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Old 07-01-2016, 01:30 PM
 
Location: Denver
1,175 posts, read 1,279,988 times
Reputation: 1483

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I have a similar 4 drawer chest and it's pretty heavy.
Forget child but if it drops on me, I'll probably die as well.
It's much heavier than those particle board Ikea ones but a child can definitely tip it over if pulled the top shelf out and then hang on it.
It's little hard for my 2 year old but I'm sure few years older can tip it.

My solution:
1st I put heavy clothes on the bottom (jeans) selves and light on top (socks, undergarments) on top so it's hard to tip.
2nd I put my bed close to it so it can only tip half way in case that happens.
3rd I put a chair and big toys in front of the chest so kids don't go there.
And of course lock the bedroom.

I'm more worried about the flat screen tv on a TV stand.
Kids can easily pull it if it's not secured.
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Old 07-01-2016, 01:39 PM
 
26,660 posts, read 13,673,902 times
Reputation: 19118
Quote:
Originally Posted by Partial Observer View Post
When the instructions state that the product should be anchored to the wall for security, I don't know that I would consider any non-anchored use to be "normal." I guess failing to follow directions is the new normal, so in that regard it's probably good that IKEA stepped in to save irresponsible people from themselves.
If a dresser needs to be anchored to a wall for normal everyday use then I'd say that it's a poorly designed product and not worth buying in the first place. A dresser is typically used to store clothing and people should be able to open and clothes the doors on a daily basis without having to anchor it to a stud in the wall prior to using it. Clearly, Ikea needs to require this because the product is too crappy to stay standing on it's own. Totally junk. Not worth buying in the first place but for those who did, I'm glad that Ikea is taking some responsibility by issuing the recall for their inferior product.
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Old 07-01-2016, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Lakewood OH
21,695 posts, read 28,374,435 times
Reputation: 35862
Any piece of furniture, no matter how sturdily made, can tip over with a child hanging from onto it or trying to climb it. It's a matter of throwing off the balance of a chest of drawers or a table or whatever the furniture might be with the child's weight. It can happen with the even heaviest pieces of furniture.

IKEA posts this warning with all it's children's furniture. They are not at fault if people won't heed their instructions. What are they supposed to do? Send out the IKEA Kops to make certain every parent heeds their warning and does the right thing?

Quote:
Good to know
WARNING! TIPPING HAZARD – Unanchored furniture can tip over. This furniture shall be anchored to the wall with the enclosed safety device to prevent it from tipping over.
Different wall materials require different types of fasteners. Use fasteners suitable for the walls in your home.
I wonder how many children have been killed by furniture they were trying to climb made by other manufacturers that don't give these warnings? This is just one more example of parents not paying attention even when the danger is put right in front of their noses.
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Old 07-01-2016, 03:17 PM
 
26,660 posts, read 13,673,902 times
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If this is a problem with all types of dressers then why is IKEA specifically only recalling the Malm dressers?

Why? Because they are designed in such a way that they are top heavy. That is a design flaw that has proven to be dangerous.
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Old 07-01-2016, 03:21 PM
 
Location: Denver
1,175 posts, read 1,279,988 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MissTerri View Post
If this is a problem with all types of dressers then why is IKEA specifically only recalling the Malm dressers?

Why? Because they are designed in such a way that they are top heavy. That is a design flaw that has proven to be dangerous.
Doesn't have to be top heavy to tip.
You pull a perfectly balanced dresser, it's out of balance right there.
As soon as you pull on one side, it's gonna fall.
The IKEA model got attention because it's of course IKEA plus the lightweight model makes it easy for kids to pull.
Any dresser/chest that's not too deep is easily tipped even if it's heavy.
What's better is something that's very deep so it has good COG and pulling one shelf won't make it out of balance.
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Old 07-01-2016, 04:11 PM
 
26,660 posts, read 13,673,902 times
Reputation: 19118
While it is true that many dressers can be tipped, the combination of a lightweight design with a heavy top have made this particular dresser more likely to tip then most dressers.

This is an article written in 2015 about known safety issues with the Ikea's dressers is worth reading. There are voluntary industry standards for ensuring that dressers don't tip over that have been in place since 2009. These standards ensure that a dresser is stable when all drawers are open and even with a 50 pound weight is put on the front (to simulate a child). Even after two deaths, IKEA did not feel that they had any obligation to even attempt to rise to these standards. In fact they were demonstrated to be among the worst in terms of their potential tip over hazard.

Despite recall, tip-over worries go on - philly-archives

Quote:
As he prepared to test the MALM that afternoon, Puett said, he thought it looked "pretty sturdy" and deep enough to stay upright when challenged. Then he opened each of the drawers - and watched the furniture tumble forward. Puett said he was shocked.

"Most of the time when you pull all the drawers out, it just sits there," he said. "I very seldom get one that fails when it's just unloaded."
The children who died were toddlers. One mother found her child's body underneath the dresser when she opened the bedroom door to his room in the morning, ready to wake him up. Another mother had put her son down for a nap. She checked on him periodically every 20 minutes. When she checked on him the final time, she found him crushed beneath the dresser. She heard no crash nor any screams. It really shouldn't be so easy for a dresser to fall as has been found in the case of the Malm. Safety standards do exist and can be met but the Malm was bottom of the barrel in this category. Hence the need for a recall.

Last edited by MissTerri; 07-01-2016 at 05:12 PM..
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Old 07-01-2016, 05:11 PM
 
10,196 posts, read 9,848,445 times
Reputation: 24135
While most furniture *can* tip over, most *don't*. If one design is falling enough to kill 6 kids, there is a design flaw. Period.
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Old 07-01-2016, 05:51 PM
 
Location: Kaliforneea
2,518 posts, read 2,045,888 times
Reputation: 5258
I am very sorry for the tragedy of children dying from a simple thing like a dresser in their room.

But I live Earthquake country. All my furniture is bolted to the walls with expanding toggle / butterfly drywall anchors or L-shaped alum brackets
http://removeandreplace.com/wp-conte...in-drywall.jpg

I have 7 foot tall bookcases (yes from IKEA!). They weigh hundreds of pounds, and could kill an adult male just the same if they fell on me.
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Old 07-01-2016, 05:52 PM
 
9,895 posts, read 9,536,550 times
Reputation: 10084
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird View Post
Dude, the kid doesn't have to be doing anything wrong. There are many situations where all drawers can be opened, maybe even not by the child. People are too locked into it being a "brat" trying to climb the dresser. We don't know that to be true at all, about any of the incidents. And for each death, I am sure it happened where it didn't result in serious injury many times over.

Dressers shouldn't be made in a way that makes them likely to fall over. Simple.
Dude: Obey the instructions to secure the dresser to the wall. Period. NO excuse. Then the dresser will not fall off. Guess you must think that your kid or that kid is a special snowflake and does not have to do that. but it will die of a preventable accident.
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Old 07-01-2016, 05:53 PM
 
9,895 posts, read 9,536,550 times
Reputation: 10084
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissTerri View Post
While it is true that many dressers can be tipped, the combination of a lightweight design with a heavy top have made this particular dresser more likely to tip then most dressers.

This is an article written in 2015 about known safety issues with the Ikea's dressers is worth reading. There are voluntary industry standards for ensuring that dressers don't tip over that have been in place since 2009. These standards ensure that a dresser is stable when all drawers are open and even with a 50 pound weight is put on the front (to simulate a child). Even after two deaths, IKEA did not feel that they had any obligation to even attempt to rise to these standards. In fact they were demonstrated to be among the worst in terms of their potential tip over hazard.

Despite recall, tip-over worries go on - philly-archives



The children who died were toddlers. One mother found her child's body underneath the dresser when she opened the bedroom door to his room in the morning, ready to wake him up. Another mother had put her son down for a nap. She checked on him periodically every 20 minutes. When she checked on him the final time, she found him crushed beneath the dresser. She heard no crash nor any screams. It really shouldn't be so easy for a dresser to fall as has been found in the case of the Malm. Safety standards do exist and can be met but the Malm was bottom of the barrel in this category. Hence the need for a recall.
in those cases, were the dressers NOT secured to the wall? If not, then it shows they were responsible for the death of their child by NOT securing them to the wall.
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