Furniture maker Ikea has issued a recall on over 27 million dressers and chests because they can fall and crush children if they aren’t anchored to a wall, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The recall comes after the deaths of 2 children, who were crushed when IKEA’s MALM chest fell on them.
The chests and dressers in question include new and old models (2002- present), so the CPSC recommends consumers immediately stop using all IKEA children’s chests and dressers taller than 23 ½ inches and adult chests and dressers taller than 29 ½ inches, unless they are securely anchored to a wall.
Ikea is now offering free wall anchoring kits for many of their MALM chests, along with other chests and dressers to consumers.
To receive a kit you must fill out the form found here, then print and mail it in to the address shown; Ikea will then mail you a kit.
Until you receive a kit the CPSC advises that you should move the unanchored chests and dressers into storage or other areas where they cannot be accessed by children until they get one.
Over 7 million MALM chests and around 20 million other IKEA chests and dressers are part of this nationwide recall/repair program.
The 2 children who died were both around the age of 2: one was a 2-year-old boy from West Chester, Pa., who died after a MALM 6-drawer chest tipped over and pinned him against his bed in 2014 and the other child was almost 2, from Snohomish, Wash., and died in June of last year after he became trapped beneath a three-drawer MALM chest that fell over.
In both cases neither chest was secured to the wall
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