Recalls of the Week

Its a New Year with new beginnings. I wish everyone a safe and happy year. God knows we all could use it. I ended my New Year with a bang…sort of. While vacationing and visiting my family in south Florida, a woman, clearly not paying attention ( and probably on her cell phone) rammed into the rear of our car at a speed I would estimate between 20 and 30 mph. In the car with me was my wife and two sons. Although generally we were all emotionally shook up and a little banged up and bruised, what bothered me most was this woman never took the time to stop and say anything to me and my family…no “sorrys”….no “is everyone ok”…NOTHING. A word of advice, should you unfortunately cause an accident and you are able, PLEASE at least ask the individuals who’s lives you have now severely interrupted if they are OK. It can go a long way to avoiding a lawsuit down the road for the injuries you may have caused.

Now that I got that off my chest, here are the most recent recalls of importance you should be aware of:
1. Jardine Cribs: Back in June of 2008, over 300,000 of these cribs were recalled (see here). Now, over 50,000 more of these cribs manufactured by Jardine Cribs are being recalled because the wooden slats can break which can create a gap and thereby a place for an infant to put his head and become entrapped and potentially strangled. The CPSC has received 19 new reports regarding this problem. The effected cribs were sold between March 2004 and January 2009 at Kids World, Geoffrey Stores, Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us. For further information regarding the model of Jardine Cribs involved, see here. If you have one of these cribs, you should immediately stop using it and contact Jardine for a full credit toward purchase of a new crib. As an aside, it bothers me that they do not refund your money, but instead give you a credit to get another Jardine crib. I would suggest you insist on a complete refund so you can purchase the crib of your choice.
2. Viking Four-Slice Electric Toasters: Viking is recalling its Four-Slice Toasters due to a concern that the wiring inside can become loose and ultimately pose a risk of shock to the user. For a listing of the models involved, see here. These toasters were sold between April 2005 through November 2008 for about $300….yes you read that right, $300…find it hard to understand why anyone needs a toaster for $300, but heah, who am I to question. Anyway, if you have one of these toasters, you should unplug it and stop using it and call Viking for a free replacement.

3. Hallmark Jumbo Snowman Snow Globes:This story would almost be amusing if it wasn’t true. This past holiday, Hallmark sold these Jumbo Snowman Snow Globes for about $100 between October and November 2008. Apparently, the large snow globe can act as a magnifying glass and if exposed to sunlight, can ignite anything near it that is combustible or can catch fire. I guess Frosty, would not be so frosty anymore (sorry, bad joke.) Approximately 7,000 of these Snow Globes have been sold. If you bought one you should immediately remove it from any exposure to sunlight and return it to the Hallmark Gold Crown store for a full refund. For more information, see here.

4. Evenflo Majestic High Chairs:These high chairs, sold between January 2006 and May 2007, have a problem with plastic caps and metal screws in the sides of the high chair loosening and falling out creating a potential for falls as well as choking on the parts. If the plastic caps and screws fall out, the seatback can fall back or detach from the high chair and there goes your child. Evenflo has had140 reports of seatbacks reclining, falling back or detaching unexpectedly. Although it is indicated that there were only 47 reports of “bumps and bruises” to the head of infants, we all know that knocks in the head of an infant can be serious. The recall involves the Majestic high chairs made before January 23, 2007. For more information regarding the models involved, see here. These high chairs were sold at Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us and Burlington Coat Factory, as well as Walmart.com. If you have one of these high chairs, stop using it immediately and contact Evenflo for a free repair kit.

5. Toro Power Sweep Electric Blowers: With fall having come and gone, this may not be such a big problem right now, but this is a significant recall. Toro is again recalling its Power Sweep Electric Blowers because a part inside the blower can break, resulting in pieces of plastic flying out of the blower and causing an obvious risk to those around the blower. Approximately 900,000 of these Blowers were sold at places like Home Depot, Lowes, Target and K-mart between January 2000 and December 2002. The model number at issue is 51586. For more information on this recall, see here. If you have one of these blowers, you should stop using it and call Toro for a replacement blower.
Thats all we got for this week. Please be careful out there. Until next week…..