WAHL Home Products hair clippers and trimmers

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Hurt, no treatment

   Made Apr 5, 2013 · , sent to the company Apr 15, 2013 · , published by CPSC Apr 29, 2013

   The product, in the report: WAHL Groom Pro Head & Total Body Grooming Kit (it includes a hair clipper, trimmer, multiple attachments, and a carrying case). I believe the product is located here: http://www.wahlhomeproducts.com/Products/HairClippers/ClipperTrimmerCombo/79520-3101. The large hair clipper is what caught fire (not the smaller trimmer). The incident also involves the WAHL “Total Care” all in one cleaner, lubricant, & coolant spray designed to clean the hair clipper. The clipper caught fire after being sprayed with the cleaning spray. There is a link to a similar cleaning spray on their website (http://www.wahlhomeproducts.com/Products/HairClippers/ClipperAccessories/3772), but I can’t find the same one with the same label as what I bought from Walmart.

   I purchased a WAHL Groom Pro Head & Total Body Grooming Kit (it includes a hair clipper, trimmer, multiple attachments, and a carrying case) at Walmart located at 1220 Old Country Rd, Westbury, NY 11590. I also purchased from the same store the WAHL Total Care cleaning spray which is designed to clean the hair clipper. I purchased both products approximately one year ago.

   In the early morning hours of April 5, 2013, at approximately 1:40 AM, I was sitting in my bedroom in my house cleaning the WAHL hair clipper. I had just used it minutes before to trim my chest hair. I was cleaning the hair clipper using the WAHL “Total Care” all in one cleaner, lubricant, & coolant spray. I purchased the WAHL cleaning spray because I had assumed that the spray made by WAHL would be the best product to use to clean the WAHL hair clipper.

   I followed the instructions on the spray can exactly. The WAHL Total Care spray can states, “Turn unit off and brush hair from blades. Next, holding the unit in a downward position and with the unit running, liberally apply solution to blades to completely flush out all foreign matter. Allow Wahl Total care to remain on the blades for 2 minutes. Turn unit off and wipe clean. Unit is ready for use.” I brushed hair from the blades while it was off. I turned the clipper on, held it in a downward position while still running, and I began to liberally apply the solution to the blades. At that exact moment, the head and blades of the hair clipper caught on fire.

   I attempted to blow out the fire, and it would not blow out. I had been cleaning the hair clipper over my garbage can. After I realized I could not blow the fire out, I dropped the flaming hair clipper into my garbage can to avoid being burned while in a state of panic. I had no safer place available to drop the flaming hair clipper. The only alternative place to drop it would have been my bedroom floor, and this might have caused my entire house to catch fire. After dropping the flaming hair clipper into my garbage, the contents of my garbage caught on fire, and in a moment a very large fire was inside my garbage bin. My garbage bin is a large approximately 13 gallon plastic garbage bin I previously purchased from Target. I began to shout “Fire” and my mother and brother came running to my room with fire extinguishers. They used the fire extinguishers to put out the fire in my garbage. The garbage was still smoking after the fire was extinguished, so I then poured water inside the garbage. Fortunately, the fire went out. I placed the smokey garbage bin and clipper outside my house, because I was afraid it would reignite.

   As a result of the fire, my entire bedroom, and the second and third floors of my house were filled with smoke. We opened all the windows and waited for the smoke to dissipate while choking on smoke in the air. When the smoke finally dissipated, I saw that my entire room was covered in a layer of smoke dust/residue. I have numerous electronics in my bedroom (television, desktop computer, laptop, printer, speakers, cable box, DVR, blu-ray player) and I do not yet know what effect this residue will have on my electronics. Furthermore, I believe it is likely my room will need to be professionally cleaned. I also do not know whether I will need medical treatment, as I unavoidably and inadvertently breathed in a large amount of smoke during the fire. I do not yet know the full extent of the damage of this fire.

   Model

   Wahl® Groom Pro™ Head & Total Body Grooming Kit

   UPC

   Unknown

   Serial number

   Unreadable - burnt

   Bought from

   Walmart, New York

   Bought

   Apr 1, 2012, about then

   Where

   Merrick, New York: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 27, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Self

   As this report names them

   Brand WAHL Home Products, made or sold by Wahl Clipper Corporation

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources