Inventor Kaan Sahin said he invented Cordaid after witnessing how cleats, used to keep cords out of children’s reach, were not used. “Consumers see the cleat as an eyesore,” he said. “They are not happy and they want them removed.”

Working as a blind installer in January 2011, consumers often told Sahin they would remove the cleats after he left the premises because they didn’t like them and they didn’t have children or pets.

Sahin decided to test that theory that cleats were not being used further by door knocking a new suburb in his area. He also worked with a friend who was a furniture removalist for a week. Both of those experiences confirmed to him that the cleats were not used. He also found that there were often no cleats or warning labels on corded window coverings at the homes he visited even after the mandatory safety regulations for the installation of corded window coverings came into effect.

“Cleats are an eyesore; there’s no structure to hide the device and you have to attach them to a wall,” he said. He also suggested cleats could not be installed on bay windows or in instances where there was more than one blind installed on a window. “The cleat is also too small,” he said. “If you buy large blinds that are more than 1.8 metres wide, it can’t retain the cord.”

He claims Cordaid, which took him 12 months to develop, was a safe alternative that did not need to be attached to a wall. Cordaid is a clear plastic device used to gather up a blind cord. Sahin is also attempting to interest the BMAA in recommending his invention.