Popular sets of Christmas-themed quilt and pillowcase covers from Kmart have officially been recalled after a chorus of complaints from customers.
On Tuesday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a recall notice for the sets made by Kmart’s brand, Anko.
The recall includes the Mr & Mrs Claus Queen Bed set, Christmas Elf Reversible Single Bed Set, Christmas Quilt Single Bed Quilt Cover sets, Merry Christmas Pillowcase Set, and Santa Elves Pillowcase set.
‘The product emits a strong chemical smell that may cause reactions to consumers, as it did not cure properly during the manufacturing process,’ the recall notice reads.
Those who purchased the products have been urged to stop using them immediately and return them to their nearest Kmart store.
‘Customers are at risk of serious injury and/or illness if the products come into contact with skin or if the odour is inhaled.’
It follows Kmart’s announcement of a voluntary recall last week amid reports the odour had led to several hospitalisations.
The ACCC has officially recalled a series of Christmas-themed quilt and pillow case cover sets (pictured) after it was found to possibly cause ‘serious injury and/or illness’
Sydney mum Holly claimed the covers smelled ‘ridiculously strong of some sort of chemical, like it was so bad’.
Weary of sleeping in the sheets straight out of the packaging, she washed the sheets to try and get rid of the smell, which then wafted through her home.
She called for an ambulance after she started to feel sudden and sharp pains in her shoulder and jaw before falling dizzy and nauseous.
‘They took me and my son because my son was exposed as well,’ Holly told A Current Affair on Monday.
After a night in hospital, Holly threw out 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 the sets failed to cure during manufacturing and could cause harm if contact is made with the skin or a ‘chemical odour’ coming from them is inhaled
Sydney mum, Holly (pictured) claimed she tried to wash out the smell from the bed linen but it instead wafted through the home and caused her to fall dizzy
Brisbane mum Eden, who also spent a night in hospital, described the smell from the covers as ‘toxic petrol’.
‘I only had that small inhalation of it, I ended up having a swelling of the throat and not being able to really breathe,’ she said.
‘It wasn’t until they did an X-ray that they’ve seen that I’ve actually got inflammation on my heart and my lungs from being exposed to these sheets.’
Eden also tried to wash the sheets but also ended up throwing machine out.
She purchased one quilt set for her and her husband and another for their four-year-old daughter Lola, which have since been thrown in the bin.
Eden claimed the covers still smelled strongly of chemicals, even while wearing an N95 mask days after disposing them in the garbage 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 loved ones being rushed to hospital.
Another mum from Brisbane, Eden (pictured), only slightly inhaled the sheets but was found to have an inflamed heart and lungs from inhaling the smell from the sheets
Kmart announced it had launched a voluntary recall of the products last week and will offer full refunds to customers even if they hadn’t experienced adverse effects (stock image)
One Gold Coast mum said her husband woke up early in excruciating pain and begged her to call an ambulance two weeks after putting them on their bed.
She claimed paramedics told her to take the quilt off the bed when they arrived as they had reportedly encountered similar complaints from other patients about the same product.
The woman also claimed her son then began to suffer asthmatics symptoms just days after she laid out the quilt on his bed.
Her husband’s chest pains subsided the next day after she removed the bed linen but the family still feel a ‘weird burning in our eyes and stuffy noses’.
