Kmart’s popular Christmas-themed duvet cover and pillowcase sets have been officially pulled from the market after a chorus of customer complaints.
On Tuesday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a recall notice for devices made by Kmart’s brand Anko.
The recall includes the Mr & Mrs Claus Queen Bedding Set, Christmas Elf Reversible Twin Bedding Set, Christmas Quilt Twin Duvet Cover Sets, Merry Christmas Pillowcase Set and Sham Set of Santa Elves pillow.
“The product emits a strong chemical odor that may cause reactions in consumers as it was not properly cured during the manufacturing process,” the recall notice reads.
Those who purchased the products were urged to stop using them immediately and return them to the nearest Kmart store.
“Customers are at risk of serious injury and/or illness if the products come into contact with their skin or if the odor is inhaled.”
This follows Kmart’s announcement of a voluntary recall last week amid reports that the odor had led to several hospitalizations.
The ACCC has officially recalled a number of Christmas-themed duvet and pillowcase sets (pictured) after it was found they could cause “serious injury and/or illness”.
Holly, a mother from Sydney, claimed the blankets smelled “ridiculously strong like some kind of chemical, like it was that bad.”
Tired of sleeping with sheets fresh out of the package, she washed them to try to get rid of the smell, which then invaded her home.
He called an ambulance after he began to feel sudden, sharp pains in his shoulder and jaw before becoming dizzy and nauseous.
“They took me and my son because my son was also exposed,” Holly said. A current issue on Mondays.
After a night in hospital, Holly threw away her washing machine and took to social media, where she was horrified to learn that other Kmart shoppers had similar stories about the same product.
The ACCC warned that the equipment was not cured during manufacturing and could cause harm if contact is made with skin or a “chemical odour” from it is inhaled.
Sydney’s mum Holly (pictured) claimed she tried to get the smell out of her bedding but instead it wafted around the house and made her dizzy.
Brisbane mother Eden, who also spent a night in hospital, described the smell of the blankets as “toxic petrol”.
“I just took that little sniff and ended up with a swollen throat and not being able to really breathe,” he said.
“It wasn’t until they did an x-ray that they saw that I actually had inflammation in my heart and lungs from being exposed to these sheets.”
Eden also tried to wash the sheets but ended up throwing the machine away.
She bought a set of quilts for herself and her husband and another for her four-year-old daughter Lola, which have since been thrown in the trash.
Eden claimed the blankets still smelled strongly of chemicals, even when wearing an N95 mask days after throwing them in the trash outside.
“I love Kmart, but I don’t think I can shop there again,” Eden said.
Other customers have recently taken to social media with similar complaints about their loved ones being taken to the hospital.
Another Brisbane mother, Eden (pictured), only lightly inhaled the sheets, but was found to have an inflamed heart and lungs from inhaling the smell of the sheets.
Kmart announced that it had launched a voluntary recall of the products last week and will offer full refunds to customers even if they had not experienced adverse effects (file image)
A Gold Coast mother said her husband woke up early in excruciating pain and begged her to call an ambulance two weeks after putting them to bed.
He claimed that paramedics told him to remove the quilt from the bed when they arrived, as they had reportedly found similar complaints from other patients about the same product.
The woman also claimed that her son began suffering asthma symptoms a few days after she placed the quilt on his bed.
Her husband’s chest pains subsided the next day after she removed the bedding, but the family still feels “a strange burning in the eyes and stuffy nose.”