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Do you take safety and quality for granted?

When we buy new furniture, for instance a sofa or a bed we can take for granted that the items purchased are safe and will be durable, but are they really safe? We assume that our furniture will be flame retardant and that the fabrics will be safe and will not cause us illness or other problems. How do we know we are buying a safe product?

We need to be assured that any furniture we buy is safe and durable, that the materials used in manufacture are legal. Are there any legal constraints that manufacturers must abide by and who monitors these laws? In the first instance Trading Standards usually only become involved if there is a specific incident that gives rise to concern, but sometimes Trading Standards will carry out monitoring exercises to ensure industry regulations are being complied with, a recent example involved a widespread investigation into second hand furniture coming from Poland being purchased to serve the needs of immigrant workers. The furniture did not comply with standards relating to flammability and was standardised as dangerous.

Furniture manufacturers are keen to ensure their products are safe for customers to use. In the UK manufacturers comply with the industry standards set down by the British Standards Institute. Standards are codes of best practice that improve safety and efficiency. The BSI British Standards is the National Standards Body for the UK and is recognised by the Government and by international governments as the organisation with responsibility to develop and publish standards. There are a number of British Standards that apply to furniture but the main ones are BS 2543 (2004) relating to the durability of fabrics and BS EN 1021 (2006) relating to flammability of furniture. For the majority of purchasers it is essential that products are fire retardant and will not contribute to the spread or severity of a fire. We all look for the tag with a cross through a cigarette, this is especial important if the furniture is second hand, it assures us that the furniture is made from fire retardant materials.

When we purchase our safe furniture it is vital that we take care of it, not just because furniture is costly to replace but because we want to ensure that it remains safe and is fit for purpose, this is especially true when we have children. To ensure the durability and robustness of our furniture we should carry out some basic maintenance on a regular basis. We should vacuum clean and dust our furniture especially our sofas and chairs. If the covers are loose we could remove and wash and air then occasionally. If the covers are not loose we should keep then as clean as possible dealing with any spillages or stains as soon as they occur. If our furniture is made of leather we should occasionally wipe it over with a damp cloth, the manufacturer will usually provide care instructions and we should follow these.

Sofas and chairs can have much usage and we should try and be as careful with our furniture as possible, stop the children from climbing and jumping on the furniture. We should try and keep our furniture away from direct heat, light, damp and draughts and try not to abuse the fabric too much. Sofas and chairs are meant to be enjoyed and should bring us comfort and allow us to relax. Nevertheless, we must be aware that they need to be treated well, it is expensive to replace sofas and chairs too often but basic good housekeeping and a bit of respect can ensure longevity, continued comfort and style.