Manufacturers are Cutting the Cord On Their Window Treatments

As of December 2018, all newly manufactured stock window treatments should not use cords or have short, inaccessible pull cords. Sunburst welcomes the announcement, as it comes after conversations between the Window Covering Manufacturers Association and the American National Standards Institute, and includes any pre-manufactured window coverings. And while the new safety regulations don’t recall corded blinds or shades, many in Southern California have seen the statement as an opportunity to install a safer option.

 

What Are The New Window Treatment Safety Standards?

For over 70 years, cords on window treatments have been deemed one of the Top 5 Hidden Hazards In The Home by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Young children and infants can get tangled up in the cords, leading to injury or strangulation, with a study finding that there were almost 17,000 window cord injuries over a fifteen-year period. External cord safety products, like cord cleats and wind-ups, tried to alleviate the hazard, but people did not install them as universally as anticipated.

What Do The Safety Regulations Cover?

Each stock (ready-made) window covering available in stores or online needs to now be cordless or have inaccessible cords. This accounts for over 80% of all window covering products sold in America and Canada. Made-to-order treatments will not have the same restrictions; however, cords can only be 40% the length of the treatment and will default to a tilt rod rather than a tilt cord. These requirements only affect window coverings made after December 19, 2018, and old shades and blinds have not been recalled.

What Are Your Options For Cordless Window Treatments?

With the new safety requirements, people are now looking at the entire range of safer options when acquiring or replacing their window treatments. Let’s look at a few window treatments that don’t use cords:

• Plantation Shutters: These fashionable window treatments cover the window with large louvers and usually employ a center tilt-rod. Plantation Shutters have been know as the sturdiest window covering option and are manufactured with either solid wood or a faux wood composite that doesn’t warp, crack, splinter, or chip. Plantation shutters have never worked with a cord, so shutters have always been seen as a safer option.

• Barn Door Window Treatments: Instead of opening up and down using a cord or tilt rod, barn door shutters attach to a track above the window and slide side to side. You can part your barn doors a tad to let light through, or slide them all the way apart to frame your window.

• Cordless Shades and Blinds: Some corded window treatments have altered their designs to employ inaccessible cords that shouldn’t hang loose. Other treatments use motors, which manipulate treatments without touching the treatment. Many shades are set to their desired height by lifting the bottom bar. These treatments come in a multitude of colors, textures, and patterns, and are even available in several semi-translucent options that can look like of sheer draperies.
  

Sunburst Can Help You Cut The Cord On Your Window Coverings

If you need to upgrade from corded hazards with a better option, your Southern California Sunburst representative is only a phone call away. We will show you a vast selection of cord-free choices, and we can assist you in finding one that works best for your rooms. Book your free in-home consultation by calling 888-611-2474 now.