NEW HUDSON, MI — Pressure-flushing systems are designed to benefit the environment and your wallet. They’re billed as innovative devices that save water and work just as well as other types of flushers.
But now 1.4 million of them have been recalled nationwide. The reason — they’re exploding inside toilet tanks and have been blamed for injuring nearly two dozen people. Flushmate, the New Hudson-based company that makes the unit, received more than 1,400 reports of the units exploding, resulting in more than $700,000 in property damage. One person even needed foot surgery.
That’s according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the recall Thursday. The unit in question is called the Flushmate II 501-B pressure-assisted flushing systems, a pitch-black plastic cylinder that sits nestled in the tanks of toilets across the U.S. and even in Canada. As the federal agency puts it, the unit is prone to “burst” at the welded seam, releasing stored pressure.
“This pressure can lift the tank lid and shatter the tank, posing impact and laceration hazards to consumers and property damage,” the recall notice said.
The units were made from September 1996 into December 2013. Recalled units have a date code/serial number that is 15 characters long. You can find it on the label on top of the item. The first six numerals are the date code. You can find out whether your model was recalled by looking at this number.
The date code range for units included in this recall are in month, day, year format. So the number 090396 refers to Sept. 3, 1996. The number 120713 refers to Dec. 7, 2013.
The model code is 10 characters long and is located on the same product label. That code starts with M and ends with F. Units included in this recall were sold individually and installed in toilets made by American Standard, Corona, Crane, Kohler and Mansfield.
Click Here: Cheap Chiefs Rugby Jersey 2019
Federal regulators urged consumers to immediately stop using the systems, turn off the water supply to the unit and flush it to release any internal pressure. If you have the unit, you should also ask the company, Flushmate, for a free replacement and installation.
In addition to Home Depot and Lowe’s stores, toilet makers, distributors and plumbing contractors across the country — as well as several online retailers — sold the units for about $108.
Addressing the recall on its website, Flushmate said it is working diligently to alert consumers about the recall and offer free replacements. They are usually delivered within five business days, the company said. Installation appointments are typically completed within two weeks from the day the replacement is requested.
“Flushmate will continue to work cooperatively with the CPSC throughout the voluntary recall process,” the company wrote.
The company stressed that even if your unit appears to be functioning properly, you still cannot use it.
“Even though your Flushmate II 501-B unit appears to be operating okay, we are asking customers to turn off the toilet’s water supply, flush the toilet to release the internal pressure, and keep the water turned off until the free Flushmate replacement unit is installed,” the company wrote.
If you have no other toilet options while you’re waiting for a replacement, Flushmate said you can effectively “flush” waste by pouring 2-3 gallons of water into the toilet bowl. This will generate a gravity-style flush.
You can find more information about the product by clicking here or by calling the company’s recall hotline at (844) 621-7538.
New Hudson is about a 40 minute drive west of Detroit.
Photos via U.S. Product Safety Commission
Recent Comments