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Bissell recalls more than 3.5 million steam cleaners due to burn risk
Bissell is recalling more than 3.5 million steam cleaners sold across the U.S. and in Canada because the handheld products can spew hot water or steam, potentially burning users, the company said Thursday in a notice posted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The recall involves multiple models of the Bissell Steam Shot Handheld Steam Cleaners in the model series 39N7 and 2994, with “STEAM SHOT” or “POWER STEAMER” printed on the side. Colors include, green, pink, blue, orange, white, back, purple and red.
Bissell has received 183 reports of hot water or steam escaping from the product, including 157 reports of minor burn injuries, according to the recall.
Bissell
Manufactured in China, the steamers were sold online and in stores including Amazon, HSN (formerly known as Home Shopping Network), Target and Walmart from August 2008 through May 2024 for between $35 and $40, according to the recall notice.
About 3.2 million of the steamers were sold nationwide, with about 355,000 sold in Canada, according to Bissell.
People who own the recalled steamers are urged to stop using them and to contact Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Bissell to receive a $60 credit or a $40 refund. Instructions can be found here.
The announcement follows the April recall of more than 2 million Black+Decker garment steamers blamed for scalding dozens of users. The CPSC in November said HSN would pay a $16 million fine for waiting years to disclose a dangerous defect in millions of clothes steamers before recalling them in 2021.
A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
and
contributed to this report.
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