HAA Blog
National Window Covering Safety Month
Posted by Government Affairs
on Friday, October 12, 2012
The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) and US Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are sponsoring a window-covering safety
awareness campaign, National Window Covering Safety Month, during October. They
encourage parents and caregivers to replace outdated window coverings with
dangling cords that can pose a safety hazard to infants and children with
today’s safer products.
According to the CPSC, corded window coverings are one of
the top five hidden hazards in American homes, with infants and children dying
each year from strangling in window cords. Some of these incidents involve
older products that are still in use but don’t have the safety features
instituted in the past decade.
The CPSC, WCSC and Blinds.com have the following tips to
help keep your window coverings up-to-date and your children safe:
- Install only cordless window coverings in young
children's bedrooms and sleeping areas. Replace window blinds, corded
shades and draperies manufactured before 2001 with today's safer products.
- Move all cribs, beds, furniture and toys away from
windows and window cords, preferably to another wall.
- Keep all window pull cords and inner lift cords out of
the reach of children. Make sure that tasseled pull cords are secured out
of reach with a cord cleat, and continuous-loop cords are permanently
anchored to the floor or wall. Make sure cord stops are properly installed
and adjusted to limit movement of inner lift cords.
- Lock cords into position whenever horizontal blinds or
shades are lowered, including when they come to rest on a window sill.
- Never mount products with accessible back cords within
reach of children.
All information provided by Blinds.com.
For more information, visit the WCSC website or Blinds.com.