Roman shades by Lowes recalled

On December 3, 2010 Roman shades sold by Lowe's stores have been recalled.

This recall involves all styles and sizes of roman shades sold by Lowe's stores. Roman shades with repair kits are not included in this recall.

What is the danger?

Strangulations can occur when a child places his/her neck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the backside of the roman shade or when a child pulls the cord out and wraps it around his/her neck.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is aware of two incidents of children that became entangled in the exposed cord found on the backside of roman shades while looking out of windows. A 2-year-old boy was found with the inner cord wrapped around his arm and neck and a 4-year-old boy suffered a rope burn to his neck after becoming entangled in the cord of a roman shade.

At time of the recall neither Lowe's stores nor Health Canada has received reports of incidents or injuries to Canadians related to the use of these roman shades.

What should I do?

You should immediately stop using the recalled roman shades and contact the Window Covering Safety Council for a free repair kit. Contact them through Window Coverings Website.

The free repair kit involves removing the cords and attaching devices to manually raise and lower the shade. Consumers may also remove the cords without attaching the devices. However, the product will be inoperable and remain in the lowered position.

You may also contact Lowe's at 1-800-445-6937 anytime or check out Lowe's website.

How many were sold and where?

Approximately 16,500 units of the recalled roman shades were sold at Lowe's stores, and on-line in Canada.

These recalled roman shades were sold from December 2007 to June 2010. The shades were manufactured in China, United States, Mexico and Taiwan. The company is Lowe's Companies Canada, ULC.

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