Crib recall: 2 million more

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Another 2 million cribs are being recalled due to the drop-side hazard, the culprit in millions of other crib recalls over the last few years.

Thursday's announcement is part of a wider program, in which the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of nine million drop-side cribs, which are considered riskier than four-sided cribs because they pose a risk of trapping and suffocating a small child.

In its latest recall, the commission said the cribs were manufactured by seven companies between 2000 and 2009. It said free repair kits will be provided to consumers "to immobilize the drop sides" over the next few weeks.

The commission said the crib makers were Child Craft of Medina, Ohio, Delta Enterprise Corp. of New York City; Evenflo of Miamisburg, Ohio; Jardine Enterprises of Taipei, Taiwan; LaJobi of Cranbury, N.J.; Million Dollar Baby of Montebello, Calif.; and Simmons Juvenile Products Inc. of New London, Wis.

The commission said the immobilization devices "should be attached to keep the drop side from detaching from the cribs." But it added that the devices are not a solution for cribs with broken or damaged drop-side hardware; in that case, the commission says consumers should request an alternative solution.

A spokeswoman for LaJobi said the company "has voluntarily joined an industry initiative in partnership with the CPSC to offer a kit including immobilization devices for drop side cribs. This easy-to-install, precautionary solution prevents the drop side from moving up and down."

LaJobi also said the move is "precautionary" since it has "not received reports of serious injury associated with these cribs."

Messages left with the other six companies were not immediately returned, but all of them have websites with information on the recalls. The commission said that Child Craft is out of business, but this could not be confirmed, as the company is still maintaining its website.

The overall recall of nine million cribs includes the recall of 217,000 Graco drop-side cribs in April, following that company's recall of 1.2 million high-chairs in March and 1.5 million strollers in January. In January, about 635,000 cribs made by Dorel Asia SRL were recalled, as well as of 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Manufacturing Inc. of Canada.

"The problem is the durability of the hardware that allows the side of the crib to drop up and down," said Don Mays, senior director of product safety for Consumer Reports. "While crib hardware was a lot more durable in the past, the hardware nowadays is just not adequate. Clearly, things have just gotten out of control in this industry."

Drop-side crib manufacturing has all but ended, said Mays, but many people still have these cribs in their homes. He said they should either use the free repair kit or replace it with a new one if they can afford it.

"Sometimes, economics prevent people from buying a new crib and they're not cheap necessarily," said Mays. "Ideally, get a new crib."