Safety First
Buyers and users of blinds and window shades should be aware of the hazard that can be posed by unrestrained cords, braids, loop chains and wires – which may be hazardous to young children. Looped cords of all sorts are a strangulation hazard and should be kept out of the reach of children.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) recommends that “pull cords on curtains and blinds should be kept short and kept out of reach of children”.
The following actions are recommended:
- Ensure that cord / chain lengths are appropriate to the circumstances.
- Have cords adjusted to keep them out of reach of children.
- Use one of the many proprietary cleats, cord tidies, clips or tie-downs that are available
- Use an alternative blind operating system that does not have the cords or chains that can cause a potential hazard.
Recommended solutions where children have access to the window blinds are.
- Pleated Blinds – use Cleat or INTU Blind
- Roller Blinds – Cord Tidy or Spring Operation
- Roman Blinds – use Cleat
- Vertical Sheers – use Cord and Chain Tidy
- Timber Impressions – use Cleat
- Venetian Blinds – use Cleat, INTU Blind or Ultrawand
- Vertical Blinds – use Cord and Chain Tidy, Wand or Crank Operation
- Wood Venetian Blinds – use Cleat
- Wood weave – use Cleat
All of the above options with the exception of the Crank Operation for Vertical blinds and the INTU blinds are available at no extra charge when purchasing complete blinds.
Please specify those items required when ordering blinds for use in areas where children may have access to the window blinds.
RoSPA
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is a registered charity established more than 90 years ago that aims to campaign for change, influence opinion, contribute to debate, educate and inform – for the good of all.
By providing information, advice, resources and training, RoSPA is actively involved in the promotion of safety and the prevention of accidents in all areas of life – at work, in the home, on the roads, in schools, at leisure and on (or near) water.
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