down the tape at the corner and along the next side. This will help prevent the corner from pulling up and causing a small air leak. Press the tape down all around, then prepare to pull off the covering to expose the top sticky side. You should already have pulled up the covering at the start of the tape as explained above. When you pull the top covering off the tape, pull along the direction of the tape, not up and away from the tape, especially going around corners. When putting on the film, make sure it is completely unfolded. Hold the top of the film with the hands equally near the side edges. Stick the film to the top part of the window, sticking the film about an inch in from the edge of the film - you want a little sticking out to match the inch or so that you will want sticking out on each side. Press the film along the window top to make a good seal with the sticky tape. With the film stuck at the top, use two hands to guide the film into the corner and down one side while sticking it - stick it about 1 inch from the edge of the film. Stick the other side, also guiding the film and sticking it using two hands. You can vary the pressure - carefully - to take up the slack and perhaps not even have to use the hair dryer. Do be careful using pressure to smooth the film when sticking it. If you rub it with your fingernails, you can tear it. If you do tear it, you can repair the tear with clear packaging tape -it will be almost invisible. If you stick one side too far in from the edge, you will not have enough film on the other edge; in this case, you can pull the film away from the first edge and do it over - it is very forgiving. If you have measured well, the top and edges will need no trimming, just let the extra film hang out. Trim the bottom of the film with a box cutter or scissors - being careful not to pull too hard on the film at any point. Be sure to cut away or puncture the edge of the film where the shade or curtains will mount inside the window frame.