Important recall! - Roman shades and roll-up blinds

In one of the largest recalls ever the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is asking parents (and others) to stop using and return more than 50 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds, which have cords that can get caught around children's necks.

According to the CPSC, they have "Received reports of five deaths and 16 near strangulations in Roman shades since 2006 and three deaths in roll-up blinds since 2001. Strangulations in Roman shades occur when a child places his/her neck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the back side of the blind or when a child pulls the cord out and wraps it around his/her neck. Strangulations in roll-up blinds occur when the lifting loop slides off the side of the blind and a child�s neck becomes entangled on the free-standing loop or if a child places his/her neck between the lifting loop and the roll-up blind material." "Parents need to make sure there are no accessible cords on the front, side, or back of their window coverings", said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. �Avoid these deadly dangers by getting the repair kit or installing cordless window coverings in all homes where small children live or visit.� To help prevent child strangulation in window coverings, CPSC and the Window Covering Safety Council urge parents and caregivers to follow these guidelines:

• Examine all shades and blinds in the home. Make sure there are no accessible cords on the front, side or back of the product. CPSC recommends the use of cordless window coverings in all homes where children live or visit.
• Do not place cribs, beds and furniture close to windows with corded window coverings because children can climb on them and gain access to the cords.
• Make loose cords inaccessible.
• If the window shade has looped bead chains or nylon cords, install tension devices to keep the cord taut.

See a list of all the recalled Roman shades and roll-up blinds.