Federal regulators have told households to stop using a plug-in gas and carbon monoxide detector sold under 18 different brand names, saying the device can fail to alert people to the presence of hazardous carbon monoxide. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the warning Thursday, covering 376,974 units of model KH158.
The agency says it is aware of 91 reports of the detectors failing to alarm in the presence of gas or carbon monoxide leaks. That is an unusually high incident count for a consumer product warning, and it points to a failure mode different in kind from a typical recall.
Carbon monoxide has no smell, no color, and no taste. A household cannot detect it without a working alarm. A detector that stays silent does not simply fail to add protection. It removes the only warning the house was ever going to get, while giving the people inside a reason to believe they are covered.
One Model Number Wearing Eighteen Different Brand Names
The product is a four-in-one plug-in unit that combines natural gas and carbon monoxide detection. It comes in white, gray, or black plastic with a digital display, a button marked "SELF-TEST," and three indicator lights labeled POWER, FAULT, and ALARM.
The brand names on the housing vary enormously. CPSC lists ARIKON, ELECOIN, FLUNGSKY, HAOKESITE, Hembisen, JNHCD, KAKIMENT, KH Alert, KOABBIT, NICGOL, NORJAN, OUMEBIU, Sooguard, Vilfet, Vzmcov, WESHLGD, XLA Alert and YOJOCK. The model number is the common thread.
The units were sold in single packs and multipacks on Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, microcenter.com, and snapklik.com from June 2024 through July 2026, priced between $13 and $140. That two-year window and that price range mean the affected devices are spread across rental units, first apartments, dorm rooms, garages, RVs, and basements where a cheap plug-in alarm is the practical choice.
The manufacturer, Shenzhen Kanghua Shengshi Industrial Co., which does business as KH Alert, has not agreed to a recall. There is no refund program and no replacement offer. CPSC's instruction is blunt: "Stop using and dispose of these products immediately."
Ninety-One Reports of Silence During a Leak
The incident count deserves a moment. Most consumer product warnings rest on a handful of complaints. Ninety-one reports of a life-safety device failing to alarm is a large number, and the true figure is plausibly higher, because most people never file a report with a federal agency after a near miss.
One of the brand names on the CPSC list surfaced months earlier. Consumer Reports tied the same model to hospitalizations in April, citing complaints filed with CPSC about a plug-in detector sold under the Hembisen name and model number KH-158. Those complaints described at least four people sickened, including a 15-year-old and a 14-year-old treated in February and a 60-year-old man hospitalized in March. Amazon removed the listings while it investigated the safety signals. A representative for Hembisen later told Consumer Reports the brand disputes the findings.
Accidental carbon monoxide poisoning causes more than 400 deaths and more than 100,000 emergency department visits in the United States each year, according to CDC data on carbon monoxide poisoning. The early symptoms are the reason it is dangerous: headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion, and shortness of breath can be mistaken for the flu or food poisoning. Someone asleep may never wake up to notice them.
Higher-risk groups include infants, older adults, pregnant people, and anyone with anemia, chronic heart disease, or a chronic respiratory condition. Households that burn fuel indoors face the greatest exposure, meaning homes with gas ranges, gas or oil furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, wood stoves, attached garages, or generators used during outages.
Replacing the Device Without Repeating the Purchase
The replacement rule is short and worth following exactly. CPSC advises buying only carbon monoxide detectors that meet the UL 2034 safety standard, and in past notices has told consumers that combination smoke and CO detectors should meet both UL 2034 and UL 217. A UL or ETL certification mark appears on the packaging and on the unit.
Placement matters as much as certification. Install a detector on every level of the home and outside each separate sleeping area. Choose units that are battery-operated, or that carry battery backup, since a plug-in-only device is useless during the outage that prompts a household to run a generator. Test the alarms frequently and replace batteries as needed.
Do not sell or give away an affected unit. Passing it to a relative, a tenant, or a resale app moves the hazard rather than removing it. Households that experienced a failure can file a report at SaferProducts.gov, which is the public database CPSC investigators use to build cases like this one.
The Enforcement Gap Behind an Unfixed Hazard
The structural problem in this case is not the defect. It is the remedy. CPSC cannot compel a recall without either company cooperation or legal action, and a foreign seller operating through an online marketplace can decline to participate with few immediate consequences. The agency's remaining tool is a public warning that most affected households will never see.
That leaves the burden on consumers to identify a device they bought two years ago, from a brand they may not remember, on a platform that may no longer list it. Checking order history for a plug-in gas or CO detector purchased since mid-2024 is the practical starting point, and the CPSC recalls and warnings page is worth checking against any low-cost detector bought online recently.
MedicalDaily reported in July on three children who died from generator carbon monoxide poisoning in Wayne County, Michigan, during storm-related power outages, a reminder that the season for this hazard arrives with the first cold snap and the first outage.
If an alarm sounds, or if anyone in the home develops symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide exposure, get everyone to fresh air immediately and call 911. Do not re-enter until emergency responders clear the space, and call for help rather than driving to a hospital.
Key Questions Answered
Which product is affected? Four-in-one plug-in natural gas and carbon monoxide detectors, model KH158, sold under 18 brand names including Hembisen, KH Alert, JNHCD, Sooguard and NICGOL.
Where were they sold? Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, microcenter.com and snapklik.com, from June 2024 through July 2026, for $13 to $140.
Is there a refund? No. The manufacturer has not agreed to a recall. CPSC advises disposing of the units and buying replacements.
How do I know if mine is included? Check the model number on the device and your online order history. The unit has a digital display and a SELF-TEST button with POWER, FAULT and ALARM lights.
What should I buy instead? A detector certified to the UL 2034 standard, or a combination unit meeting both UL 2034 and UL 217, with battery backup.
What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure? Headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion and shortness of breath. Symptoms often resemble the flu.
What should I do if an alarm sounds? Get everyone outside to fresh air and call 911. Do not go back inside until emergency responders say it is safe.
