Black+Decker garment steamers recalled due to potential burn hazard
Approximately 1.6 million Black+Decker garment steamers are being recalled due to a potential burn hazard.
The impacted products include Black+Decker Easy Garment Steamers with the model numbers HGS011, HGS011F, HGS011S, and HGS011T, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The recalled steamers can potentially release, spray or leak hot water while in use, posing a burn risk, the agency stated in an announcement this week.
More than 500,000 Black+Decker Easy Garment Steamers were previously recalled in November 2022. At the time, customers could request to have their steamers repaired, but now, the repaired steamers are also being recalled as there have been reports of burn injuries, even after steamers were fixed.
The recalled steamers were manufactured in China and came in multiple colors with large handles and the BLACK+DECKER name on the base of the product. They measure about 11 inches high and 6 inches wide.
The steamers impacted by the recall were sold online, including on Amazon and Blackanddeckerappliances.com, and in Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Walmart and other stores nationwide from June 2021 through February 2024. They retailed between $14 and $23.
"You can check the model of affected steamers by looking at the rating plate on the bottom of the steamer base," Black+Decker states on its recall website. "If your model has HGS011, including any letter at the end of the model number (e.g., HGS011S, HGS011F, etc.), it is included in this recall regardless of date code or point of purchase. This recall also affects units that received a replacement upper housing as part of the November 2022 recall."
Empower Brands said it has received 317 reports of hot water being expelled from the garment steamers, which includes 82 reports of burn injuries, according to the CPSC. Of the burn injury reports, 7 of them were of second-degree burns. Ninety-four of those incidents involved repaired units affected by the November 2022 recall or "models featuring the updated design, including 19 burn injuries," the CPSC stated.
Customers who have any recalled steamers, including those that were repaired, should stop using them immediately and can request a full refund by contacting Empower Brands.
To contact Empower Brands, customers can call 800-990-5298 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday, email the company at hgsrecall@brandprotectplus.com, or visit www.prodprotect.com/recall or www.blackanddeckerappliances.com and click on "Safety Notices" at the bottom of the page for more information.
"Good Morning America" has reached out to Black+Decker for comment.
The new recall follows a similar Vornado recall from February. That month, Vornado recalled 2 million of its Vornado, Steamfast and Sharper Image branded Handheld Garment Steamers, citing the possibility of the steamers spraying hot water and causing a burn risk.
Neither Vornado or the associated brands, TheThreeSixtyGroup, who owns SharperImage and Vornado, or the retailers immediately responded to ABC News' request for comment at the time.
