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About 2 Million Dehumidifiers In The U.S. Have Been Recalled Over Possible Fire Hazard

This photo provided by Consumer Product Safety Commission shows a dehumidifier made by New Widetech. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, about 2 million dehumidifiers made by New Widetech are being recalled in the U.S. because they can overheat and catch fire, posing fire and burn hazards.
AP
This photo provided by Consumer Product Safety Commission shows a dehumidifier made by New Widetech. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, about 2 million dehumidifiers made by New Widetech are being recalled in the U.S. because they can overheat and catch fire, posing fire and burn hazards.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says about 2 million dehumidifiers made by New Widetech are being recalled in the U.S. because they can overheat and catch fire, posing fire and burn hazards.

The recall also includes about 380,000 dehumidifiers in Canada and about 25,000 in Mexico.

New Widetech is aware of 107 incidents of the recalled dehumidifiers overheating and/or catching fire, resulting in about $17 million in property damage. No injuries have been reported.

The dehumidifiers were sold at Lowe's, Costco, Walmart, Menards and other retailers in the U.S. from February 2009 through August 2017 for between $120 and $430.

The dehumidifiers impacted are 25-, 30-, 35-, 45-, 50-, 60-, 65-, 70-, and 74-pint dehumidifiers with the brand names including 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.

The brand name, model number and pint capacity are printed on the nameplate sticker on the back of the dehumidifier.

Consumers should stop using the dehumidifiers immediately and contact New Widetech for a refund. The amount of the refund will be pro-rated based on the age of the dehumidifier.

Consumers can contact New Widetech toll-free at 877-251-1512 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or online at www.recallrtr.com/nwtdehumidifier or http://www.newwidetech.com/en/ and click on "Recall Information" at the bottom of the page for more information.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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