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Window Blind Cords and Chains - Increasing Safety

The Window Blind Industry is under scrutiny to make products sold with control cords and chains safe for the end user.

There have always been blind cords, the difference is that nowadays, because window blinds are very fashionable, there are far more sold. Therefore a problem which did not exist some years ago now needs consideration and thought if a young child has access to a blinds control cord. Even though it is rare, one injury or death is one too many and so the blind industry has been made to stand up and be counted and educate the public in how to prevent these injuries or fatalities.

As a supply and fit company of all types of blinds, we ensure that when we install a blind of any kind, we make a point of asking if young children are likely to come into contact with the product and then give the relevant safety information. All our blinds have safety labels and that should be the case wherever you have purchased them, if they don’t, then the supplier is not following the well published campaign code for child safety with window blinds.

The chart below this article will give you a guide to what can be done to protect the home and make it child friendly. 

There are of course, other products that can be installed into each window reveal, which in most cases will not have a control cord hanging down. We have recently had more enquiries regarding motorisation of window and door blinds and this has now become a large part of our turnover. This option is of course more expensive but cuts out the need for any control cords. Control cords and chains come in different finishes, metal ball chain, plastic ball chain and nylon cord and they will all have to hang to the left or right of a window or door, for operation of your product. The loop version, which is in many of the blinds sold today, is a potential hazard as if it is hanging where a child can gain access, then it could be possible for them to wrap it around their neck. The reason for the loop control, is that when the blind is raised you do not have a lot of cord falling onto the window sill or floor and by having the loop, the cord control stays the same length. The easiest way to put the cord out of the reach of children, is by using a cleat or hook, where the cord or chain can be secured.

If you have bought your blind and are installing it yourself, then there should be instructions in the product on how to shorten any control cord. If you have a supplier supply and fit the blind, then it is their responsibility to shorten the cord to an agreed length. Most blind control chains can be shortened on site but if they do come at a set length, which some do, then your supplier should, have ordered the cord the correct length for that situation.

To summarise, keep cords and control chains out of the  reach of young children and  if you have furniture or beds that a child can climb onto, either move the furniture away from the window or make sure when you purchase the blind, you specify a control side (right or left) so it can be away from such dangers.