Having bought our toddler a new Ikea bed we took it home and decided to put it up. When I say we I actually mean I decided to put it up! The good news is that assembling an Ikea bed is ridiculously easy, even for a fairly small female with little DIY experience. It took me just under an hour and required no drilling or anything scary like that! The biggest challenge was working out which nail was which and trying to equate the peices of bed to the not so great pictures in the manual! So the bed frame was done ... hurrah and our toddler was hugely excited. So we dragged the brand new Ikea mattress out of it's plastic cover and were hit by a really horrible, potent, strong smell.
Bella was very excited so we put the mattress on the bed, but after about half n hour the whole room smelt awful and we weren't happy about using it at all. I decided to contact the Ikea online customer services who told me that the smell was from a chemical which was a 'fire redundant' and that the mattress should be aired for 2 days before use. Now, it seems to me that if a mattress should be aired before use to get rid of chemicals then it should say so somewhere, but there is no warning on the packaging and no instructions to air. When I pointed this out to Ikea they agreed with me!! So it was off to our garden for the mattress for 2 days of airing and then we shall reassess. In the meantime it took a lot of chocolate to persuade Bella to sleep in her cot for a few more nights!
The final part of what was turning into a bit of a farce was when I decided to check her new Ikea duvet to make sure that didn't smell of chemicals too ... it didn't ... but when I tried to open it I found the store had left the security tag on. Great, I don't fancy a half hour drive just to remove a security tag so I'm going to have to cut it out and then sew the duvet back up, unless anyone can mail me instructions for removing a security tag at home.
The next morning I went into the garden to sniff at the mattress and it still smelt very strong to me, so I contacted Ikea again and again they confirmed it was a fire chemical, that it would need a few days airing and that it was totally safe for a child to sleep on the mattress. For anyone having a similar problem here is the transcript of my conversation with Ikea!
User (10:43):
Hi, I bought a sultan dromma mattress for a 2 year olds bed. When we opened it yesterday it had a terrible smell, really strong and potent. I spoke to a lady on this site who said to air it for a couple of days as it was a chemical. This seems very odd and I am becoming increasingly worried about a child sleepign on this mattress. It has been airing for 24 hours now and still smells very strong. Can you please confirm that this is normal and that it is safe for a child to sleep on or should I consider a different mattress?
Sara (10:48):
Yes this is normal with all of our mattresse''s, it is a fire retardent that they put on it. you need to air it for a few day''s but it will be fine.
User (10:49):
Why is there nothing on the packaging about airing it? And is it safe to use this kind of chemical on a child''s mattress?
Sara (10:52):
It is safe it''s just unfortunate that it has a bad smell. Im not sure why it doesn''t say to air it on the packaging. I do apologise about that.
User (10:54):
So even if it still smells in a few days it is safe to use with a child? I think there should be a warning on the packaging and I don''t think these types of chemicals should be used in bedding? Have you recieved any other complaints about this or has anyone got sick from sleeping on your mattresses?
Sara (11:00):
We have had a few asking about the smell but we have had anyone complain about being sick because of it.
User (11:00):
Ok, so finally can you please confirm that this chemical is definitly 100% safe for a toddler to sleep on.
Sara (11:02):
Yes it is.
User (11:02):
thank you
Sara (11:03):
Is there anything else I can help you with?
User (11:03):
No thank you
Sara (11:04):
Ok thank you for contacting IKEA.
Well ...maybe I'm being over cautious but it does seem very strange to me!
If anyone else has any experience of this please do let us know....
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