How do you know if an electrical item in your home is under product recall?

Lets face it, it is not every day when we consider if the electrical products in our home are safe to use. Most of us rely on essential electricals and don't give a second thought about switching on and using any others.

Would you know how to find out about a product recall notice and has it ever crossed your mind about whether the electrical items in your home are safe to use? Many products under a product recall notice are prone to overheating which in turn can lead to house fire. Think about how many electrical items in your home that are left switched on constantly or overnight.....

Do you think product recall notices happen to others?

Potentially dangerous problems with electrical products can be identified at any time. It doesn't matter whether the item was cheap or expensive, it still has the same chance at becoming subject to product recall. It is important to act on a product recall notice on an electrical item. Not doing so leaves you at real risk of electric shock, injury or serious house fire. It can also cause expensive electrical damage in your home.

At Fulcher Edwards we have been asked to look at many a electrical installation in London which has been damaged by electrical items that have overheated. Signs of overheating include warm or discoloured sockets. If you spot anything like this in your home, contact a qualified and registered electrician as soon as possible. Leaving a potential electrical problem to get worse will make it more expensive to fix in the longer run.

Do you have a Homebase 10 litre dehumidifier?

If the answer is yes and you purchased it between June 2006 and December 2008, then you need to return it to Homebase for a full refund. This problem was spotted by one of our eagle eyed electricians when carrying out electrical testing in London last week.

Our customer was in the process of having a new bathroom installed and the builder had advised the use of a dehumidifier to help the plaster to dry. The dehumidifier had been in constant use for two days but thankfully had been turned off overnight. The photo in our blog post shows a recalled dehumidifier that had overheated, smoked and caught fire. In the office here at Fulcher Edwards we are very keen to keep up to date with the latest in electrical product recalls so we can look out for dangerous products in use in homes and businesses across London.

If you become concerned that an electrical product is not working as it should be, turn it off immediately and do not use until it has been checked by the manufacturer.

How to check if any electrical products in your home are under product recall

Many product recall notices are issued but never discovered by product owners. This is because electrical products historically have rarely been registered or people move addresses and the manufacturer is unable to make contact.

Thanks to the electrical safety charity, Electrical Safety First, a 'one stop' place is now available where every recalled electrical product since 2007 is listed. The average success of a product recall notice is just 10-20% which leaves millions of potentially dangerous electrical items still in homes.

To check to see if you have any potentially dangerous electrical items, please visit the product recalls page.