Two young Australian mothers have detailed terrible health experiences after purchasing Christmas-themed duvet covers at Kmart.
Hundreds of customers have recently purchased the discount retail giant’s Mr & Mrs Claus and Christmas Elf reversible duvet cover set.
Some have claimed that they have since experienced health problems with a number of complaints centering on a “diesel”-like smell after removing clothes from packaging before feeling dizzy.
Holly, a mum 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.
Sydney’s mum Holly (pictured) claimed she tried to get the smell out of her bedding but instead it wafted through the house and made her dizzy.
Dozens of Kmart customers have reported experiencing a “diesel” smell in Christmas-themed duvet cover sets (pictured) purchased at Kmart.
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 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.”
Kmart announced Monday that it had issued a voluntary recall for both products.
Any customer who purchased the duvet covers, regardless of experiencing adverse effects, can return them to the store for a full refund.
“We take the quality of all of our products seriously and are committed to addressing customer satisfaction issues with products,” a Kmart spokesperson said.
‘We have taken the proactive step of notifying the ACCC today of a voluntary product recall.
“The public notice of withdrawal will be published in the coming days.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kmart for comment.