Outdoor umbrellas have been an essential lately, especially given the height of summer. However, you might want to be more mindful of the product you’re buying. Apparently, there’s a particular one that can pose a serious fire risk.
According to a recent article published by USA Today, California-based furniture and home furnishings manufacturing company SunVilla Corporation recalled about 400,000 of their outdoor umbrellas “because the lithium-ion batteries can overheat and catch fire.” Structure-wise, there’s a built-in black solar panel battery puck that “attaches at the top of the 10-foot umbrella and powers LED lights down the umbrella arms.” If you take a look at the solar puck, it comes with a black cover marked with “YEEZE” or “YEEZE 1.”
Additionally, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that “in three cases, the solar panels caught fire while charging via the AC adapter” and “in two cases, the umbrellas caught fire when the solar panel puck, while attached, overheated.” Another case involved smoke inhalation injury. (Yikes!)
Officially labeled as the 10’ Solar LED Market Umbrellas by the CPSC, the product could be found at Costco and online in the United States and Canada. USA Today says it sold for about $130 to $160 and was available from December 2020 through May 2022. According to CPSC, its recall date was on June 23, 2022.
As for its remedy, CPSC notes, “Consumers should immediately stop using the umbrellas, remove the solar panel puck containing a lithium-ion battery from the top of the umbrella, store the puck out of the sun and away from combustible material, and do not charge the puck with the AC adapter.”
They added, “Consumers can return the umbrellas and solar puck to any Costco Warehouse nationwide for a full refund. Consumers unable to return the product to Costco can contact the firm for instructions on how to receive a refund. SunVilla and Costco are contacting all known purchasers.”
For those who would like to contact SunVilla corporation, they can call the SunVilla toll-free at 866-600-3133 between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or email at [email protected]. For more details, consumers can go online at https://sunvilla.com/pages/recall or https://sunvilla.com/ and click on the red banner at the top for “Important Recall Notice.”
