405,000 Battery Packs Of Sprayers Used To Disinfect Recalled Over Fire, Explosion Hazards

Victory Innovations voluntarily recalled the battery packs of its electrostatic sprayers on Wednesday, noting that they can overheat and melt and therefore pose fire and explosion hazards.

The recall affects the batteries of handheld and backpack electrostatic sprayers under Victory Innovations and Protexus brand names. These products are used with liquid solutions to disinfect surfaces.

In total, the company is recalling about 405,000 units of the product, including 27,000 units that were sold in Canada, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) noted. To date, the company has not received reports of injuries related to the recall. However, there have already been 37 reports of the product overheating, catching fire or exploding. In some of the reports, the incident even caused property damage.

"We are addressing this issue as quickly as possible to ensure our product is consistent with the quality we expect and our customers deserve," the company said.

Customers who may have an affected product should stop using their sprayer immediately and contact the company for a free replacement of the battery pack.

To do this, consumers with the product should first check their battery's model number to see if it's affected by the recall. The affected model numbers are VP-20A, VP-20B, PX20A and PX20B. Then they should check whether the screw heads at the back of the battery are covered by rubber plugs, as the ones with screws that are not covered by rubber plugs are the ones affected by the recall.

Those whose battery packs may be affected by the recall should then follow the registration process for the replacement, which is available on the company's website.

The affected battery should then be disposed of "in accordance with local laws," CPSC said.

In D.C., for instance, consumers are advised not to dispose of batteries with other trash. In the case of lithium-ion batteries and other batteries over 9 volts, their terminals should be covered with tape so they don't cause a fire on the way to a recycling center. Then they should also be placed in a container that's also separate from other batteries that do not have to be taped.