 It's EVERYBODY'S Job To Stay —
SAFE AT HOME!
Keeping Window Coverings Safe - Recent
Changes
It
may seem like a strange time of year for a baseball metaphor, but
it's always a good idea to keep being safe at home a priority for
you —and for your customers. As the holiday season grows
near, there are more risks. People who may not be accustomed
to having children in their homes will have them visiting.
Make sure to help your customers keep all of their guests safe and
that they do everything they can to know the risks and childproof
their homes --especially for corded window coverings.
 The
Leader In Safety
This year, as in recent years, Hunter Douglas has been the industry
leader in safety innovations. Many safety innovations
are built-in to Hunter Douglas products fabricated by
Designer Blinds. Others are new options that include
innovative lift systems that reduce the risk --even
some that eliminate cords altogether. At
Designer Blinds we work hard to make sure dealers are
aware of the safety features so the information can be
passed on to consumers.
Additionally, Hunter
Douglas maintains their own safety hotline. For more
information on this important issue, call the Hunter
Douglas toll-free hotline: 1-800-99-SAFTY.
New
ANSI Standards
The American National Standards for safety in window coverings has
been revised recently by the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI). The most notable changes involve improvements to
labeling and tagging. A new bilingual (English/Spanish) format
has been adopted for bottom rail
 labels.
Tagging requirements have been simplified so that only one tag is
required. There are several versions of this tag. The version
used is particular to the type of safety measure in use for the
particular product, such as cord tensioners, retractable cords,
break-thru tassels, and so on. New tags are now being
produced. Designer Blinds and Hunter Douglas expect to be
fully compliant with the new standards by January 1,
2003.
Other
changes to the standards refer to lead content limitations and inner
cord requirements. Designer Blinds and Hunter Douglas have
already adopted these standards.
Click
HERE
or on the picture to view or download the new
ANSI Standards in Adobe Acrobat. This requires the free Adobe
Acrobat reader, which can be downloaded from www.adobe.com.
There
have been some changes to existing systems and additional safety
devices introduced this year. This chart has been updated to
reflect the new items.
Summary Of Safety Features - Built-in Features
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Break-Thru®
Safety Tassel
First introduced by Hunter
Douglas in 1993, this exclusive Break-Thru®
Safety Tassel is designed to separate should a
child or pet become entangled in the cord. The
Break-Thru Safety Tassel is one of the most
innovative and enduring child safety products
ever developed and is a standard feature on
all Hunter Douglas Horizontal Blinds and Jubilance® Roman Shades.
The
tassel is color coordinated to the blind.
Clear Break-Thru Safety Tassels, as shown
here, are also available. For wood
blinds, safety tassels feature a natural
wood grain look and traditional shape to
maintain the streamlined overall beauty of the
blinds.
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NEW
DEVICE!
Break Thru Safety Stopball!
Similar
to the safety tassel, this device is now being
used on wood and alternative wood
blinds. Instead of the tassel, it is the
stopball that breaks apart, while still
containing all of the cords necessary for
operation.
The
benefit of moving the break-through feature is
that it moves all loops further out of reach
and allows a single cord to hang down, which
makes operating the blind easier. It
also allows the use of real wood tassels on
wood blinds.
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Cord Tensioner - REVISED
The slimmed down and easier
to use Hunter Douglas Cord
Tensioner is a specially designed cord
attachment system with spring tension and
bracket that improves the safety of
cord-looped products. The Cord Tensioner comes
standard on Silhouette® and Vignette® Window
Shadings, Duette EasyRise® , and Duette®
honeycomb and Brilliance® pleated shades with
Easy Glide®, Country Woods® wood blinds
with LiftMaster™, and clutch-operated
Provenance™ woven woods shades (pictured). A retrofit package is also
available for other cord-looped products.
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inside mounts, the cord tensioner can be attached
directly to the window by running a screw directly
through the hole in the tensioner as shown here, or to
the clear bracket that comes with it. For
outside mount shades or shadings, the clear outside
mount bracket is used.
NOTE: Attach All Cord
Tensioners: Don't Make It An Option!
I have talked to many dealers and installers over the
past several years who say their customers don't want
their looped cord tensioning devices attached. Why in the world would
you want to make it optional? In addition
to the safety risk, an unattached tensioner makes
shades harder to operate, requiring two hands instead
of one. Show your customers that you have a real
concern for safety by attaching every cord tensioner.
Wouldn't you want to do everything in your power to
prevent such a tragedy? And “No kids”
is no excuse. In homes where children don't live
today, there will be children who visit, especially
over the holidays. It's always best to be safe.
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Safety Cord Stop and Child Safety Kit
 Quick to respond to
new safety concerns relating to the inner cords of
horizontal blinds, Hunter Douglas has modified
production of these products to knot a Safety Cord
Stop to the lift cord, reducing cord slack and
minimizing the potential for injury. A retrofit kit to
enhance existing blinds is also available free of
charge. For all pleated and honeycomb shades with
loose cords or tassels, Hunter Douglas provides a
Child Safety Kit that includes cord cleats, mounting
screws and safety tips for keeping cords out of reach
of children and pets.
Read more about it HERE
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Summary Of
Safety Products - Safety-Minded Options
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 PowerRise® Remote Control System And
Other Motorized Options
What better reason than safety could there be to sell
up to PowerRise? Available as
an option on Silhouette® window shadings, Duette®
honeycomb shades, and Brilliance® pleated shades -
PowerRise® is a battery-powered remote control system
that completely eliminates lift cords, making
them significantly safer for children and pets. It's
the ultimate in
safety. There
are other motorized products, too. Luminette®
PowerGlide™ was just released this fall and has
already been a popular option. Designer Blinds
has motorized options for 1-inch and 2-inch horizontal
blinds and vertical blinds, too. |
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LiteRise® Touch System
LiteRise® from Hunter
Douglas is a manually operated cordless lift
system that dramatically increases the safety
factor for children and pets by eliminating
lift cords. Offered as an option on Duette®
honeycomb shades, Country Woods® wood blinds,
Brilliance® pleated shades and Décor®
1" Aluminum Blinds.
In 2002
LiteRise became available on a wider range of
pleat sizes in Duette honeycomb shades.
This system, on all of the available products,
has been a big hit with consumers. Don't
forget to show it for windows within reach.
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Duette®
with UltraGlide™
Exclusive to Hunter Douglas,
Duette® with UltraGlide™ is a proprietary
retractable lifting system that provides smooth, effortless
shade operation. The lift cord retracts to a
pre-set position, the pull cord remains at a
constant length to keep it out of reach of
children and pets.
UltraGlide
is a great combination with LiteRise for windows that are a little
further out of reach. It's another big
hit with consumers everywhere.
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