How to Check a House for Recalled Products,
From Wall Heaters to Toilet Tanks

Products with an actual recall

These have a recall on file with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission or the manufacturer, a defined list of affected models, and a remedy.

Cadet and Encore wall heaters. The big one, in February 2000, covered more than 1.9 million in-wall heaters. Another notice followed in 2002, and Cadet Apex72 high-wall heaters were recalled in 2024. The post on recalled Cadet wall heaters lists the model prefixes and where to find the label.

Flushmate pressure-assist toilet tanks. Four CPSC recalls from 2012 to 2018 cover about 4.5 million units sold in the U.S., all built into other brands’ toilets. You check it with a six-digit date code on top of the vessel inside the tank. See the Flushmate recall post.

Challenger GFCI breakers. In November 1988, Challenger recalled about 9,000 HAGF-15 and HAGF-20 GFCI breakers. That recall is narrow, and it doesn’t cover Challenger panels in general. The post on Challenger, Pushmatic, Sylvania, and split-bus panels explains the difference.

Composite deck boards. CPSC lists two recalls: GeoDeck boards made from 2002 to 2003, recalled in 2005 with no remedy because the company had closed, and LP-made WeatherBest, ABTCo, and Veranda boards sold from 2005 to 2008, recalled in 2009. The post on composite decking recalls and class actions covers both, along with the Trex settlements.

Plexvent and Ultravent vent pipe. In 1998, CPSC and 27 manufacturers announced a program to replace about 250,000 gray or black plastic vent systems on gas furnaces and boilers. The free fix became a rebate in 2009. The post on the Plexvent and Ultravent recall covers how to spot the pipe.

Products with a federal warning, but no recall

CPSC sometimes warns the public about a product without issuing a recall. The advice is to replace it, and the cost is the owner’s.

Uncoated brass gas connectors. CPSC has said since 1996 that the bare brass connectors behind older ranges and dryers should be replaced, because the soldered ends can fail. See old brass gas connectors.

Aluminum branch wiring. CPSC documented the fire risk at aluminum wire connections in the 1970s. The wire itself isn’t recalled; the connections are the problem. See aluminum wiring in Portland homes.

Range anti-tip brackets. Not a defect, but CPSC has pushed for years to get them installed, after children were killed by tipping ranges. Checking takes half a minute: range anti-tip brackets.

Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panels. CPSC investigated them in the 1980s and didn’t order a recall. The failure history is still documented, which is why they show up in insurance questions and in Russ’s reports. In his 269-report defect library, Federal Pacific shows up in 11 findings. Start with the Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panel post, and see the Vancouver fire marshal finding for a local case.

Products that ended in class actions

These are building materials with a documented failure history and a lawsuit that paid claims for a set period. Every claim window below has closed.

• Polybutylene pipe, the gray supply pipe from roughly 1978 to 1995.
• Kitec pipe and Zurn brass PEX fittings, from the mid-1990s to about 2010.
• LP and Masonite hardboard siding, common across 1980s and 1990s subdivisions.
• Cemwood, Hardishake, and Masonite Woodruf roof shakes, the cedar look-alikes of the same era.

Zinsco and Sylvania panels belong near this group, too. They were never recalled, but they have the same kind of known failure history. The Zinsco panel post covers them.

Pella ProLine clad-wood casement windows made from 1991 to 2009 fit here as well. A class action over alleged rot behind the aluminum cladding settled in 2018, and its claim deadline has passed. The post on Pella ProLine casement window rot covers how to tell what you have.

Two settlements still have coverage that may apply today. Carrier and Bryant cover the secondary heat exchanger on some 90% furnaces built from 1993 through 2011 for 20 years from installation, covered in the post on the Carrier secondary heat exchanger settlement. And Trex says it still settles claims on flaking boards made in Nevada from 2002 to 2007, covered in composite decking recalls and class actions.

How to check what’s in your house

Every recall is tied to a brand, a model, and usually a range of serial numbers or manufacture dates. So the work is mostly finding labels.

Start with the big appliances: the water heater, the furnace or heat pump, wall heaters, the range, the dishwasher, the dryer, and the garage door opener. The label is usually on the side, behind a lower access panel, or inside a door. Take a photo of each one. You’ll want the brand, the full model number, and the full serial number, and a photo gets all three right.

Then look it up. CPSC’s recall list is at cpsc.gov/Recalls, and Recalls.gov links the recall sites of several federal agencies in one place. If you’d rather talk to someone, CPSC’s consumer hotline is 800-638-2772. For a specific product, the manufacturer’s own recall page or phone line is often the fastest answer, since it can check a serial number directly.

The serial number usually also tells you how old the unit is. The site has free tools that decode the manufacture date from the serial number for most major brands: the water heater serial number decoder and the HVAC serial number decoder. Age counts for recalls, since nearly every one is limited to a date range.

Building materials are harder, since they don’t have labels you can reach. Pipe is often printed along its length. Siding and roofing sometimes carry a brand mark on the back. For those, a licensed plumber, siding contractor, or roofer is the one to confirm the product.

To hear about recalls going forward, CPSC offers recall emails from the Email Signup link on its recalls page. Registering a new appliance with its maker gets you a direct notice if that model is recalled.

What the inspection does, and doesn’t do

Russ performs a limited, visual, non-invasive inspection under the Oregon and Washington standards of practice. A recall check isn’t part of that scope, and he doesn’t look up serial numbers against recall lists.

What the inspection does give you is most of the raw material. Russ photographs the data plates on the water heater, furnace, and outdoor unit and reports their approximate age. He names products with a known failure history when he can identify them, like a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel, polybutylene pipe, or aluminum branch wiring. And he reports the visible condition of the components he can see and reach, whatever the brand.

With those photos in hand, the recall lookup takes an evening, not a weekend in the crawlspace.

If you’re buying, the guides to buying a 1970s home and buying a 1980s home cover the decades when most of these products went in. To schedule an inspection anywhere in the Portland metro or Southwest Washington, you can book online.