Window Blinds Safety – No More Senseless Deaths!

If you are the parent of a small child or infant there are a few things you should know and be aware of when it comes to choking hazards of window blinds or shades.  I was deeply saddened to read about the death of a one year old girl in Greenwich, CT.  She choked to death on the cords of a roman shade that was over her playpen.  In reaction to this tragedy, IKEA and Green Mountain Vista window blinds is recalling over 670,000 blinds and shades manufactured in India and China.

So I say it is time for a reminder about window blind safety.  There are a few common sense steps you can take to protect your children and your pets for that matter.  The first step is, of course, awareness that some window treatments pose a choking hazard.  It may seem improbable but those dangling cords hanging off of many blinds and shades can be dangerous.

The best way to avoid this hazard is to purchase window treatments that don’t have cords at all.  This is what the WCSC (Window Coverings Safety Council) recommends – just don’t have them in your house! There are options you should be aware of in this category:  cordless, motorized and wand control.  Cordless blinds come in two forms: a spring loaded lift mechanism, like in solar and roller shades.  Or, the gear-assisted cordless option, like in wood blinds, faux wood blinds, cellular, pleated, woven woods and roman shades.  Spring rolls are operated by gently tugging downwards and then either raising or lifting.  Gear-assisted are operated by gently pushing or pulling the bottom rail.  For window blinds, the cordless option will include a wand to open and close (tilt) the louvers to let in light or darken the room.  If you are interested in roller shades or sun shades, there will be no wand control.  For vertical blinds and panel tracks, you can choose to purchase the wand control that will traverse the blind and rotate the vertical vanes.  The motorized option also eliminates the cords altogether for most products.

When the position of the window or large size of the shade prevents a cordless or motorized choice, the WCSC also approves the use of a continuous cord loop - this option features clutch-assisted lift control with a looped cord that is anchored to the wall and remains the same length regardless of the position of the shade. 

If you do order blinds with cords, make sure that the cords come with what is called a breakaway tassel.  A breakaway tassel will “break” if pressure is applied, thus drastically reducing the choking hazard.  Most of the US manufacturers of window treatments use breakaway tassels on their cords at no extra charge because it is the right thing to do.  For this reason, I would recommend steering clear of window treatments made in countries where child and pet safety is not a priority.   Just so you know the major US brands are: Hunter Douglas, Bali, Levolor, Graber, Comfortex, Springs, Kirsch and Nanik.

If you already have blinds or shades in your house, go through each individual blind and check the cords. Are they tangled?  Do they form a loop?  If so, untangle them or separate the cords so that they don’t form a loop and then go to a hardware store and purchase a cord cleat for each blind in your house.  A cord cleat can be mounted to the window frame, and will give you a place to secure the cord up high so it is out of reach.  Next, don’t place your child’s bed, playpen, etc. near a window if you can avoid it, even with a cord cleat.  Cord cleats are only good if you always secure the cord up high. 

Window blind safety is very important.  The main thing is to be aware of the danger.  Then you can decide how best to act, whether that be via cordless blinds, motorized blinds or simply using cord cleats. - David Brooks