Stop Using This Faulty Plug-In CO Detector, CPSC Warns
The safety announcement comes after CR alerted the agency to reports of multiple hospitalizations attributed to the detector's failure to alarm
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a formal safety warning urging anyone who purchased a faulty plug-in carbon monoxide (CO) detector—sold as model KH158 under various brand names on Amazon, eBay, and other retail websites—to immediately discontinue its use and dispose of the device.
The agency is aware of 91 reports that the detector failed to alarm despite dangerous carbon monoxide or gas levels, according to the CPSC.
The warning comes after Consumer Reports urged the agency to investigate complaints spotted by CR advocates on the CPSC’s SaferProducts.gov portal—including reports detailing serious illness and hospitalizations.
In April, CR also notified Amazon about the complaints, prompting the company to remove the CO detectors from its site. “We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies,” a representative for the company stated.
According to the report, more than 375,000 of these faulty detectors were sold on Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, microcenter.com, and snapklik.com between June 2024 and July 2026.
How to Stay Safe From Carbon Monoxide
It’s important to purchase a CO detector from a reputable brand and retailer. (Shoppers can look to CR’s CO detector ratings for the models that perform best in our labs. These ratings are available to everyone free of charge, alongside ratings of other lifesaving products, like car seats and bike helmets.)
A detector installed in your home should be certified by a testing organization, like UL Solutions or Intertek Electrical Testing Labs (ETL). Models with a UL or ETL mark on the product or box, for example, meet the UL 2034 safety standard.
Some detectors are designed to discern lower levels of CO than models made for general home installation. These devices, often marketed as portable detectors, can serve as early-detection tools or safety measures while you travel. Unlike regular models, they can alert you to CO levels below 30 parts per million, which can still make you ill if exposed for a long enough time. Low-level detectors do not replace the certified CO detectors installed in your home, though.
Accidental CO poisoning causes more than 400 deaths and leads to more than 100,000 emergency room visits in the U.S. every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. At 400 parts per million, carbon monoxide can cause fatal injury within hours. Early symptoms of CO exposure include headache, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue. It’s important to install CO detectors on all levels of your home and outside any sleeping areas.
Of course, purchasing a certified detector from a reputable brand doesn’t guarantee that the device won’t malfunction. So try to test CO detectors weekly and replace them every five years.
If you believe a CO detector you’ve purchased is faulty or has failed to warn you of CO exposure, you can report the issue to the CPSC on SaferProducts.gov. This can lead to further CPSC investigation and raise manufacturer and public awareness of an issue.
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