Ridgid vacuum cleaners

2 reports to CPSC, the latest made Jun 1, 2026. A report isn’t a recall.

Watch it to hear when CPSC publishes new reports about it. CPSC’s own search

Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own search is on saferproducts.gov.

At a glance

From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.

2reports to CPSC
Jun 1, 2026the latest report was made
May 5, 2011the earliest
2with the company’s comments

Brand: Ridgid
Maker: Emerson Tool Company, a division of Emerson Electric Co.Makers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
Product: Vacuum cleanersCPSC’s product type: Vacuum Cleaners (code 115), in Home Maintenance and Structures: Home Cleaning Appliances & Equipment

Other ways the reports write the brand (1)

“Ridgid professional”

By month

1 report from July 2025 to June 2026; the most in June 2026, 1. 1 earlier report, since May 2011, is in the table.

The numbers, as a table

Reports to CPSC by the month each was made, newest first
Month	Reports
June 2026	1
May 2011	1

How badly anyone was hurt

No one hurt 2 CPSC: Incident, No Injury

As each report says it, in short words; CPSC’s own words are under each.

The reports, as CPSC published them

Reports people made to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC publishes each one after sending it to the company named, and doesn’t guarantee they’re accurate. A report isn’t a recall.

Each report is the words of the person who made it, as CPSC published them. The company’s comments, where CPSC published any, are set apart as the company’s own.

CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.

No one hurt
Made Jun 1, 2026, sent to the company Jun 4, 2026, published by CPSC Jun 18, 2026

The product, in the report: Consumer grade wet/dry shop vacuum

[REDACTED] motor sparking, smoking and burned components within machine. Disconnected power to prevent fire from unit spreading. Bench tested motor before shipping to OEM for warranty. Warranty work denied with claim that motor was experiencing normal signs of wear and tear.

Model
WD164409
Serial number
17089R164409
Where
Saint Paul, Minnesota: Home/Apartment/Condominium
Who was involved
Unspecified
The reporter’s relation to them
Unspecified
As this report names them
Brand Ridgid, made or sold by Emerson Tool Company, a division of Emerson Electric Co.
How badly, in CPSC’s words
Incident, No Injury

The company’s comments, in its own words

(6/11/2026) Emerson Tool Company, a division of Emerson Electric Co.: Emerson Tool Company (ETC) has reviewed this consumer’s allegation and concludes the product, including the vacuum, its instruction manual, and on-product warnings are adequate and appropriate. The root causes of the concern reported by the Consumer are instead the result of normal end-of-life of the consumable brushes, exacerbated by the Customer’s misuse including the apparent operation of the unit without a filter. This unit ultimately experienced a safe end-of-life.
The Consumer contacted Emerson Tool Co.’s (ETC) Customer Service department on May 14, 2026, requesting an assessment of their unit’s coverage under ETC’ s manufacturer limited warranty claim evaluation process. ETC informed the customer it would review the consumer’s unit and for the consumer to ship back the entire Vacuum Powerhead for evaluation. Contrary to ETC’s request, the consumer removed the motor from the powerhead and shipped only the vacuum’s motor.
The motor was received May 29, 2026. The customer’s vacuum was identified as a model WD1640 unit. The unit was inspected by an ETC technician with 35 years of experience. The review revealed the unit was manufactured on 30 March 2017 and was over nine years old. The Motor was found to exhibit completely worn carbon brushes, which is normal at the unit’s end-of-life. Completely worn carbon brushes on a nine-year-old product, which demonstrates signs of frequent use, is not indicative of a defect in materials or workmanship covered under the manufacturer’s limited warranty. Instead, this is a non-covered issue caused by normal wear and tear and pushing the unit well beyond its specified life capacity. ETC’s limited warranty makes clear “failures due to misuse, abuse or normal wear and tear are not covered by this warranty”
The consumer claims the vacuum’s motor was exhibiting sparking, smoking and burning components within the machine during operation. This operation mode is a result of the unit being pushed beyond its capacity and expected life, as is apparent from the extremely worn carbon brushes on this nearly decade old unit. The limited warranty states vacuums “are designed to have a run life of 500-700 hours.” Further, unit motors will exhibit unusual noise significantly different than the normal operation sound during the end-of-life operation. The product’s instruction manual advises the operator to cease operation and inspect the vacuum if a change in noise is observed; “WARNING - Do not leave Vac running while unattended - you may fail to notice important signs indicating abnormal operation such as loss of suction, debris/liquid exiting the exhaust, or abnormal motor noises. Immediately stop using Vac if you notice these signs.”. Based on the state of the extremely worn carbon brushes it appears the noise change and stop use instruction was ignored by the consumer for some time.
Furthermore, a photo provided by the consumer depicted the presence of dust and debris inside the blower wheel and venturi of the vacuum, which is an indication a filter was either not installed or damaged while operating the vacuum. Debris lodged in the blower wheel will unbalance the wheel and cause vibration, leading to accelerated destruction of the carbon brushes. This is an indication of misuse of the vacuum and is addressed in the WD1640 instruction manual where it advises the user to clean and replace the filter regularly. Users are also instructed to observe if the filter is damaged or torn, debris can leak through the filter and collect of the blower wheel; “WARNING - Do not use with a torn filter or without the filter installed except when vacuuming liquids as described in this manual. Dry debris ingested by the impeller may damage the motor or be exhausted into the air”.
Consumer was advised on 29 May 2026 that their WD1640 vacuum was not eligible for coverage under the limited warranty due to the carbon brushes being exhausted, which is the normal outcome at the vacuum’s end of life and not indicative of an issue of materials or workmanship covered under the products limited warranty. There are no replacement carbon brushes available for consumer servicing. Consumer was not pleased with the decision and threatened to contact CPSC. Consumer was advised to stop using the vacuum.
Including for the foregoing reasons and following a review of the consumer’s supplied part of the unit, ETC concludes the unit, its instruction manuals, and on-product warnings are and remain adequate and appropriate and in this situation the root causes of the concern reported by the Consumer are instead the result of the Customer’s product misuse including operating the unit beyond its capacity despite multiple end of life signals from the unit. This unit had a safe end-of-life even with the aforementioned misuse.

CPSC report 20260531-F79E7-2147318319. Submitter: Consumer Search for it on SaferProducts.gov
No one hurt
Made May 5, 2011, published by CPSC Jun 10, 2011

The product, in the report: Ridgid 14 gallon wet dry vacuum

Consumer wanted that her Ridgid 14 gallon wet dry vacuum caught fire. Her husband was outside on the deck and tried to turn on the vacuum before it stalled out after he tried to turn it on. He readjusted the plug into the outlet and again the vacuum stalled after initially turning on. He again tried to turn it on and the vacuum caught flames that were about a foot high coming from the inside of the vacuum. The flames melted the cord of the vacuum. She tried to call the manufacturer May 3,2011 and filed a report with the manufacturer. The manufacturer told her that the person who handles these incident will be back in the office May 6,2011 and call her back.
The consumer has yet to call the retailer. Aside from the melted cord the vacuum looks fine and there is no charring or discoloration. The damage was limited to the product. When the consumer’s husband unplugged the vacuum the flames went out and there was no need to call the fire department. She felt it was imperative to report this incident.

Model
WD14500
Serial number
00280C0275
Bought from
Home Depot, New Jersey
Where
North Brunswick, New Jersey: Home/Apartment/Condominium
Who was involved
Age 72, Female
The reporter’s relation to them
Self
As this report names them
Brand Ridgid professional, made or sold by Emerson Tool Company, a division of Emerson Electric Co.
How badly, in CPSC’s words
Incident, No Injury

The company’s comments, in its own words

(6/1/2011) Emerson Tool Company, a division of Emerson Electric Co.: Emerson Tool Company takes reports of potential product safety issues seriously and investigates all incidents when the product is available for review. We have inspected this nearly 5-year-old product and have found that an electrical short occurred in the power supply cord, external to the vacuum cleaner and just adjacent to the powerhead. This incident did not involve, nor damage, any part of the vacuum other than the power cord. The damage is consistent with high stress on a power cord caused by unusually tight wrapping and/or bending fatigue, resulting in arcing between conductors due to breakage in the wire “stranding” and/or the conductors’ insulation. No other damage, including fire damage, is evident on this wet/dry vacuum, which was otherwise operational at the time of our inspection. This model vacuum is a Listed product by Underwriter’s Laboratory. It was designed and tested according to the applicable design safety standard for wet/dry vacuums, UL 1017, which includes a test for “Power Supply Cord Flexing,” which tests to 10,000 cycles of flexing.

CPSC report 20110505-B847D-1181471. Submitter: Consumer Search for it on SaferProducts.gov

CPSC’s disclaimer

Disclaimer: CPSC does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.

Word for word, from the disclaimer in CPSC’s export.

Sources

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, SaferProducts.gov public database export.

Released Oct 25, 2026 and checked Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.

Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.

Ridgid vacuum cleaners

At a glance

By month

How badly anyone was hurt

The reports, as CPSC published them

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources

How to read a record

Every fact names its source.

A number never stands alone.

What needs attention is marked.

The public record comes first.