Child Safety
Concept Blinds Direct also supports the British Blind and Shutter Association’s “Make it Safe” campaign to promote window blind safety in all environments. Please follow link for more details - https://www.makeitsafe.org.uk/
All of our blinds adhere to Child Safety Legislation however you need to consider safety in relation to your own individual installation.
In accordance with legislation the bottom of all cords/ chains must hang at least 150cm off of the floor. If you supply an installation measurement when you order your blinds we can manufacture with this in mind. Your installation measurement is the measurement from the floor to the where the top of the blind will sit.
For our Expressions faux woods, Sherwood real wood and aluminium venetians blinds ,where the cords elongate as you raise/ lower and angle the slats, we make the cords so they hang 180cm from the floor to account for this.
We recommend you always supply an installation height especially if you have child living or visiting the property or if you have an unusually high window and you want to avoid us making the cords/chains too short for you to reach.
If you do not supply the installation height when ordering we will manufacture the cords/chains at approximately three quarters of the height of your blind. When you install your blinds you will need to double check that the bottom of the cords/chains are at least 150cm from the floor. If you find they are not email us immediately with all the details and will advise you on how to make the blinds child safe. We can look at supplying new chains or cords. Please note in some cases there may be a small charge for new components but we will always try to avoid this if we can.
Our cord and chain operated blinds are also supplied with discrete child safety devices which keep cords and chains secured away and out of reach from little ones. Please install these when putting up your blinds.
If you wish to avoid chains and cords altogether then a number of blind ranges are designed and manufactured in such a way to make them in inherently child safe with no cords or chains present. These blinds are a good solution if your child is an amateur climber, as many toddlers can be! If you are looking for this blind type then shop in the following ranges:
The Perfect Fit ranges are only suitable for UPVC framed double glazed windows. If you do not have that type of window there are other options for you to consider such as
spring loaded roller blinds and blackout roller blinds
wand operated vertical blinds and wand operated blackout vertical blinds, with chainless weights. (For chainless weights to be supplied request this in the Notes section at checkout. There is no extra charge for this).
In the future we will also be offering a range of motorised blind which will also be child safe by design. These are great for blinds installed behind kitchen work tops, on stairs or very high up.
For older blinds which are already installed in your home most of them can be made child safe through a new shorter chain and/or a child safety hook /cord cleat to secure dangling cords and chains away. We are happy to send you out child safety hooks/ cord cleats or shorter chains so you can do this, even if we did not originally supply the blinds to you. Contact us with your requirements and we can see how we can help.
General Safety Tips
- Where possible beds, high chairs and other furniture should not be positioned near windows. We understand in smaller homes this is not always possible. Where furniture has be close to windows due to space restrictions always opt for an inherently child safe blind such as a perfect fit roller, spring loaded roller or wand controlled vertical with chainless weights.
- Never tie cords together as this creates potentially dangerous loops.
- Never glue together breakaway cord connectors. These breakaway connectors are designed to come apart if too much weight is applied to them and this makes them child safe. The connectors can simply be clicked back together if they ever come apart accidentally.
- Always install the child safety devices as instructed as soon as you install the blind - even if children do not routinely visit the premises.
- Always wrap any loose, dangling cords around the child safety cord cleats when using your venetian blinds.