How many people actually attach their cheap Ikea furniture to the wall?
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How many people actually attach their cheap Ikea furniture to the wall?
If own some Ikea furniture, a staple of dorm rooms and family dens alike, you may have to choose between recall dollars, or simply add screws.
The company is recalling tens of millions of dressers due to falling risk, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Tuesday.
The recall — one of the biggest ever, according to the CPSC — affects up to 36 million Ikea products, from Alesund to Vollen. Most notable is Ikea’s popular line of Malm dressers, which have tipped over and killed three toddlers in the U.S. and injured over a dozen more, the CPSC says.
Ikea has already been running a campaign encouraging people to anchor their dressers and shelves to the wall, giving away free anchor kits. A third tip-over death in February finally triggered the recall. Ikea’s the largest furniture retailer in the world, and for budget-conscious shoppers of a certain age the Malm line is a staple — there are four Malm dressers and a a couple beds and nightstands in my family alone.
The whole thing got us wondering: after putting together their Ikea furniture, how many people actually anchor it to the wall?
From @Marketplace morning meeting: “Do you bolt your IKEA crap to the wall?”
— Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal) June 29, 2016
Some of you had jokes:
@kairyssdal @Marketplace My entire apartment is an IKEA balancing act.
— Tobin Low (@tobinlow) June 29, 2016
@kairyssdal @Marketplace I put all my furniture sideways, so it can fall over. It’s already over. Much safer that way.
— Timberati (@Timberati) June 29, 2016
@kairyssdal @Marketplace look at it this way, I could bolt *all* my furniture to the wall, or I could bolt my *one* child to the wall…
— Becca (@sciliz) June 29, 2016
@lizzieohreally @tobinlow @kairyssdal @Marketplace I use my IKEA stuff to support my other IKEA stuff.
— Dan Szematowicz (@avidindoorsman) June 29, 2016
Our listeners who have children, or live in Southern California (where Marketplace is based and earthquakes abound) were more likely to secure their stuff — or at least acknowledge they should be.
@kairyssdal @Marketplace Yes, since I had kids. Good idea with all tall furniture, not just IKEA, and the IKEA instructions clearly say so
— Chad Ellinger (@cellinger) June 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/daveavramovich/status/748169354320109569
@kairyssdal @Marketplace didn’t when renting, then were used to un-bolted when we bought, and I mostly just hope the kids don’t climb on it
— Jonah Sutton-Morse (@jsuttonmorse) June 29, 2016
Turns out our listeners, on Twitter anyway, are a practical bunch.
https://twitter.com/SebChefRef/status/748210813266173952
https://twitter.com/DawnSev/status/748175035974574080
https://twitter.com/nanconnolly/status/748207665919197184
@Marketplace Not just the IKEA crap. Lot’s of expensive furniture out there that poses a tip over risk. Do you even physics?
— Dugan27 (@Dugan27) June 29, 2016
So, if you have one of these risky dressers, what do you do? Ikea is urging everyone to secure their stuff to the wall — they’ll give you a kit and even come install it for free — but customers are also entitled to a full refund, or store credit if you bought the dresser before 2002.
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