Baby Pool Float Recall: Risk of Seat Tearing and Baby Falling into Water

About 4 million inflatable baby floats have been recalled due to defective leg straps which can tear and drop children into the water, putting infants and young children at a risk of drowning.

The infant baby float recall was issued by Aqua-Leisure Industries of Avon, Mass. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted notice of the recall on July 2, warning that there have been at least 31 reports of the leg straps breaking, plunging children unexpectedly into the water. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

All of the recalled baby floats have a date between 08/02 and 07/08 molded onto the valves. The floats were sold since December 2002 for between $8 and $15 at retailers nationwide, including Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart, Dollar General, Kmart, Walgreens, Ace Hardware, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The floats came in a variety of colors and styles, including:

Baby & Me Combo: a yellow figure-8-shaped float with a turquoise vinyl seat bucket and seat back, and a plastic ring and bar toy in the middle.

Deluxe Baby Boat: a yellow boat-shaped float with turquoise plastic handles and a turquoise vinyl seat bucket and seat back.

Deluxe Toddler Racer: a yellow boat-shaped float with turquoise plastic handles, steering wheel, vinyl seat bucket and yellow seat back.

Cozy Crab Sunshade Float/Crabby Baby Boat: A red crab-shaped float with vinyl seat bucket and a yellow, inflatable, adjustable sunshade.

Ticklish Turtle Sunshade Float/Baby Boat: A yellow and green turtle-shaped float with a vinyl seat bucket and inflatable, adjustable sunshade.

Toddler Race Boat: A yellow boat-shaped float painted to look like an automobile with green plastic handles, steering wheel and a vinyl seat bucket.

Aquarium Baby Float: A yellow and purple aquarium-themed, ring-shaped float with purple vinyl seat bucket and seat back.

Baby Adjustable Sunshade Boat: Blue and white float with a beach and crab theme, white plastic handle, blue seat bucket and inflatable, adjustable blue and white sunshade.

Sunshade Wave Rider Float: White float with aquatic theme and red seat back and blue and white inflatable canopy, blue seat bucket and red handle bars.

Sunshade Buggy: Blue and green, or pink and yellow, car-shaped float with dune-buggy theme and yellow steering wheel.

Kiddie Cabin Cruiser: Light blue, purple and clear float with light blue cabin-shaped inflatable canopy, light blue vinyl seat bucket and back.

Sing-Along Wave Rider: White float with red seat back, handlebars and red and white inflatable canopy that plays “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Row Row Row Your Boat.”

Quacker Float: Yellow duck-shaped float with squeezable noisemaker.

Squirtin’ Tootin’ Tugboat: White and red boat-shaped float with black and red “smokestack,” and a squirt gun and squeezable noisemaker.

The CPSC is recommending consumers stop using these floats immediately, and contact Aqua-Leisure for a full refund. Product liability lawyers recommend that anyone whose child has been injured by a defective Aqua-Leisure float should preserve the float for further testing if they intend to pursue a personal injury lawsuit.

Infant baby floats that contain the lettering “NP” on the valve are not affected by the recall.