IKEA is recalling about 8 million MALM chests and dressers and 21 million additional children’s and adult chests and dressers in the United States and 6.6 million in Canada.
The recalled chests and dressers are unstable if they aren’t properly anchored to the wall, posing a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children, the company and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The recalled children’s chests and dressers are taller than 23.5 inches and adult chests and dressers are taller than 29.5 inches. The 29 million units of recalled chests and dressers include: MALM 3-drawer, 4-drawer, 5-drawer, and three 6-drawer models and other children’s and adult chests and dressers.
On July 22, 2015, the commission and IKEA announced a repair program for the chests and dressers that included a free wall-anchoring repair kit for the MALM chests and dressers and other IKEA chests and dressers. Two fatalities involving MALM chests and dressers occurred prior to the announcement of the repair program.
After the July 2015 announcement, an additional death occurred.
None of the chests or dressers in these incidents had been anchored to the wall. In addition to the three deaths, IKEA received reports of 41 tip-over incidents involving the MALM chests and dressers, resulting in 17 injuries to children between the ages of 19 months and 10 years old.
The MALM chests and dressers are constructed of particleboard or fiberboard and are white, birch (veneer), medium brown, black-brown, white stained oak (veneer), oak (veneer), pink, turquoise, grey, grey-turquoise, lilac, green, brown stained ash (veneer), and black.
A 5-digit supplier number, 4-digit date stamp, IKEA logo, country of origin, and “MALM” are printed on the underside of the top panel or inside the side panel.
The recalled MALM chests were sold from 2002 through June 2016 for between $70 and $200.
Recalled MALM chests and dressers
|
Names |
Sold Dates |
Measurements |
|
MALM 3 |
10/2002 to 6/2016 |
31½” x 18⅞” x 30¾” |
|
MALM 4 |
6/2002 to 6/2016 |
31½” x 18⅞” x 39½” |
|
MALM 5 |
10/2002 to 4/2006 |
157/8” x 19” x 481/4" |
|
MALM 6 |
6/2002 to 6/2016 |
31½” x 18⅞” x 48⅜” |
|
MALM 6 LONG |
11/2002 to 6/2016 |
63” x 18⅞” x 30¾” |
|
MALM 6 |
4/2006 to 6/2016 |
153/4” x 191/8” x 483/8" |
Other recalled chests and dressers
Most of the non-MALM chests and dressers included in this recall are listed on the IKEA website at www.IKEA-USA.com/recallchestsanddressers.
Remedy
Consumers should inspect their recalled IKEA chests and dressers to ensure that they’re properly anchored to the wall, the company and commission advise. They should move any unanchored chests and dressers into storage or other areas where children can’t access them until the chests and dressers are properly anchored to the wall or removed from the home.
Consumers are entitled to a full refund for chests and dressers manufactured between January 2002 and June 2016. Consumers with chests and dressers manufactured prior to January 2002 will be eligible for a partial store credit.
For more information on how to receive a refund or free wall-anchoring repair kit, call IKEA at 866-856-4532 anytime or visit www.IKEA-USA.com/recallchestsanddressers or www.IKEA-USA.com and click on Product Recall.
A child dies every two weeks and a child is injured every 24 minutes in the U.S. from furniture or TVs tipping over, according to commission data.
