The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a strong and unusual warning last week to owners of Hodedah HI4DR four-drawer dressers.
“CPSC tested the Hodedah HI4DR dresser and found that it is unstable and can tip over if not anchored to the wall, posing serious tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in injuries to children or even death,” the agency said in a news release. The dressers should be anchored to the wall or placed “where children cannot get near them.”
It added, “CPSC intends to continue pressing the case for a recall with Hodedah.”
CPSC engineers last year tested more than 180 models of bedroom chests and dressers to determine whether they complied with ASTM voluntary stability standards. The agency said that 9 percent of the units tested failed.
CPSC puts pressure on importer
In many cases, the manufacturers, importers or distributors agreed to recall the products – even in cases where there had been no incidents of injuries reported. Hodedah, an importer based in Brooklyn, N.Y., has not agreed.
It is highly unusual for CPSC to report on test failures unless it also announces a recall. It clearly is drawing attention to this failure in its effort to “press the case” for a recall.
The dresser that CPSC tested weighed about 75 pounds without any clothing in the drawers. The units were sold online at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Sears.com, and Homedepot.com for between $100 and $200 in beech, mahogany, chocolate, cherry, white and black colors. The dressers measure about 40 inches tall, 27.5 inches wide and 15.5 inches deep, CPSC said.
The Home Furnishings Association strongly urges its members, and all furniture retailers, not to sell bedroom chests and dressers unless they meet ASTM stability standards. Retailers also should offer customers tip-restraint kits with all clothing storage units.
