Manufacturers are Cutting the Cord On Their Window Treatments

As of December 2018, all newly manufactured stock window treatments should be cord-free or have small, inaccessible pull cords. Sunburst applauds these regulations, as it comes after negotiations between the Window Covering Manufacturers Association and the American National Standards Institute, and encompasses any pre-manufactured window treatments. And while the new safety requirements don’t recall old corded treatments, some people in Las Vegas have viewed the announcement as an opportunity to change their unsafe window coverings.

 

What Are The New Window Treatment Safety Standards?

Since the 1960s, window treatment cords have been deemed one of the Top 5 Hidden Hazards In The Home by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Children and infants can get intertwined in the cords, leading to 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 cleats and wind-ups, attempted to make treatments safer, but consumers did not use them as universally as expected.

What Do The New Regulations Cover?

Every stock (ready-made) window covering made for stores or online should now be cordless or have inaccessible cords. This involves over 80% of all window treatment products sold in the United States and Canada. Custom-built coverings will not have the same requirements; however, cords can only hang down to 40% the length of the treatment and will default to a tilt rod instead of a tilt cord. These requirements only affect window coverings made after December 19, 2018, and old treatments have not been recalled.

What Are Your Choices Regarding Cordless Window Treatments?

With the new safety requirements, people are now looking at different safer options when purchasing or replacing their window treatments. Luckily, there are different products that have no cords, such as:

• Plantation Shutters: These fashionable window treatments cover the window with large louvers and usually open by a center tilt-rod. Shutters are the most durable window treatment and are manufactured with either real wood or a faux wood composite that doesn’t warp, crack, splinter, or chip. Plantation shutters have never worked with a cord, so this product has always been seen as a safer option.

• Barn Door Window Coverings: Instead of opening up and down via a cord or tilt rod, barn door window treatments attach to a track above the window frame and slide apart sideways. You can part the panels a little to bring in some light, or slide them to the edge of the track for a statement piece.

• Cord-free Shades and Blinds: Some window treatments have modified their mechanics and now use inaccessible cords that don’t hang loose. Others operate by motors, which open and close coverings by remotes or voice commands. Some shades are set to their desired height by lifting the bottom bar. These treatments come in a variety of colors, textures, and patterns, and has 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 change out those corded window treatments with a better choice, your Las Vegas Sunburst representative is only a phone call away. We will show you an array of cordless choices, and we can assist you in finding one for your family. Set up your free in-home consultation by calling 702-850-6619 today.