More IKEA Blinds Recalled Due to Risk of Child Strangulation

More than 3.3 million IKEA roller, Roman and roll-up blinds have been recalled due to dangerous designs that may allow cords or chains to pose a risk of strangulation for children. 

The IKEA blinds recall, announced June 10 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), is part of an ongoing effort to remove all of these types of blinds from the market. The recall for this latest batch comes after the CPSC and IKEA received a report that a 1 ½-year-old boy in Lowell, Massachusetts nearly strangled on one of the IKEA Roman blinds on February 28 of this year.

About 790,000 of the Roman blinds were recalled in November 2008 and August 2009 after a little girl in Connecticut strangled to death, and a 2-year-old boy almost strangled. There was also a previous recall for 533,000 roller blinds in October 2009.

The recall affects about 3,360,000 window shades, including all IKEA Roman and roll-up blinds, as well as any roller blind that does not have a tension device attached to the bead chain. The blinds were sold by IKEA from January 1998 through June 2009 for between $5 and $55.

The latest recall follows a joint statement from the CPSC and the Window Covering Safety Council in December calling for an end to the use of all similar window shade designs. The statement accompanied a recall of 50 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds that covered nearly a dozen products from J.C. Penny, Wal-Mart and other retailers.

According to the CPSC, there have been five deaths and 16 near strangulations linked to Roman shades since 2006, and three deaths associated with roll-up blinds since 2001.

The CPSC recommends that consumers immediately stop using all Roman and roll-up blinds, as well as all roller blinds that do not have a tension device attached to the chain. IKEA is accepting all of the blinds back for a full refund. For more information, consumers can visit the firm’s website at www.ikea-usa.com.