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child safety

New european standards have recently become law in the UK. It is now a requirement that new blinds must be 'safe by design' or be supplied with appropriate child safety devices installed.

The new regulations apply in the following circumstances

Brite Blinds now install all blinds to comply with the new regulations.

How does this affect you?

A lot of traditional blinds now have to be fitted with a safety device if you require corded or chain operation. On blinds such as roller blinds you will not really notice a difference. We have been fitting 'easy break' connectors for years. But some blinds such as vertical blinds will now have to have their cords fixed 1.5m above ground level and be retained in a child safety device. Venetian blinds now require easy break devices on the cords but will also have to have cleats fitted for the cords to be wrapped around.

The regulations do not cover existing blinds installed before the regulations came into force, however if you have any concerns about your existing blinds we can advice on what measures can be taken to make them safer for use around children.

Are there any other options?

There are many 'Safe by Design' options available for the majority of standard blinds such as wand operation for vertical blinds and spring operation for roller blinds. Aluminium venetian blinds are available with Uniwand and the new Slidewand operation. Hand operated INTU and Perfect fit blinds are available for most UPVC windows. See below for the most common 'Safe by Design' options.

Some useful links

BBSA - British blind and shutter association

Rospa - Royal society for the prevention of accidents

Make it Safe campaign

Capt - Child safety protection trust

Trading Standards Institute

Is there anything else I should consider?

ROSPA and the BBSA with their 'Make it safe' campaign have the following recommendations relating to new and existing blinds

INTU Blinds

childsafe intu blinds

INTU blinds are designed with safety in mind. No operating cords and they fit most modern UPVC windows. Available as venetian, pleated or roller blind.

Perfect Fit Blinds

childsafe perfect fit blinds

Perfect fit venetian, pleated, vision and roller blinds can be made without cords and fit most modern UPVC windows.

Mono Control Vertical Blinds

childsafe mono control vertical blinds

Vertical blinds can be fitted with a mono control system. A single wand replaces the two cords usually used to operate the blind.

Roller Blinds

childsafe spring roller blinds

Our chain operated roller blinds come with easy break chain connectors. Or alternatively the traditional spring roller blind is still available.

Motorised Blinds

childsafe  motorised blinds

There are many blinds that can be motorised this usually removes any hanging cords or chains from the blind making a safe alternative to traditional operation.

Smartcord Blinds

smartcord duette blinds with retractable cord

SmartCord™ uses a revolutionary and patented cord mechanism to raise and lower the blind. It features a retractable pull cord that maintains a constant cord length. This is available on Duette blinds.

Literise/Smartrise Blinds

childsafe literise & smartrise duette blinds

SmartRise is a completely cordless system and ultimate in child safety, this cordless push up, pull down system raises and lowers the product with the touch of a finger. This is available on Duette and Pleated blinds.

Wand Control Panel Blinds

childsafe panel  blinds with wand operation

Panel blinds can be wand operated eliminating the need for hanging cords or chains. The blind is simply operated with a wand to slide the panels.

Showroom

Come visit us in our Hove showroom to see our full fabric and sample range. We have a large number of sample blinds on the wall along with a dedicated motorisation section and Markilux awning section.

Services

We offer a free survey and fitting service across most of East and West Sussex, Brighton, Hove, Worthing and surrounding areas. We will bring our samples books to you so that you can see the samples in your own home.

Contact

248 Portland Road

Hove, BN3 5QT

shop@briteblinds.co.uk

01273 722250

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