Manufacturers are Becoming Safer With Their Window Treatments

As of December 2018, all newly manufactured stock window treatments should not use cords or have short, inaccessible pull cords. Sunburst applauds the announcement, as it comes after negotiations between the Window Covering Manufacturers Association and the American National Standards Institute, and covers any pre-manufactured window treatments. And while the new safety standards don’t recall corded blinds or shades, some people in Baltimore have seen the regulations as an opportunity to change out their corded shades and blinds.

 

What Are The New Window Treatment Safety Standards?

Since the 1960s, cords on window treatments have been deemed one of the Top 5 Hidden Hazards In The Home by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Toddlers and infants can get tangled up in the cords, leading to injury or strangulation, with a report finding that there were almost 17,000 window cord injuries during a fifteen-year period. Extra cord safety products, such as cord cleats and fasteners, attempted to make treatments safer, but people did not utilize them as much as anticipated.

What Do The Safety Regulations Cover?

Every stock (ready-made) window treatment available in stores or online must now be cord-free or have inaccessible cords. This involves over 80% of all window covering products sold in America and Canada. Custom-made coverings do not have the same requirements; however, cords can only hang down to 40% the length of the treatment and will default to a tilt rod rather than a tilt cord. These standards are only on window treatments made after December 19, 2018, and old shades and blinds have not been recalled.

What Are Your Choices Regarding Cordless Window Treatments?

With the new safety requirements, families are now seeking the entire range of cordless choices when purchasing or replacing their window treatments. Luckily, there are different products that are cordless, such as:

• Plantation Shutters: These popular window treatments cover the window with large louvers and usually open by a center tilt-rod. Shutters are the most durable window treatment and are manufactured with either natural wood or a faux wood composite that doesn’t warp, crack, splinter, or chip. Plantation shutters have never worked with a cord, so this product has always been seen as a safer option.

• Barn Door Shutters: Instead of raising vertically using a cord or tilt rod, barn door shutters attach to a track above the window frame and slide apart sideways. You can slide the panels a bit to let light through, or open them to the edge of the track to frame your window.

• Cord-free Shades and Blinds: Some shades and blinds have changed their mechanics and now use inaccessible cords that won’t hang loose. Other treatments employ motors, which manipulate coverings by remotes or voice commands. Some shades are set to their needed position by lifting the bottom bar. These shades are available in different colors, textures, and patterns, and are even available in several semi-translucent fabrics that give you the feel of sheer draperies.
  

Call Sunburst To Help You Cut The Cord On Your Shades and Blinds

If you want to change out those corded hazards with a better option, your Baltimore Sunburst representative is here to help. We can bring you many safe choices, and we can help you find one that works best for your rooms. Book your free in-home consultation by calling 301-321-7998 now.