IKEA Recalling Some Window Blinds

IKEA, a Swedish home decor company, has recently announced on June 10, 2010 that it is voluntarily recalling over 3 million window blinds. The reason, as stated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is the risk of strangulation posed by the free hanging cords of the window blinds. This recall includes roman shades, roll-up blinds and certain types of roller blinds that do not have tension devices and were sold in the U.S. between January 1998 and June 2010. These 3 million recalled window treatments are in addition to several previous recalls in 2008 and 2009. In November, 2008 and August, 2009 about 790,000 roman shades were recalled and, in October, 2009 533,000 roller blinds were recalled. IKEA has decided to take this action as a precautionary measure to prevent any further injury or harm to their customers.

The recall was spurred by the report of 1 1/2 year old Massachusetts boy who nearly choked on a roman shade cord. There have also been two other child strangulation incidents due to hazardous cords of IKEA blinds, resulting in one death and one near death. All three of these incidents were caused by roman shades, however roller shades and roll up shades are also being recalled because they share the same hazardous cords and loops that lack a tension device.

With this expanded recall, IKEA has officially joined the industry wide recall of over 50 million window blinds that took place last December for the exact same product and reasons. Such retailers also involved are, Walmart, J.C. Penney, Ace Hardware, and many others. The safety agency has estimated that about 500 children have strangled on the cords of blinds and shades since the early 1980s, an average of about one child each month. This shocking statistic demonstrates the real danger of the situation and why almost the entire industry was compelled to recall these window blind products.

How to Easily Clean Your Window Blinds

As the saying goes "Prevention is better than Cure", the best way to clean your window blind is to prevent dust accumulating in it by regular dusting. Dusting with a piece of cloth or feather duster on daily basis can save you from cleaning a heavy layer of dirt from your stylish blinds.

However, with the very tight scheduled lifestyle we follow, we find very little time to give attention to smaller cleaning needs like the dust on the window blind, leaving a filthy window coverings.

So the main question is how to clean our window blind the day we realize dirt is easily visible. The answer can be any of the following.

* The easiest way to clean your blinds is with a light duster or feather duster or vacuum cleaner on regular basis.
* For window blinds made up of vinyl, PVC or faux, you can use dryer sheet to reduce inert cling and keep away dust.
* For heavy dirt, use brush to clean the accumulated dirt internally and externally. You can also use your hair dryer to blow off the dust.
* Commercial blind cleaners are available in the market which can be used with a damp cloth to clean the blinds.
* You can use lukewarm water, detergent and a soft cloth to clean specific spots and then clean the whole blind.
* Immersing the blinds in lukewarm water and mild detergent and then washing with hands can be really effective. Once cleaned, rinse with cold water and rub off the excess water with a clean damp cloth.

However, it is crucial to note that Wood and Faux Wood Blinds should not be cleaned with water or chemical.

Roller Blinds for You

If you have completed decoration of your home and office except bathroom, kitchen and window of your living space and are planning to enhance internal beauty of these places with stylish decorative accessories, then these are perfect solution for you because apart from beautifying it also controls heat, magnifies the sunlight, prevents dust and proficiently maintain privacy. Furthermore, highly attractive window blinds check unwanted noise from entering into the room and also maintain coolness and cleaning of office and corporate houses.

Roller blinds are effective for kitchen and bathrooms because waterproof products also available in the market. Before the advent of this, all of us were using old, outdated and traditional kinds of curtains that fail to prevent dust and unwanted noise and could not give the complete privacy to users. Today, these are favored as it occupies less space and look trendy as compared to conventional kinds of curtains. These are made to fit your windows. They are not only providing privacy to your bathroom area but also ensure that your roller blind fabric is complete waterproof and the fabric doesn't spoil from frequent splashes.

There are a wide rage of roller blinds available in the market which are panel blinds, velux blinds, conservatory blinds, venetian blinds, roman blinds, blackout blinds and many more blinds to choose the perfect according to your requirement, theme of the wall of home, kitchen, bathrooms of office and corporate house. You can also choose these according to your budget that suit you.

Choosing simple and plain roller blinds will not be advantageous because these blinds can be spoiled by water as these blinds are not waterproof therefore always use waterproof roller blinds for kitchen and bathroom. It also has the quality to offer the complete privacy to customer who have own these waterproof roller blinds. The other options are available to waterproof roller product, like the Venetian that are also water resistant and give an alternate option for your bathroom windows.

Eco-Conscious Window Blinds

Lots of eco-minded consumers are claiming that there will be opportunities to integrate products into their home decor that contain environmental-friendly materials and choices. But as many consumers seek for products that could sustain their environmental-friendly demands, they often run across conditions that they don't know.

- Sustainable materials - This term refers to products that can be harvested, which their biological process continues to be unbroken (often referring to wood or cotton products). For example, bamboo grows at a time that is most common for weeds. The plant can be cut, but the process continues to be unbroken, and the bamboo has the capacity to quickly reload itself.

- Energy efficient - window blinds have the characteristic of an energy efficient materials that helps to save energy, examples of these are cellular shades that can be as effective as installing a double-paned blinds.

Window blinds help to reduce the usage of heat and air conditioning, as a result, less polluting elements are released into the air. They are also beneficial in reducing fuel usage, which minimize the need for fossil fuels.

- Environmental-friendly materials - window blinds are recyclable, which means the materials are not meant for landfills. They are also produced without Pecs and have no explosive organic compounds. PVC is a plastic substance that can be harmful to the environment and takes a long time to break. An example of PVC-free blinds is the roller shades and Eco-Green line of solar sun. Some examples of eco-friendly materials would be window treatments made of hemp, bamboo fabric or organic cotton.

Inexpensive Blinds Can Have More Functionality

Are you looking for various window dressings lately? Maybe you have noticed some blinds that are quite expensive for your budget. Genuine wood window blinds can actually cost several hundred dollars. Since things have been tough for most of us nowadays, lots of people can't meet the expense of spending too much for their window coverings.

Window blinds offer you elegant and beautiful which are not pretentious. They are not over-elaborate, which is perfect for those persons who prefer simplicity and hate confusion. They provide privacy and can effectively bloc out the sunlight so that you can watch television with a smile, study in peace or have a siesta during the day.

Consumers have a wide option of colors and designs when it comes to blinds. You'll find lots of styles such as Roman shades that are made of vinyl as well as vertical blinds and the simple horizontal selection. In addition, you have the chance to buy faux blinds that are made of different materials based on your requirement. Faux blinds would look genuine but they are cheaper than real wood blinds. They are also much simpler to clean because there is no danger of warping them if you decide to use soapy water to remove any debris or dirt.

Another advantage of good window blinds is that they offer more option when it comes to color. You can purchase window blinds in natural looking stains and textures so they may appear as though they are made out of a costly natural material. However, you also have the option of choosing a vivid bright color that really makes your windows noticeable.

Finding Discount Window Blinds

One of the best ways to cover your windows is by using window blinds. They are easy and simple to use, and allow you to cover or open your windows with ease. You can keep out the light when you don't want it and let it in when you need it. There are many different styles for window blinds, and they are quite affordable as well. If you want to save money on your window covers, then you need to do some searching online and off..

If you want a discount on window blinds, then one of the best styles that you should get are venetian blinds. Venetian blinds are usually discounted since they are a very simple and plain kind of blinds. They have many different colors and sizes, and can look great in a room as long as you know how to place them.

Venetian blinds may be the simplest form of window blinds, but they are also very good at keeping sunlight and heat out of a room. They have overlapping slats so that the heat and light from the outside does not enter your rooms without you opening the blinds.

Another kind of blinds that is inexpensive is the woven bamboo blinds. These are blinds which look great in Oriental themed rooms and stylish rooms because they are very interesting and look great. They come in different colors and can even have patterns, so you have a lot of freedom when it comes to style. Bamboo is quite inexpensive, so it is easy to find discount bamboo blinds.

Faux wood blinds are a newer kind of blinds which are available today. They are made from fake wood and create blinds which are cheaper than wood blinds but look just as good. The blinds have been created to resemble wood greatly and are even almost as durable as real wood.

There are a lot of designs for wood blinds and patterns to look like different types of wood. It is best to use faux wood blinds in bathrooms since they look great in the bathroom and also are water resistant. This way, you can use the bathroom and not be afraid of your windows being uncovered.