How to block morning sun in a rental without drilling holes
Bright 6 AM sunlight forces renters awake and makes it difficult to sleep. Because they cannot drill holes or remove existing roller shades, residents attempt makeshift fixes like taping black paper to the windows, which simply falls down.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Using travel blackout window covers meant for parents traveling with young kidsDid this help you?
- 2Taping tin foil to the windowsDid this help you?
- 3Using thermal double-reflective insulation wrap cut to size and fitted into the window frame with 3M stripsDid this help you?
- 4Using black foam core or foam board cut to fitDid this help you?
- 5Mounting a tension rod inside the window frame to hang blackout curtains in front of the existing shade.Did this help you?
- 6Cutting foam insulating sheathing to fit snugly inside the window frame.Did this help you?
- 7Applying temporary suction-cup blackout panels directly onto the window glass.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The light in the morning forces me to wake up and even laying down is annoying. It’s a roller shade with the metal pull mechanisms shown. I live in an apartment I rent so I can’t take this down.”source ↗
“I have a window that was annoying and it's on a side that's very loud so it was double effective”source ↗
“The sun comes through his window around 6am and makes the room *so* bright, which makes it difficult for him to sleep.”source ↗
“It’s a rental house, so I don’t want to drill holes, screw anything in, or make permanent changes.”source ↗
“I originally tried black paper + tape, but it fell down 😂”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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