Blinds and Child Safety

Ensuring our products are child safe is a priority for all of us at DotcomBlinds. No family deserves to unknowingly put anything that could harm their child into their home, and no manufacturer wants a product capable of causing such tragedies. As a result, our blinds are child safe by design, with built-in safety mechanisms to help reduce the risk of an accident. These mechanisms are:

  • All chains and cords provided with our products are made at a maximum length of one metre
  • Chain tensioners are provided with every looped chain operated blind
  • A cleat is provided with every looped cord operated blind. The cord needs to be wrapped tightly around the cleat in a figure-of-eight after every use

Alternatively, we offer a range of blinds that don’t require a cord or chain to operate the blind, eliminating any risk of accidental strangulation. Take a look at our range of crank-operated blinds, battery operated and wand operated blinds today.

DotcomBlinds is a Make It Safe dealer. Our products are tested to meet the regulations outlined in the British and European safety standard EN 13120:2009 + A1:2014.

It is illegal to supply or professionally install an internal window blind that does not comply with these child safety requirements. Only buy from a reputable trader.

There are some simple things families can do themselves to reduce the risk of an accident even further. Here is some general advice and tips:

  • Keep blind cords out of reach of babies and small children to avoid the risk of strangulation and entanglement
  • Be aware of a child’s access to the window. Prevent children from sitting on windowsills where a blind cord is within easy reach.
  • Move furniture away from your windows and blinds so that children cannot climb up and reach the cords
  • Do not tie cords together
  • Make sure cords do not twist and create a loop
  • When buying a new blind, make sure it has a built-in safety device
  • Install your blinds and safety devices according to the correct installation instructions to reduce the risk of an accident.

Installing the child safety devices is easy, as detailed below and found on our installation instructions.

Fitting a Chain Tidy/ P-Clip

The chain tidy will be attached to the chain when the blind arrives. The chain tidy should be at a maximum distance from the control mechanism, keeping the chain taut (not under excessive tension however as this could negatively affect the longevity and operation of the blind). Put the retaining device on the wall, mark fixing holes with a pencil, drill the holes and screw the device to the wall with suitable fixings. This is applicable to roller blinds, roman blinds, vertical blinds, and chain-operated Venetian blinds.

How to install a p-clip cord tidy

Fitting a Cord Cleat

You will have been provided with a cord safety cleat attached to the cord of the venetian blind. The cleat should be installed as close to the headrail as possible and no less than 1.5 meters from the floor. The cord should be tied around it in full when the blind is not in use.

Installing a cord cleat

To get more information about child safety at home visit: www.makeitsafe.org.uk