Parents Warned About Safety 1st Tubside Bath Seats Recalled


In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Dorel Juvenile Group, of Columbus, Ind., announced a warning today for parents and caregivers who purchased the Safety 1st Tubside Bath Seats. The company has sold about 250,000 units to date. The bath seats are not intended and should not be used with certain non-traditional or sunken bathtubs. In these types of tubs, the bath seat can break, tip over and a child can fall into the water.

Dorel Juvenile Group has received nine reports of breakage due to use of Tubside Bath Seats in non-traditional or sunken bathtubs. An additional 67 reports of breakage due to handling, assembly and unknown reasons also were received. There was one report of a child bumping his forehead when a bath seat tipped over in a non-traditional tub, resulting in a bruise.

These Safety 1st Tubside Bath Seats have model number 44301 engraved on the bottom of the base. “Safety 1st” is printed on the front of the units. They are white and blue, have a swivel seat and an elbow cushion on the attachment arm. These seats are intended for use with children from 5 months to 10 months of age.

Consumers are urged to ensure that these bath seats are used in accordance with the instructions:

This product is NOT for use with the following style tubs:

• Tubs with edge width less than 3 ½ inches or greater than 5 ½ inches.
• Tubs with depth (top to bottom) less than 12 inches or greater than 15 inches.
• Free standing (legged or pedestal), oval, drop-in, or spa type tubs
  

The warning also stated that parents should not use bath seat if the Red Warning Label on the arm is exposed and reminded parents that children have drowned when left unattended in bath seats.

Discount department and other mass merchants sold these bath seats from December 2003 through August 2004 for about $20.

Consumers who have a Tubside Bath Seat should check the dimension of their tubs. If they have a non-traditional or sunken bathtub outside the specified dimensions, or have a broken unit the consumer should immediately stop using the Tubside Bath Seat and contact the firm for information on how to get a $20 rebate toward the purchase of any other Dorel Juvenile Group product. Consumers should not return the product to retail stores.

posted by Consumer Help Web Editorial Team at 12:50 PM |