Death of Child Prompts Recall of Window Blinds by Blind Xpress
Home product recall 12-273. Announced by CPSC on Sep 6, 2012.
- CPSC: stop using it
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own notice is on cpsc.gov.
The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Sep 6, 2012. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Stop using it what CPSC tells owners to do now (needs attention)
- About 139,000 vertical 315,000 horizontal units, as CPSC gives them
- Not said injuries, in the notice
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The vertical blinds have an adjustment cord that forms a loop that is not attached to the wall or floor. In some instances, this loop has a weighted device at the bottom. The horizontal blinds do not have inner cord stop devices to prevent the accessible inner cords from being pulled out. A child can become entangled in a cord loop and strangle.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
CPSC urges consumers to immediately stop using the window coverings and contact the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) to receive a free repair kit. For more information, contact the WCSC toll-free at (800) 506-4636 anytime or visit www.windowcoverings.org
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Which ones are recalled?
This recall involves all Blind Xpress custom-made vertical blinds that do not have a cord-tensioning device that attaches to the wall or floor, as well as all horizontal blinds that do not have inner cord stop devices.
About 139,000 vertical 315,000 horizontal units, as CPSC gives them.
Custom-made Vertical and Horizontal blinds.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 4 photos on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Made by Blind Xpress, Livonia, Mich.
- Various blind specialty stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana from January 1995 through December 2011 for between $16 and $380.
- Made in United States, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
In 2009, a 2-year-old girl from Commerce Township, Mich. reportedly strangled in the loop of a vertical blind cord that was not attached to the wall or floor.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.