Bissell Class Action Lawsuit Claims Defective Steam Cleaners Were Still Sold Even After Recall

Hundreds of burn injuries have been linked to recalled steam cleaners, which can eject scalding water onto consumers.

An Illinois man has filed a class action lawsuit alleging Bissell Steam Shot steam cleaners are defectively designed, allowing attachments to come loose and spray users with scalding hot water and steam.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Mohammad Khalil in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on April 23, naming Bissell Homecare Inc. as the sole defendant.

Khalil alleges Bissell continued selling the handheld steam cleaners despite knowing the devices could unexpectedly expel hot water and steam during use. The lawsuit claims the defect has caused hundreds of burn injuries, including reports that continued after at least two recalls involving nearly 5 million units.

Bissell Steam Shot Recalls

In 2024, Bissell and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a Steam Shot handheld steam cleaner recall affecting about 3.2 million units. The recall was issued after consumers reported 183 incidents involving the devices spraying scalding hot water or steam, resulting in at least 157 burn injuries.

Despite the large recall, Khalil claims Bissell continued selling steam cleaners with a similar defect, allowing attachments to unexpectedly detach from the machines and spray users with hot water and steam. In April 2026, Bissell expanded the recall to include additional versions of the steam cleaner, including the Steam Shot OmniReach and Steam Shot Omni models.

The expanded recall covered another 1.7 million Bissell steam cleaners, following more than 200 additional reports of hot water being expelled from the devices. Those incidents resulted in at least 161 burn injuries.

Bissell Steam Cleaner Class Action Lawsuit

In the lawsuit, Khalil says he purchased one of the recalled Steam Shot cleaners before learning about the alleged defect. He claims Bissell already knew the devices posed a safety risk at the time of sale, yet continued marketing them to consumers.

Khalil also alleges Bissell delayed the initial recall, offered an inadequate remedy and concealed the scope of the problem for years. According to the complaint, newer Steam Shot models suffered from the same defect, allowing attachments to detach and hot water to escape during use.

Following the first recall, Khalil claims Bissell refused to recall the entire steam cleaner line and instead offered limited remedies, including free replacement attachments, a $40 refund, a $60 credit or a replacement unit. However, the lawsuit argues those options failed to address the underlying design defect, since the attachments themselves were central to the burn risk.

The complaint maintains that the recall did not fully compensate consumers for the danger they faced, including the risk of burns and other injuries linked to the products. Khalil further alleges the recall came far too late, after years of incident reports and injuries involving Steam Shot cleaners.

Despite those reports, Bissell continued selling the products and generated more than $100 million from the allegedly defective steam cleaners, according to the lawsuit.

“Bissell knew, or should have known, of these incidents, yet it did nothing. Indeed, despite reported incidents dating back years before the Recall, Bissell failed to issue any warning or make design changes to remedy the Defect and continued profiting from its sales throughout the United States.”

– Mohammad Khalil v. Bissel Homecare Inc.

The complaint raises allegations of violations of state consumer protection statutes, violations of the consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices act, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, common law fraud and unjust enrichment.

Khalil is seeking class action status for the lawsuit, in an attempt to represent all purchasers of the recalled devices in Illinois and nationwide. He also seeks compensation for compensatory and punitive damages and calls for Bissell to be forced to disgorge profits from sales of the defective steam cleaners.

Sign up for more legal news that could affect you or your family.