Roman blinds and inner cords: the hazard a chain winder cannot fix
A chain winder deals with one thing: the loop of chain or cord you pull to raise and lower a blind. Roman blinds have that loop too, but they also have something most people never think about, because they never touch it — the cords running up the back of the fabric. This post is about those, and about being straight on what a winder does and does not do.
What inner cords are
European Commission Decision 2011/477/EU, which sets out the safety requirements for window coverings, separates two kinds of cord: the operating cord used to raise or lower the product, and the inner cord that connects its different parts. On a Roman blind the inner cords are threaded through rings sewn up the back of the fabric and gather it into folds as the blind rises. When the blind is down they sit flat and out of sight; when it is raised they can hang loose behind or beside the folds.
The same document notes that a motor can remove the risk from operating cords but not the risk from inner cords. That is the key point: the hazard does not come from how you operate the blind, so changing how you operate it does not remove it.
Why it matters for small children
The Decision records that most accidental deaths involving blind cords happen in bedrooms, to children aged between 16 and 36 months, with over half involving children around 23 months. At that age a child can climb and reach but struggles to free themselves if a cord catches round the neck.
What a chain winder does and does not do
- It does take up the operating chain or cord on the side of the blind, so no loop hangs within reach.
- It does not touch the inner cords. If your Roman blind has loose or slack inner cord anywhere, a winder will not change that.
We would rather say that plainly than have you buy a winder believing it makes every part of every blind safe. For a Roman blind, the winder is one part of the answer, not all of it.
What to check on a Roman blind
- Look at the back of the blind with it fully raised. Any cord that hangs in a loop, or could be pulled out into one, is the thing to deal with.
- Look for the safety device. The standard for internal blinds, EN 13120, covers Roman blinds, and a blind sold new should come with the required safeguards. A blind that is older, second-hand or made up by a curtain maker may not.
- Keep cots, beds and climbable furniture away from the window. The distance a child can reach is set by what they can climb on, not by the floor. See our guide on cots, beds and furniture near windows.
- If you cannot make the inner cords safe, change the blind. A blind with no accessible cords, or a cordless one, removes the problem rather than managing it.
Renting? Replacing a blind is usually the landlord's decision. Our guide to what a landlord or letting agent is responsible for covers how to raise it.
Where the winder fits in
If the blind in your child's room is a roller, Venetian or vertical with an operating chain, a winder gets that chain out of reach with no drilling. If it is a Roman blind, use it for the operating cord and deal with the inner cords separately, using the checks above. For the wider picture, see blind cord safety rules by country.
Source: Commission Decision 2011/477/EU, EUR-Lex.