Humidifier Recall Information

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Release # 95-146

CPSC, Bemis Manufacturing Co. Announce Recall To Upgrade Humidifiers

Applies only to units sold before July 18, 1995

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Bemis Manufacturing Co. of Sheboygan Falls, Wisc., is announcing a recall to upgrade the safety of approximately 400,000 Waterwick whole house humidifiers. Two electrical switches on the humidifier can overheat and possibly catch fire if cleaning, descaling, and disinfecting solutions are misapplied directly onto the unit's electrical controls.

Consumers should stop using the humidifiers and call Bemis at (920) 467-4128 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. central time Monday through Saturday. Bemis will arrange for a free pickup and repair of the humidifiers. To promote consumer participation in this safety upgrade program, Bemis will include a free two-stage Bemis Air-Care air filter with each upgraded unit. In addition, the upgraded unit will have its warranty extended for 12 months.

This recall program involves only Waterwick whole house (10-12 gallon per day capacity) humidifiers, which have been sold nationwide and in Canada since 1990 at hardware and home supply stores. The humidifiers come in a variety of colors and styles. The control panel in the upper right hand corner of the grill has two control knobs and is labelled in part, "BEMIS WATERWICK." Two 2.6-gallon or greater capacity white water bottles fit inside the humidifier's cabinet. Recalled humidifiers can be identified by the following model numbers located on the large white Underwriters Laboratories (UL) sticker on the back side of the humidifier:

4261 4262 4273 4362 4363 6974 4363CN 4371 4963 4971 4973 6964 6964CN 4261CN

Bemis voluntarily brought this hazard to CPSC's attention and developed a corrective action plan. Bemis is aware of five reports of humidifiers overheating; however, the company and CPSC are not aware of any injuries.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Release # 00-020

CPSC, Sunbeam® Announce Recall of Glow-In-the-Dark Humidifiers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Sunbeam Corp., of Boca Raton, Fla., is recalling about 560,000 Sunbeam®, Hankscraft® and SunMark® humidifiers with water tanks that glow in the dark. These humidifiers can develop an electrical short, presenting a fire hazard.

Sunbeam has received 87 complaints from consumers using these humidifiers, including 42 reports of fire. Three consumers suffered smoke inhalation and another suffered minor burns to her hands.

These humidifiers were sold under the brand names Sunbeam, Hankscraft and SunMark. The Sunbeam brand has service numbers 644 through 646 written on the back of the humidifier's motor housing. The Hankscraft brand has service numbers 1260 through 1262 and the SunMark brand has service number 1260. Hankscraft and SunMark service numbers are written on the inside of the plastic housing of the motor. All the recalled humidifiers have date codes stamped on the plugs beginning with I001 through J226. The humidifiers are white with green, blue or rust colored covers. Sunbeam, Hankscraft or SunMark is written on the plastic cover. The Sunbeam humidifiers were sold with 1-gallon, 1.5-gallon and 2-gallon tank capacity. The Hankscraft humidifiers were sold with 1.2-gallon, 1.7-gallon and 2.5-gallon tank capacity. The SunMark humidifiers were sold with 1.2-gallon tank capacity.

Discount department and drug stores sold these humidifiers nationwide from March 1995 through December 1997 for $8 to $15.

Consumers should immediately stop using these humidifiers, and call Sunbeam for instructions on returning the products for a free replacement. For more information or to get instructions on returning the humidifiers, call Sunbeam at (800) 440-4668 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET on Saturday. Consumers also can access the company's web site at www.sunbeam.com.

Only the humidifiers with the service numbers and date codes listed are part of this recall. Also, if your humidifier has a sticker on the motor's plastic housing showing a manufactured date of 1999 or later, it is not part of the recall.

Date Code Stamped on Plug

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information or report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Release # 98-091

CPSC, Honeywell Announce Recall of Heaters and Humidifiers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Honeywell Consumer Products, of Southborough, Mass., is recalling about 1.6 million heaters sold under the Duracraft brand name, about 8,000 heaters sold under the DeLonghi brand name and 150,000 humidifiers sold under the Duracraft and Honeywell brand names in the United States and Canada. The heaters and humidifiers can overheat, presenting a fire hazard.

Honeywell has received 56 reports of heaters overheating or catching fire, causing one minor injury, and six reports of humidifiers overheating or catching fire. Some of the fires relating to these heaters and humidifiers caused extensive damage.

Only Duracraft model CZ-303, CZ-304, CZ-308, CZ-318, CZ-319 Heat Express and DeLonghi model CER-1 portable electric ceramic heaters are involved in this recall. The model number is located on a silver sticker on the bottom of the heater. The heater is 1500 watts and is colored black. Control knobs are located on the top or front of the unit. "Heat Express " and "Duracraft " or "DeLonghi" appear on the front of the unit.

Only Duracraft model DH-950 Moisture SelectTM humidifiers and Honeywell model HCW-3040 Moisture SelectTM humidifiers are involved in this recall. The model number is located on the bottom of the humidifier. The humidifier is colored white and has a clear water tank that holds about two gallons. Control knobs and two output vents (one for cold moisture and one for warm moisture) are located on top of the unit. "Duracraft" or "Honeywell" appears between the two output vents on top of the unit.

Retail outlets including discount stores, home centers, club stores and catalogue showrooms nationwide sold the Duracraft heaters from January 1989 through March 1998 for about $50 to $75. The DeLonghi heaters were sold from January 1989 through December 1990. Similar retail outlets nationwide sold the Duracraft and Honeywell humidifiers from May 1995 through March 1998 for about $50 to $80.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled heaters and humidifiers and call Honeywell at (800) 632-9498 anytime for instructions on returning their product for a free replacement.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information via Internet gopher services at cpsc.gov or report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

Release # 97-184

CPSC, Duracraft Announce Recall of Humidifiers

WASHINGTON,D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Duracraft Corp. of Southborough, Mass., is recalling about 1 million humidifiers. The humidifiers can overheat, posing a fire hazard.

Duracraft has received approximately 85 reports of these humidifiers overheating and catching on fire or producing smoke. There are no confirmed reports of injuries or deaths, but there have been reports of minor and major property damage.

Duracraft model DH-901 through DH-904 humidifiers with date codes that fall within the range of 900101 to 941231 and all model DH-3001 through DH-3006 humidifiers are involved in this recall. The model number and, if applicable, date code are located on a sticker on the bottom of each humidifier's base. These humidifiers have a rectangular shape.

Each humidifier includes a rectangular water tank ranging in size from 1 to 4 gallons. The tank is located next to the mist chamber which has an attached control panel. "Duracraft" is written on the front of the unit.

Major retail stores nationwide sold the humidifiers from January 1991 through June 1996 for about $40 to $80. Consumers should stop using these humidifiers immediately and call Duracraft toll-free at (800) 290-8495 anytime to receive a free replacement part to repair the model DH-901 through DH-904 humidifiers or to receive a replacement unit for model DH-3001 through DH-3006 humidifiers. Consumers can also write to Duracraft at 250 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information via Internet gopher services at cpsc.gov or report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.