WINDOW BLINDS ARE KILLING OUR CHILDREN!!

This morning ( 8/13/2010) we have a recall of historic proportions. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the window blind industry are recalling virtually every Roman blind and roller shade on the market -- around 50 million sets -- because the cords pose a strangulation hazard to children. Five children have died and another 16 have nearly strangled in the cords of the Roman shades and three children's deaths have been linked to roll-up blinds, which is why the CSPC negotiated the massive recall. But the agency said it's frustrated that it was necessary since the products should have been safer in the first place.

The CPSC urged owners of Roman blinds or roll-up shades to call the Window Covering Safety Council for information on the repair kit at (800) 506-4636 or visit www.windowcoverings.org. Consumers can also buy roll-up blinds with a breakaway device that gives way if a child is caught in the cord, or use blinds that do not have cords at all.

In addition to the CPSC's recall, some major retailers are issuing recalls of their own. Walmart issued recalls for 500,000 Roman shades and 600,000 roll-up blinds. JCPenny recalled more than 2.2 million Roman shades and about 340 roll-up blinds. The Pottery Barn recalled about 305,000 Roman shades and 45,000 roller shades.

Window blinds purchased before 2001 pose a serious home safety threat to child safety. Every two weeks, a child dies by strangulation from unsafe blind cords. These tragic deaths happen in cribs, play areas, and living rooms. The WCSC recommends cordless blinds and shades whenever possible, including shades with motorized lift. Wand control operation is another cordless choice for vertical blinds and panel track blinds, which are typically necessary for larger windows and patio doors. 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

Continuous cord loop is ideal for those windows you want to make cordless but can’t because of size or position. It’s a control cord on a continuous loop that has hardware to screw into the side of your casing that keeps the cord on it’s own track, so to speak. This way you have no loose hanging cords to obstruct your view, and it is also safer if there are kids in your home.

It is easy to make today's window treatments safer for young children with just a few simple adjustments, to prevent these tragic accidents.
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Are Your Window Coverings Safe For Kids and Pets?

Much has been said recently about the safety issue of window coverings, particularly regarding potential illness and injury to children. Obviously this is an important concern for consumers who are parents and new home buyers. Let me go into a little history, and what to look for when making a decision about what are the best and safest window covering products to put into your home.

In 1996, a tragic situation that occurred in Arizona. A child died of lead poisoning. When local officials investigated the home of the child, the only material found to contain even trace amounts of lead were the low priced, imported vinyl mini blinds. Prior to 1996, on low priced mini blinds like these, lead was used as a stabilizer, to make the slats of the blind more rigid. It was found that the sun's UV rays actually caused a breakdown of the vinyl, creating dust on the surface of the blinds. This dust, as it turns out, contained trace amounts of lead. The speculation was that the child in Arizona either chewed on, or somehow ingested the dust on the blind. While it is still debated whether the amounts of lead present were sufficient to cause illness or death, the situation was serious enough for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of the US Government to become involved. The CPSC's decision was to rule that any vinyl mini blind sold in the US must be re-formulated to use something other than lead to stabilize the vinyl. Most retailers at that time removed these products from their shelves, until a suitable replacement could be obtained. Since that time other materials, primarily tin, have been utilized in low cost, low price vinyl blinds.

Another important concern is mini blind lift cords. These are the strings that you use to raise and lower your blinds. A rare, but no less tragic situation has occurred where children have been strangled by blind cords. In the past, these cords, as many as four to five, have been knotted together at the end, to allow for easier control in raising and lowering the blinds. The concern was that children could potentially get caught in this "loop" created by the knotting.

We window covering manufacturers decided that we had to do something to make the products as safe as possible for our consumers. Two basic solutions became the norm in the mid- 1990's. One solution, which Levolor Home Fashions has implemented, is to no longer knot the lift cords, thereby eliminating any loops that could cause injury. This multiple cord/tassel situation means that you have a number of cords that have to be grabbed and pulled simultaneously. The other method, used by Hunter Douglas for example, is a tassel that separates when force is applied in the loop created by knotting the cords. While both systems work well in situations where a child may get caught in the loop created by knotting the cords, they do not address a situation that is more prevalent. In most cases where a child is injured by a window covering, it is because the child places the cord in his/her mouth, and the cord gets wrapped around the neck. No number of tassels, or breakaway design can prevent this situation.

For concerned parents who wish to have window coverings with
no cords at all, please check the following products.

Many products now come with special features which enhance product safety. If you have small children, you'll want to look for these features:

Child Care Safety

Poison Prevention

Parents For Window Blind Safety - according to government statistics, a child dies every 2 weeks from mini blind strangulation - inner & outer cords. http://www.pfwbs.org

Baby Gates and Child Safety products by KidCo with Free Shipping. Discount Baby Gates

Keep Your Toddlers & Pets Safe Child-Proof Your Window Treatments

Child Safety Guidelines

Child Care Safety

Poison Prevention

Ultrasonic Cleaning Services