More than half a million phone chargers sold exclusively at Costco are under recall due to fire risk.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall applies to about 567,000 myCharge POWER HUB All-In-One 10,000mAh portable chargers. They can overheat while being charged, causing burn and fire risks.
The portable chargers are black with two attached charging cables and retractable wall prongs used to charge the power bank.
There have been a total of 120 reports of overheating affiliated with the product. MyCharge has also received reports of five incidents — two of which were house fires that resulted in about $165,000 in property damage.
Costco has received 115 returns for the portable chargers, with complaints about “melting, expanding, smoking, fire, burning, exploding, or sparking,” CPSC said.
There have been no reported injuries affiliated with the chargers.
The recall applies to model numbers AO10FK-A, AO10FK-B, and AO10FK-C. The model number can be found on the back of the device.
Date codes — found on the outer surface of the wall prong — included in the recall end in 21, 22, or are one of these codes ending in 23: 0123, 0923, 1523, or 1723.
CPSC said customers can contact myCharge for a replacement.
Customers should immediately stop using their chargers, but they need to take appropriate measures to throw them out.
CPSC is urging consumers to follow state and local ordinances for discarding lithium-ion batteries. Municipal recycling centers have established protocols for disposing of defective or recalled lithium-ion batteries because they could be hazardous.
The batteries should not be thrown in the trash, nor should they be deposited in battery recycling boxes often found in home improvement stores.
