As you embark on your spring cleaning, one of the first things you should do
is round up any lingering items found on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission's 10 most wanted list.
The CPCS says a lot of these items, many of which have resulted in
children's deaths, are still in numerous households.
"As families do their spring cleaning, we want them to take a fresh look at
items in their homes such as appliances, window blinds, older cribs, storage
chests, and halogen lamps to make sure the products have not been recalled
and don't present hazards," said CPSC Acting Chairman Thomas Moore. "We can
get dangerous products off store shelves, but the real challenge is to get
them out of families' homes."
Some of the products you'll want to get rid of or repair include:
Dishwashers that present fire hazards. GE and Hotpoint dishwashers have a
slide switch that can melt and ignite. GE made the dishwashers between 1983
and 1989. GE is offering free rewiring repairs. Call GE at (800) 599-2929.
Meanwhile, wiring in the door latch of Whirlpool (Kenmore) dishwashers may
overheat and catch fire. These recalled dishwashers were sold from June 1991
to October 1992. Whirlpool is offering repair at no cost. Call (800)
874-9481 for the repair.
Window blind cords with loops. These can strangle children. In 1995, CPSC
worked with window blind manufacturers to eliminate the pull cord loops on
new blinds; old blinds need to be repaired. You can get a free repair kit
from the Window Covering Safety Council, www.windowcoverings.org.
Halogen torchiere floor lamps. These lamps can start fires if
combustibles, such as drapes, get too close. They need a wire or glass guard
to reduce the risk of fire. You can receive such a guard by sending a
postcard to Catalina Lighting Consumer Services, 18191 NW 68th Avenue,
Miami, FL 33015.
Playpens that can collapse and trap a child. A new industry standard
requires that the top rail of playpens automatically lock into place when
the device is fully set up. Playpens that had voluntary recalls by the
manufacturers include Evenflo Happy Camper, Happy Cabana, and Kiddie Camper;
Century Fold-N-Go models 10-710 and 10-810; Baby Trend Home and Roam and
Baby Express; and Kolcraft Playskool Travel-Lite Model. In addition, Cosco
playpen models Zip n Go, Okie Dokie and Carters have plastic tabs on the
playpen that lock the rails into the corners. The tabs can break or loosen,
potentially collapsing and trapping a child. These playpens were sold from
May 1995 through 1999. Visit www.djgusa.com to get a refund or replacement
for the Cosco playpens.
Lane Cedar chests with lids that automatically lock when closed. Produced
by The Lane Co. between 1912 and 1987 and sold under the Lane and Virginia
Maid brands, at least 12 children have suffocated inside the locked chests.
You can get a free replacement lock by going to www.newlock.net.
Old cribs can entrap, strangle, or suffocate. Destroy or replace old cribs
that have more than 2-3/8 inches between slats, corner posts, or cutouts on
the headboard or footboard.
Old chest freezers with heavy lids that latch. These chests, made from
1945 and 1970, have caused at least 27 deaths. If you have one of these
freezers, destroy it, take the door off, or remove the latch. For more
information, visit http://aham.org/Freezer_Safety/Freezer_Safety.cfm.
Hairdryers without immersion protection devices to prevent electric shock.
If you purchased your dryer in the early 1990s, replace it with a new one
with a large rectangular plug and a sticker or notice that it was tested.
Old multi-purpose lighters that are not child-resistant. Children used
these multi-purpose lighters to set at least 237 fires, resulting in 45
deaths and 103 injuries. As of Dec. 22, 2000, multi-purpose lighter are
required to be child-resistant. Throw away any older versions.
Drawstrings around the neck of children's jackets and sweatshirts. These
can catch and strangle children. At least 23 children have been killed as
the result of these deadly drawstrings. Pull out any drawstrings and don't
pass along drawstring clothing.
You can keep up to date on product recalls and alerts by subscribing to an
e-mail information service. Visit www.cpsc.gov/about/subscribe.html to
subscribe. You can also call their hotline at (800) 638-2772 or get more
information from their main web site at www.cpsc.gov
Published: April 30, 2002
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