Louisville, Ky. – GE Appliances
is voluntarily recalling 181,000 front-load washers which pose a fire and shock
hazard.
According to the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC), seven of the units emitted flames during
usage causing minor smoke damage, but no injuries.
GE is offering free repairs on the
Chinese-built models, #WBVH5, which were sold between December 2006 and May
2010 for about $700.
According to the CPSC and GE, a
wire can break within the washers and make contact with a metal part on the
washtub during operation, resulting in possible fire and electrical shock.
The action follows this month’s
recall of 1.7 million Whirlpool dishwashers, also due to a possible fire
hazard.
