More than a million General Electric dishwashers are being recalled because of a fire hazard.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the voluntary recall includes about 1.3 million GE, GE Adora, GE Eterna, GE Profile and Hotpoint dishwashers. An electrical failure in the heating element can pose a fire hazard.
GE has received 15 reports of dishwasher heating element failures -- seven resulted in fires, three of those caused extensive property damage. No injuries have been reported.
LuAnn Buth, president of Appliance Doctor Door County says even though the problem affects only a small percentage of dishwashers it's important consumers find out if their appliance is affected.
"If their unit is involved in a recall it is important that they act on it and get it taken care of," says Buth.
Consumers will be asked to provide the appliance's model number and serial number.
The recall spurs a more general question: Should a dishwasher be run when you're not at home? Sister Bay-Liberty Grove Fire Chief Chris Hecht says most manufacturers will recommend that you not run any device with a heating element when your residence is unoccupied.
The affected dishwashers were sold between March 2006 and August 2009.
Consumers who'd like to find out if their dishwasher is included in the recall can contact GE at (866) 918-8760 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or go to geappliances.com/recall.
