Why were IKEA chests of drawers banned in the USA?
Now it’s hard to imagine where we found all sorts of useful things for the home that IKEA stores offer today. For furnishings, dishes, cozy home textiles, and a wide variety of convenient gadgets, we go here. And IKEA does not disappoint. And suddenly an unexpected message - in the States they are abandoning IKEA chests of drawers! What's wrong with this furniture?
The content of the article
What kind of chests of drawers are we talking about?
The variety of assortment is one of the many advantages of IKEA. In the company's catalogs you can find a variety of chests of drawers.
Reference. In the USA, not all modifications of the necessary furniture were abandoned. We are talking only about the Malm series, which offers a model with four to six drawers.
The creators of the Malm chest of drawers tried to make it attractive. And they managed to achieve this. Judge for yourself, here are a few characteristics of the furniture:
- Capacity. For example, a model with a height of 1 m 23 cm has fairly wide (0.8 m) and deep (0.48 m) drawers. It is very convenient to store clothes, bed linen or kitchen textiles.
- Laconic design. Such an item will not cause problems when combined with other interior details. The simplicity of the forms, the clarity of the lines, and the absence of original decorative motifs will fit into both classic and modern designs based on minimalism or high-tech style.
- 4 color options. Based on their preferences, buyers can choose both light (white, oak wood) and dark (brown, black-brown) options.
- Affordable price.
What do Americans blame on chests of drawers?
Comfortable furniture became the cause of an irreparable tragedy. Several American families lost their children. And the chest of drawers became the direct cause of their death.
This is due to the instability of the collected goods. It turned out that the collected The chest of drawers (the six-drawer model weighs almost 24 kg) easily tips over. Moreover, in houses where there are no small children, there are no problems with furniture. After all, chests of drawers don’t just turn over on their own. Everything happens at the moment when a curious and active child tries to see what is on the chest of drawers. Having pulled out the drawers a little, the kids use them as steps on the stairs and begin to climb up.
In this situation, the instability of a piece of furniture manifests itself. He turns over, the baby falls, and the chest of drawers presses him on top.
Reference. In the United States, more than 70 children were injured when the Malm chest of drawers tipped over. In 6 cases the fall resulted in death.
It was impossible to leave the situation without intervention. In the United States, a decision was made to ban furniture that turned out to be dangerous.
Causes of the tragedy
IKEA also could not help but react to what happened. Having carefully studied the situation, experts found that In all cases that resulted in injuries, buyers did not follow important recommendations for installing furniture in this series.
Important! Malm chests of drawers must be attached to the wall. Fasteners are included with the product.
In the same time IKEA has decided to recall all chests of drawers sold in the US and Canada.. They were traded for more than 30 years, during which time 29 million units of the popular product were sold.
Owners of Malm models are asked to choose what to do with the purchased product:
- Upon return the buyer receives the funds spent on the purchase of furniture.
- With continued use IKEA offers professional services to ensure that furniture is securely attached to the wall and is safe to use in the future.
Sales continue in Russia
Currently, IKEA has not completely abandoned furniture deemed dangerous in North America. The company's catalogs continue to offer this product to Russian customers. And not only in Russia, European buyers can also purchase it.
The reason for this state of affairs is difference in Russian, European and American safety standards.
Continuing sales The company strongly recommends securing the back of the product to the wall after assembly and warns against the danger of using loose furniture.
Given the tragedies that have already happened, it makes sense to heed these tips. Or choose another model, of which there are many in the same catalog.
Explain how to proceed? My three-year-old baby pulled out the chest of drawers, climbed in and sat there happy, a surprise for his mother. Well, our chest of drawers is heavy, made of wood, and it could support me. What if this plywood... You can’t explain everything in advance
In Russia, no one will allow children to climb on furniture
We haven’t tried to look after the child better, there are also fasteners that do not allow the chest of drawers to be opened. My grandson has filled up the kitchen table with forks and knives
We have a chest of drawers like this. At our last apartment, we attached the chest of drawers to the wall, as indicated in the instructions. And after the move we didn’t have time. The child (4 years old) did NOT climb on it, but simply pulled out all five drawers at once. Result: the chest of drawers began to fall forward, it slid onto the floor and the TV broke. It’s fortunate that my husband quickly came running and didn’t let the chest of drawers fall. Then, of course, they immediately attached it to the wall. So, indeed, the chests of drawers in this series are unstable. Verified.
Well, a banal clothes hanger, for which screws, dowels and instructions are included, can also be dangerous for a child if the hanger was glued to the wall with snot, and the mother hung her windbreaker on it and went to watch TV. After all, a child without supervision can begin to tug at his mother’s jacket and bring this hanger down on his head. DANGEROUS!!! BAN!!!
For “yazhmothers” it is necessary to sell only furniture cast from concrete, with the obligatory and paid service of an installer who will screw it to the wall with a screw with a diameter of 10 centimeters.
Parents are strange, in our house all the cabinets are screwed to the walls! The refrigerator and freezer are also secured! all dangerous places must always be under control, even when the children grow up, because there will be grandchildren who will constantly come to visit.
Each Ikea chest of drawers comes with instructions in which it is written in black and white that the furniture must be secured to the wall in order to avoid tipping over.
This is how the law of damages works in the United States. the manufacturer of the product is responsible for all risks that a reasonable manufacturer could and should have foreseen. If such a case goes to court, it is heard and decided by a JURY, who also writes the amount of the verdict, which may include punitive damages in special cases. therefore, all major manufacturers are aware of this law and try to be as careful as possible. This closet alone cost Ikea $44 million in damage. if he kills someone else, then there may be higher numbers.
People neglect safety precautions and then ban furniture from sale. Logical!
How in kindergartens such furniture should be attached to the floor or to the wall
nightmare
It’s easier for an American to bury a child and sue dresser manufacturers than to try to explain to a child how to behave...