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More Than 8K Carbon Monoxide Alarms Recalled Due to Product Defect


— April 6, 2022

Thousands of carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are being recalled over worries of a product defect.


Alert graphic
Alert graphic; image courtesy of Clker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay, www.pixabay.com

Homeowners, listen up. Earlier this week, thousands of carbon monoxide and smoke detectors were recalled over concerns they “could fail to warn homeowners of hazardous levels of carbon monoxide.” The recall was issued by Universal Security Instruments Inc. and includes about 8,000 units of the 2-in-1 Photoelectric Smoke & Fire + Carbon Monoxide Alarms. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the alarms “can fail to alert consumers to the presence of a hazardous level of carbon monoxide, posing a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or death.”

This is a potentially deadly issue because carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas and is odorless and colorless. This means it’s difficult to detect without some sort of alarm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 400 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning each year in the U.S. 

The affected alarms were sold from June 2017 to December 2019 on Walmart.com and retail stores across the country. So far, there have been “two reports that the recalled units failed to alarm for the presence of carbon monoxide within the specified time requirement.” For now, consumers who have the recalled alarms should contact Universal Security Instruments for a free replacement. 

Sources:

Thousands of smoke, carbon monoxide alarms sold at Walmart recalled

Thousands of smoke, carbon monoxide alarms recalled over risk they can ‘fail to alert’

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