This was on national news this morning, again! As much as I dislike talking about recalled items in a home while doing a home inspection, I'm starting to think that this one might require notation(Big Red Flag). It's one of those things that has received so much news coverage that a person would have to be in a comatose state in a Tibetan monastery not to know about the GE dishwasher recall.

So, if we as home inspectors don't mention the GE recall we might be opening our self up to problems down the road. Standard of Care comes to mind! And being that this is becoming common knowledge, I'm afraid that it will fall in to a negligence category if one does not report on them.

You can have all of the disclaimers in your contract and report about not reporting on recalled items and I'm afraid that they won't do squat if push comes to shove and a house burns down because of a recalled dishwasher.

__________________
Scott Patterson
Spring Hill, TN
http://www.traceinspections.com

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2007
Release #07-190

Firm's Recall Hotline: (877) 607-6395
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
General Electric Media Contact: Kim Freeman, (502) 452-7819

General Electric Recalls Dishwashers Due to Fire Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary
recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using
recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of product: GE Dishwashers

Units: About 2.5 million

Manufacturer: GE Consumer & Industrial, of Louisville, Ky.

Hazard: Liquid rinse-aid can leak from its dispenser onto the
dishwasher's internal wiring which can cause an electrical short and
overheating, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: GE has received 191 reports of overheated wiring
including 56 reports of property damage. There were 12 reports of fires
that escaped the dishwasher. Fire damage was limited to the dishwasher
or the adjacent area. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recall includes GE built-in dishwashers sold under the
following brand names: Eterna, GE, GE Profile(tm), GE Monogram(r),
Hotpoint(r), and Sears-Kenmore. The dishwashers were sold in white,
black, almond, bisque and stainless steel. The brand name is printed on
the dishwasher's front control panel. Model and serial numbers can be
found inside the dishwasher tub on the front left side of the
dishwasher. A table of relevant model and serial numbers can be found on
CPSC's web site.

Sold at: Department and appliance stores from September 1997 through
December 2001 for about $400.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled dishwashers
and contact General Electric for a free repair, a $150 rebate towards
the purchase of a new GE dishwasher, or a $300 rebate towards the
purchase of a new GE Profile or GE Monogram dishwasher.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact General Electric
toll-free at (877) 607-6395 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through
Saturday. Consumers also can visit the firm's Web site at
www.geappliances.com

To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the
recalled product and a table of brands, models, and serial numbers
affected by this recall, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07190.html