Manufacturers are Cutting the Cord On Their Window Treatments

As of December 2018, newly manufactured stock window treatments should be cordless or have short, inaccessible pull cords. Sunburst applauds this decision, as it comes after conversations between the Window Covering Manufacturers Association and the American National Standards Institute, and covers any pre-manufactured window coverings. And while the new safety regulations don’t recall corded blinds or shades, some people in Boise have seen the statement as an opportunity to go with a safer option.

 

What Are The New Window Treatment Safety Standards?

Since the 1960s, cords on window treatments have been determined as one of the Top 5 Hidden Hazards In The Home by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Children and infants can get entangled in the cords, causing injury or strangulation, with one study finding that there were almost 17,000 window cord injuries over a fifteen-year period. Extra cord safety products, like cord wraps and locks, attempted to make treatments safer, but consumers did not use them as much as anticipated.

What Do The Safety Regulations Cover?

Each stock (ready-made) window covering sold in stores or online must now be cord-free or have inaccessible cords. This accounts for over 80% of all window treatment products purchased in America and Canada. Custom-made treatments don’t have the same requirements; however, cords can only be 40% the length of the covering and must default to a tilt rod instead of a tilt cord. These standards only affect window treatments constructed after December 19, 2018, and previously made coverings have not been recalled.

What Are Your Options For Cordless Window Treatments?

With the new standards, families are now seeking various safer choices when buying or replacing their window treatments. Check out some different cordless options:

• Plantation Shutters: These popular window treatments cover the window with large louvers and usually utilize a center tilt-rod. Shutters have been know as the most durable window treatment and are manufactured with either solid wood or a faux wood composite that won’t warp, crack, splinter, or chip. Plantation shutters have always been free of cords, so these treatments have always been considered child-safe.

• Barn Door Window Coverings: Instead of opening up with a cord or tilt rod, barn door coverings attach to a track over the window and slide side to side. You can part your barn doors a little to bring in some light, or slide them completely apart for a statement piece.

• Cord-free Shades and Blinds: Some corded window treatments have modified their mechanics to employ internal cords that don’t dangle down. Other treatments use motors, which raise and lower treatments via remote control. Some shades simply raise or lower to their desired height by tugging the bottom bar. These treatments are available in a multitude of colors, textures, and patterns, and are even available in many semi-translucent fabrics that can look like of sheer draperies.
  

Let Sunburst Help You Cut The Cord On Your Window Coverings

If you need to upgrade from corded hazards with a safer treatment, your Boise Sunburst representative is only a phone call away. We will show you many cord-free options, and we can guide you in finding one that works best for your rooms. Book your no cost in-home consultation by calling 208-609-9129 today.