![]() ![]() SC Johnson also knows that its products do not cause fires because all of the Glade PlugIns® products have been thoroughly tested by Underwriters Laboratories and other independent laboratories, and SC Johnson products meet or exceed safety requirements. That fireman indicated that he has no evidence that SC Johnson products had caused any fire. Additionally, SC Johnson had a leading fire investigation expert call the fire department representative who is identified in one of the Internet postings. First, it confirmed that no one had contacted SC Johnson to tell the company about these fires or to ask the company to investigate them. Moreover, SC Johnson noted in their response to this rumor:īecause SC Johnson is committed to selling safe products, the company thoroughly investigated these rumors. (Both cases involved not Glade brand products, but Wallflower, a plug-in air freshener manufactured by the White Barn Candle Company.) Phillips said the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) showed them “scores of reports from consumers, chronicling fire hazards associated with plug-in air fresheners from various manufacturers,” but the CPSC also acknowledged “some fires attributed to air fresheners may be caused by faulty electrical wiring.” WABC looked at two instances where air fresheners were suspected in house fires, but the causes of those fires had not been definitively established. Such reports are generally sketchy and inconclusive, as in WABC-TV reporter Tappy Phillips’ coverage of a 2002 story about a possible connection between plug-in air fresheners and home fires. Is there any evidence that the current Glade PlugIn air freshener poses a significant fire hazard, as alleged in the message quoted above? We haven’t found any studies or news reports demonstrating that plug-in air fresheners (Glade or other brands) pose a significantly higher fire hazard than other electrical devices. In October 1994, Johnson recalled five million Glade plug-in fresheners sold between 1992 and July 1994 as a precaution after receiving 600 complaints, including “12 allegations about the fresheners being involved in fires.” There had been no actual reports of fires property damage associated with the product prior to its recall, however. Origins: In early 2002, manufacturer SC Johnson invoked a voluntary recall of its Glade brand ‘Extra Outlet Scented Oil Air Fresheners’ (a plug-in air freshener which included its own outlet so that consumers wouldn’t have to give up an outlet space to use it) because they had found a loose connection inside the extra outlet that might pose a fire hazard. I had several of them plugged in my house. The investigator said he personally wouldn’t have any type of plug in fragrance device anywhere in his house. Once it cooled down, it would come back on. The investigator said that the unit was getting too hot, and would dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. ![]() She would walk in a few hours later, and the light would be back on again. She said she had noticed that the light would dim….and then finally go out. My sister-in-law had one of the plug-ins that had a small night light built in it. ![]() When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from the plug-in were still in there. He said in every case there was nothing left to prove that it even existed. He said the plastic they are made from is a THIN plastic. He said he has seen more home fires started with the plug in type room fresheners than anything else. The investigator had one of those “Aha” moments. He kept saying to her, “No, this would be something that would disintegrate at high temperatures.” Then, my sister-in-law remembered she had a Glade Plug-in in the bathroom. She listed the normal things….curling iron, blow dryer. He asked my sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. He had the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours. However, they were sick when they found out the cause of the fire. They have good insurance, so the home will be replaced and most of the contents. Their house burned down…nothing left but ashes. My brother and his wife learned a hard lesson this last week. ![]()
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