We expect the products that we buy and consume to be safe for our use and consumption. Unfortunately, that is not always the case and sometimes the products we buy pose potential risks to consumers health or safety. When this happens, it is common for companies to issue a recall to inform consumers about the potential risks the product poses. Recently, a household safety item has been recalled.

Almost 180,000 battery-powered smoke detectors have recently been recalled. The recall comes after the discovery that the smoke and fire detectors may not alert when there is smoke or a fire. The Consumer Product Safety Commission states that the alarms may have a misaligned internal switch. If the internal switch is misaligned, the alarms may not activate properly. If the alarms do not activate, consumers may not be alerted to a fire.

The smoke detectors involved in the recall were made by Universal Security Instruments. The detector are 10-year battery operated ionization smoke and fire alarms. The alarms have model numbers MI3050s and MI3050SB. The date codes on the detectors between 2015JAN19 and 2016JUL11. The alarms are white and are 5.5 inches in diameter. The label on the alarm lists the model number and the date code.

If you own one of the effected smoke detectors, you should inspect the detector to ensure that it is working properly. This can be done by pressing the test button on the detector. If the alarm goes off, no further action is required. If the alarm fails to go off, then you should contact Universal Security to obtain a replacement.