Kenmore clothes steamers
1 report to CPSC, the latest made Sep 12, 2012. A report isn’t a recall.
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At a glance
From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.
- 1report to CPSC
- Sep 12, 2012the latest report was made
- Sep 12, 2012the earliest
- 1with the company’s comments
- Brand
- Kenmore
- Maker
- Sears Holdings Management CorporationMakers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
- Product
- Clothes steamersCPSC’s product type: Clothes Steamers (code 255), in Home Maintenance and Structures: Laundry, Fabric Care & Sewing
By month
The numbers, as a table
| Month | Reports |
|---|---|
| September 2012 | 1 |
How badly anyone was hurt
- No one hurt 1 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 Sep 12, 2012, sent to the company Sep 20, 2012, published by CPSC Oct 4, 2012
The product, in the report: Kenmore Elite Steam Dryer Model number 797.81473
On Sunday 09/09/2012 we purchased a new electric Kenmore Elite Steam Dryer model number 796.81473. The dryer was delivered and installed on 09/11/2012. The delivery crew connected the power and the exhaust ductwork. Our exhaust duct goes through and up an internal wall into the attic and then exits out through a roof vent. The house was built in 1990 and has a three wire 240-volt, 30-amp circuit with the neutral wire also used as the ground for the dryer connection. The delivery crew installed the power cord on the dryer as/per the three wire instructions on page 13 of the manual supplied with the dryer. Except they did not use a UL listed strain relief. The power cord just went through the hole in the sheet metal wall on the back of the dryer. They test operated the dryer and it appeared to work fine. As they were leaving they noticed smoke coming out of the roof vents above the room where the dryer was installed. They notified my wife and a small fire was discovered in the attic next to the dryer exhaust duct. The installers put out the fire with a garden hose while my wife called 911. The City of Fresno Fire Department responded and cleared out any fire or water damaged insulation in the attic. They discovered that a flexible metal duct that supplies combustion air to my zero clearance fireplace had been in contact with the dryer duct and a water pipe. There are electrical arc marks on the dryer duct and the water pipe indicating that somehow the exhaust duct for the dryer had become energized and the flexible metal duct for the fireplace had completed the circuit to ground and caused the fire. Please note the lack of the UL listed strain relief was not the cause, the wires were not cut where they went through the hole. I do not know how the exhaust duct became energized but it didn’t happen until the new dryer was installed and operated. Our previous dryer, of 12 years, was a natural gas unit and did not use the 240 volt circuit. Prior to that we did have an electric dryer and never had any kind of problems. This dryer is installed right next to a new Kenmore Elite Front Loading Automatic Washer. Had the short circuit in the attic not occurred, when someone touched the washer and dryer while the dryer was operating they may had completed the circuit instead with deadly results.
- Model
- Kenmore Elite Staem Dryer model number 796.81473210
- Serial number
- 205KWNM8B359
- Bought from
- Orchard Supply Hardware, California
- Bought
- Sep 9, 2012
- Where
- Fresno, California: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Unspecified
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Unspecified
- As this report names them
- Brand Kenmore, made or sold by Sears Holdings Management Corporation
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
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
Sources
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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.