Ensuring that Your Blinds are Safe for Children

As the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission tells us, curtains and blinds that have long cords can pose a serious risk for children. In particular, they can serve as a strangulation hazard when the cords are not properly secured. With that in mind, residents and property owners have a serious obligation to ensure that any blinds installed on the premises are not placing young residents at risk.

Keeping corded blinds safe is more than a moral obligation for manufacturers. It’s actually the law. As of the beginning of 2015, the Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standard – Corded Internal Window Coverings) Regulations were updated to include very specific language about corded blinds. In particular, corded internal window coverings must be accompanied by the following:

• A warning label on the retail packaging and attached to the cord
• Installation instructions containing safety information
• Components needed to secure the cord for safety purposes

In particular, these updated regulations require that the cord must be accompanied by a cord guide that remains firmly attached to the wall. This cord guide should keep the cord from being pulled free and should prevent the formation of a 220mm loop at a height less than 1.6m above the floor level.

Westral Takes Child Safety Very Seriously

We take child safety seriously at Westral. We understand that our clients and customers feel the same way, and that is why we have gone out of our way to ensure that our corded products are both child-friendly and easy to secure.

There are several steps we have taken to ensure that our corded products are safe. To begin with, all of our fabric awnings are fitted with child safety devices. The same goes for our roller blinds, which are fitted with cord-retaining devices to dramatically reduce the risk of strangulation. We also deal in a range of track-based shutters (such as the Westral Shadetrack Outdoor Patio Blinds), which have no cords and therefore pose no strangulation risk.

Steps You Can Take to Keep Children Safe around Your Blinds

Even with the steps we have taken to keep young people safe around our products, there are still additional steps that you as the parent or caretaker can take to maintain a safe environment. We’ll list a few of those steps below:

• Keep furniture away from blinds so that children cannot climb upon the furniture to pull a cord free.
• Never place playpens or cribs within reach of corded blinds.
• Check every room for corded blinds and curtains, and ensure that none of the cords are looped or loose enough for a child to play with.
• When necessary, look into wall-mounted cleats that can be used to secure cords out of reach of young children.

If you are unsure of the child-safe rating of a particular product, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’ll walk you through the steps that you can take to secure your cords and offer insight into the steps we’ve taken to make our products safer.