Product Recalls: Is Your Home Still Safe?

When items are sold, they have been subject to a certain amount of testing and quality control. Being released and sold to thousands of people effectively serves as much more rigorous testing than what companies can reasonably perform in their labs. It may surprise you how often quality flaws that slip through the first stage will be caught after they’ve harmed people or been reported. This means that items sold as safe in your house may have since been recalled. When this happens, you need to be aware.

Recalled Food Items

This is the most common recall type, as contamination of one or two batches of a product are discovered after distribution to stores. Pet foods are at a higher risk of contamination and recall because they are subject to less strict testing and approval requirements. By keeping up with recently recalled groceries, you can keep your family safe from contaminated foods.

Recalled Toys

For the most part, companies are careful what they make for children, but occasionally mistakes happen. In the last year, there has been an exploding Tonka truck, a rattle with a choking hazard, and folding strollers that collapse on the children inside. Being a responsible parent means more than trying to buy safe toys. If a dangerous flaw is discovered about a toy your child plays with, remove it before it has a chance to malfunction and cause injury.

Recalled Appliances

Once you’ve taken care of immediate food poisoning and exploding toy risks, you should check the list of recalled appliances for any you own. Appliances, especially those in the kitchen or workshop, are often made of spinning metal parts that heat up when used. There are a number of unpleasant ways these devices can go wrong when they go wrong. One of the most common reasons for a recall is power issues, like the melting Toshiba laptop battery, but in 2016 there were reports of a violent washing machine and fire-starting dehumidifiers.

Your home should be a place of relaxation and safety. In order to protect yourself and your family from unnecessary hazards, it’s important to keep track of recent product recalls and those that concern items in your home. Don’t forget stuff you have stowed in the back of the pantry or linen closet. If you have to explain where the old blender went, at least you’ll have a funny story that doesn’t include a small house fire. If an appliance in your home is acting up but hasn’t been recalled, what you need is repairs instead. For quick and helpful appliance repairs or more information about recalls, please contact us today!