Dehumidifier Recall Impacts Millions of Units Following Reports of Smoke, Fires, Property Damage

A recall has been issued for more than 4 million dehumidifiers, which were sold under popular brand names like such as SunBeam, GE, Honeywell, Kenmore and others, following reports of problems where the units overheated, smoked or caught on fire, resulting in nearly $5 million in property damage to date. 

The dehumidifier recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on November 2, following at least 38 consumer complaints. While no injuries have been reported to date, the reports indicate the dehumidifiers may overheat and cause a fire.

According to incident reports, when the dehumidifiers overheat, customer may begin to notice a burning smell or see smoke emanating from the device.

The massive recall impacts dehumidifiers sold under various brand names across the United States and Canada. Included in the recall are 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 65, 70, and 75-pint dehumidifiers sold under the brand names Airworks, Alen, Arcticaire, Arctic King, Beaumark, Coolworks, ComfortAire, Comfort Star, Continental Electic, Crosley, Daewoo, Danby, Danby & Designer, Dayton, Degree, Diplomat, Edgestar, Excell, Fellini, Forest Air, Frigidaire, GE, Grunaire, Hanover, Honeywell, Homestyles, Hyundai, Ideal Air, Kenmore, Keystone, Kul, Midea, Nantucket, Ocean Breeze, Pelonis, Perfect Aire, Perfect Home, Polar Wind, Premiere, Professional Series, Royal Sovereign, Simplicity, Sunbeam, SPT, Sylvania, TGM, Touch Point, Trutemp, Uberhaus, Westpointe, Winix, and Winixl.

The recalled dehumidifiers have the brand name, model number, pint capacity, and manufacture date printed on a nameplate sticker located on the back of the dehumidifier. Customers are being asked to visit https://www.recallrtr.com/dehumidifier and enter the model number to verify if the device is included in the recall.

According to the CPSC, roughly 3.4 million recall dehumidifiers were sold throughout the United States and an additional 850,000 were distributed for sale in Canada.

All of the recalled brand name dehumidifiers were manufactured in China under GD Midea Air Conditioning Equipment Ltd. They were distributed for sale at Lowes, Menards, PC Richard and various other stores nationwide from January 2003 through December 2013 for between $100 and $300.

Customers with recalled dehumidifiers are being asked to turn them off and unplug them immediately and contact GD Midea at 800-600-3055 or visit them online at www.midea.com/us/ and navigate to the “Product Recall” link for information on how to receive either a replacement unit or partial refund. Customers with dehumidifiers manufactured before October 1, 2008 will only be offered a partial refund.