Moving into a new home: the blind cord check to do before the boxes
When you buy or rent a home you inherit its blinds, and with them whatever cords and chains the previous occupant lived with. Nobody tells you which ones are old, which have a safety device and which do not. If a toddler is moving in with you, the first week is the cheapest time to find out.
Why the age of the blinds matters
The UK rules for new blinds changed in 2014: since then, blinds sold here must be safe by design or supplied with a safety device (see are corded blinds illegal in the UK?). Those rules apply to blinds when they are sold, so a blind fitted before then, or one bought abroad or second-hand, may have nothing. RoSPA advises replacing blinds made before 2014 with ones that meet current standards where you can (RoSPA, blind cords). You will rarely know the date, so assume nothing and look at each blind.
What to look at, window by window
- Is there a loop? A continuous loop of cord or chain is the hazard.
- Is there a cleat, tensioner or breakaway connector, and is it actually working? Cleats are often missing or painted over, and tensioners pull out of the wall. Our post on why these devices are not foolproof explains the limits.
- Where does the spare cord go? RoSPA's advice is to wind it round a cleat in a figure of eight, with the cleat fixed on an adjacent surface at least 1.5 m from the floor, out of a child's reach.
- What is under the window? RoSPA also says to keep cots, beds, playpens and highchairs away from windows with cords or chains. See cots, beds and furniture near windows.
Start with the child's bedroom
RoSPA's guidance is not to fit a blind with a looped cord or chain in a child's bedroom at all, and to check the cords in every room a child spends time in. If you are going to change only one blind in the first month, make it that one: a cordless blind there removes the question.
Fixes that suit a home you have just moved into
- Tie up or remove for now. A looped cord can be tied up out of reach the same day with nothing bought. Treat that as a stop-gap, because a tie gets undone.
- A cleat, screwed into a solid wall. RoSPA's fitting guidance says cleats should be screwed rather than glued, after checking for hidden pipes or cables. In a rental, check what your tenancy says first.
- A stick-on chain winder. Where drilling is not an option, such as a rented flat, or tile and uPVC, a winder takes up the slack chain without making any holes. Our guide to where to fit one covers height and wall surfaces. It deals with the chain, not with inner cords or a cot pushed against the sill.
- Replace the blind. The lasting fix, and worth doing in bedrooms. Ask the questions in buying new blinds with children.
Do this before the furniture goes in. Once the cot is assembled it tends to go against the nearest wall. Check the blind first, then decide where the cot goes.
Sources
- RoSPA: blind cords — furniture, bedrooms, pre-2014 blinds and cleat height.
- OPSS blind cord safety campaign leaflet — government guidance for households.
- RoSPA: fixing instructions for a blind cord cleat — screw fixing, not adhesive.
Related guides
- A ten-minute room-by-room check — the fuller version of this walk-round.
- Renting with a toddler — what a landlord is responsible for if the home is a rental.