Bursting toilet tanks lead to product recall

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and its Canadian equivalent, Health Canada, have announced a voluntary recall of Flushmate III Pressure-Assist Flushing System Units, made by Flushmate of New Hudson, Mich., a division of Sloan Valve Co.

Installed inside toilet tanks, the flushing system can burst at or near the vessel weld seam, releasing stored pressure. This pressure can lift the tank lid and shatter the tank, posing impact or laceration hazards to consumers and property damage. So far, Flushmate has received 304 reports of the product bursting, resulting in property damage and 14 impact or laceration injuries.

The recalled systems were manufactured from October 1997 to February 200 and sold at Home Depot, Lowe’s, distributors and plumbing contractors nationwide for about $108. Toilet manufacturers including American Standard, Crane, Eljer, Gerber, Kohler, Mansfield and St. Thomas also used the flushing units, which are rectangular, black, two-piece vessels made of injection molded plastic.

It is estimated that about 2,330,600 of the products were sold in the United States and 9,400 in Canada.

For more information, visit flushmate.com and recall.flushmate.com.