Going Cordless – The Change to Safer Window Coverings
For decades, the standard way (and for many years, the ONLY way) to raise and lower a blind was to pull down on the cords and then lock them into place. The length of the hanging cord would increase as the blind was raised, sometimes extending to the floor depending on the height and position of the window.
There are also at least two cords that would lift each end of the blind; wider blinds have additional cords to help raise the extra width and accompanying weight. Some blinds could have 4 or 5 separate cords coming out of the top of the blind. These cords unfortunately can make tempting playthings for children and pets, sometimes leading to harmful and, in rare cases, fatal consequences.
Although it didn't grab the national headlines, the Window Coverings Manufacturers Association (WCMA) in conjunction with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) adopted a broad new set of safety regulations in June 2024 to ensure new blinds and shades are the safest they have ever been.
The biggest change is the industry-wide elimination of all free-hanging cords from new window treatments. This means that traditional pull cords as well as cords used to tilt the slats on horizontal blinds are no longer available for purchase.
Blindster proactively adopted the new safety requirements in April 2024 to ensure full compliance and to accelerate the deployment of the changes to our customers. All the products on Blindster.com are fully compliant with the new safety standards and regulations.
The reason that cords were eliminated from new blinds and shades comes down to one thing: child safety. While very uncommon, dangling cords pose a strangulation risk to children. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there have been over 200 incidents in the US between Jan 2009 and Dec 2021 of children up to 8 years old involved in strangulation by cords from window blinds. In just a few moments, a child can become entangled in a cord and sustain injury.
Over the years, window covering companies have adopted many changes to help lower the risk from dangling cords, such as the development of breakaway tassels, including cord cleats with every corded blind, reducing the length of the pull cords, increasing consumer awareness and education efforts, and of course designing new ways to operate the blinds. However, it was decided that the best way to truly eliminate the risk of cords was to eliminate the cords altogether.
When it comes to operating your new blinds and shades, there a still multiple options to choose from. These include cordless lift, continuous cord loop, motorization and more. These lifting systems have been popular for years and provide reliable and convenient operation of your blinds and shades. Removing cords also creates a "clean" appearance in the window, uncluttered by dangling cords.
Just like it sounds, cordless lift options allow you to operate the blind without any external pull cords. Mechanisms inside the shade provide tension to hold the shade in place. Just push or pull on the bottom of the shade to raise or lower. Some cordless shades have a button that "unlocks" the shade when pressed to then move the shade up or down. This option is on nearly every category of window treatments, including cellular shades, faux wood blinds, roller shades and more.
The Continuous Cord Loop option is typically available on roller-style shades, like our fabric roller shades, solar shades, zebra dual shades, and sheer shades. A circular loop cord or chain is attached to one side of the top of the shade, and the shade is moved by pulling down on either side of the cord, much like the rope on a flagpole. The cord loop never changes length and is affixed to the window or the wall with a tension device at the bottom of the cord loop to help prevent it from being a hazard.
Many window treatments also have available motorization upgrades that allow you to control the shade by remote control. Like cordless shades, there are no external cords but instead of an internal tension device, there is a motor inside the shade with a rechargeable battery. Motorized shades are especially convenient since it just takes a push of a button to operate one shade or multiple shades at once. Motorization is also more affordable than ever, and some systems can be connected to home automation systems like Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home.
A control wand is a cordless control mechanism found on vertical blinds and replaces the old style of separate cords to open the blind and to rotate the louvers. The new wand control option handles both operations with a single wand attached to one side of the blind. Just twist the wand to rotate the louvers, or push the wand to the opposite side to fully open or close the blind.
If you ordered corded blinds or shades from us in the past, there are a few things to be aware of. Due to the new restrictions on corded blinds, we are unable to accept orders for new blinds or shades with cords, even if you have ordered them previously. You can still order shades to match ones you had previously ordered for elsewhere in the house, they will just need to be ordered with a non-corded lift system.
If you have a covered warranty issue on a prior order from us, any corded blind or shade will have to be remade with the new "standard" or "default" lift system for the product you ordered (typically either cordless or continuous cord loop). Reach out to our customer service team with any questions and for assistance with your warranty claim.
If you currently have corded blinds and shades in your home and are concerned about the risk they may pose, you have several options available. Whenever possible, we recommend cordless blinds and shades even if there is the slightest chance of a child coming into contact with them (plus they are convenient, easy to use and look great!). Replacing corded blinds and shades with new ones is the surest way to prevent a potentially tragic incident from happing. Blindster offers a wide assortment of cordless blinds and shades. Need some ideas on who to choose? Check out our articles on How to Choose Pet and Child Safe Blinds, and our recommended 5 Best Blinds for Your Baby's Room.
If you're not able to replace corded blinds, there are some steps you can take to make them safer. The main objective is to keep cords out of reach of children.
- Install cord cleats on the wall out of reach of young hands, and tie up the cords to make them inaccessible.
- Move beds and furniture away from windows to prevent easy access to windows and blind cords – don't underestimate your little ones' ability to climb!
- Install cord stops to prevent inner lift cords from being pulled out to form a hazardous loop.
- Shorten cords to help make them more manageable. Custom blinds made before December 2018 usually had cords that were 2/3 the length of the blind when lowered (making them even longer when the blind is raised). You can shorten the cords by cutting part of the exposed cords and reconnecting any joiners and tassels. Just be sure to do it when the blind is fully lowered, with the cord already at its shortest.
- The Window Covering Safety Council has more tips for ensuring window blinds are safe for kids – review their guides for checking if blinds are safe and how to increase the safety and security of your window blinds.
- You can find other tips for making your home more child safe in our article 7 Tools to Childproof Your Home.
