More than 1.5 million dehumidifiers recalled after 23 fires, including brands GE and Kenmore

 More than 1.5 million dehumidifiers including models by brand names GE and Kenmore have been recalled because of a risk of fire and burns.

The units were manufactured by Gree USA, the U.S. arm of a Chinese appliance company, have been linked to 23 fires and 688 overheating incidents. Gree recalled the dehumidifiers because the devices can "overheat, smoke and catch fire," the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday.

The recall covers 1.56 million units sold under a variety of top brand names at major retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Sam's Club, Sears and Walmart from 2011 through 2014. The dehumidifiers, which have caused $168,000 in property damage, should be immediately unplugged, the agency said. 

"Consumers should immediately stop use, unplug the dehumidifiers and contact Gree to receive a refund," the CPSC said in a notice to consumers.

The recall covers 42 models sold under brand names including Kenmore, GE, SoleusAir, Norpole and Seabreeze. It's the latest recall of Gree dehumidifiers, with the CPSC noting that previous recalls had been issued by the company in 2013, 2014 and 2016, with four deaths potentially linked to the devices due to house fires that may have been caused by the appliances.

Earlier this year, a California court sentenced Gree USA to pay a $500,000 criminal fine for failing to notify the CPSC that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to U.S. consumers were defective and could catch fire.

How to get a refund

Owners of any of the recalled dehumidifiers should visit this Gree website and click on the "US Consumer Information Collection" link that appears at the bottom of the page below the model numbers to obtain a refund. You'll be prompted to enter your email in order to be placed on a 6-8 week waiting list to receive information on how to register for the recall to obtain a recall, according to Gree.

Consumers who believe the company is being non-responsive to their refund request, can notify the CPSC of the situation using the Recall Complaint Form available here.

The dehumidifiers sold for between $110 and $400.

Recalled Dehumidifier Models 

Kenmore

GE

SoleusAir

Seabreeze

Norpole

In:
• Product Recall
• Fire

Elizabeth Napolitano

Elizabeth Napolitano is a freelance reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and technology news. She also writes for CoinDesk. Before joining CBS, she interned at NBC News' BizTech Unit and worked on The Associated Press' web scraping team.