McLean County Times

More than two million dehumidifiers have been recalled due to a fire hazard, according to a recent announcement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The recall involves various brand names and sizes manufactured by New Widetech. The company has reported 107 incidents where the affected dehumidifiers overheated or caught fire, causing about $17 million in property damage. No injuries have been reported so far.

Public Information Officer Matt Swaney stated, “We cannot emphasize this enough: If you have a dehumidifier running in your home, you should immediately check to see if it has been recalled, or unplug it until you can verify one way or another. If it is recalled, stop using it immediately and contact the manufacturer.”

The defect responsible for the recall causes units to overheat, smoke, and potentially catch fire. This action follows an earlier recall involving 6.7 million units made by Gree and Midea under multiple brand names. That previous recall saw more than 2,000 reports of overheating dehumidifiers and about 450 fires with property damage exceeding $19 million.

“These recalled units have been responsible for house fires locally, and we know there are likely thousands of them still being used in people’s homes and we urge everyone to take this threat very seriously,” Swaney added.

Consumers are encouraged to check if their device is part of the recall by visiting the CPSC website at https://www.cpsc.gov/ or calling their hotline at 1-800-638-2772.

For New Widetech products specifically, information is available at http://www.recallrtr.com/nwtdehumidifier/ or by calling 1-877-251-1512. Affected brands include AeonAir, Amana, ArcticAire (Danby), Classic (Danby / Home Hardware Stores), Commercial Cool, Danby, Danby Designer, Danby Premiere, De’Longhi, EdgeStar, Friedrich, Generations (Danby), Haier, Honeywell (JMATEK / AirTek), Idylis, Ivation, perfect aire, SuperClima, Whirlpool and Whynter.

Gree has also recalled 2.5 million dehumidifiers under brands such as Danby, De’Longhi, Fedders, Fellini, Frigidaire, GE, Gree itself, Kenmore, Norpole, Premiere, Seabreeze and SoleusAir. More details can be found at http://greedehumidifierrecall.com/ or by calling 1-866-853-2802.

Midea’s recall covers 3.4 million units sold under many brands including Airworks; Alen; Arcticaire; Arctic King; Beaumark; Coolworks; ComfortAire; Comfort Star; Continental Electric; Crosley; Daewoo; Danby & Designer; Dayton; Degree; Diplomat; Edgestar; Excell; Fellini; Forest Air; Frigidaire; GE; Grunaire; Hanover; Honeywell; Homestyles; Hyundai; Ideal Air; Kenmore (Canada); Keystone; Kul; Midea itself among others. Consumers can visit https://www.midea.com/us/support/product-recall-updates or call 1-800-600-3055 for further guidance.

Local authorities urge residents to take immediate action if they own any of these devices.