Chinese faucets recalled over potential chemical hazards

The federal government is warning Americans not to buy cheap knockoff faucets online that could leach harmful chemicals and heavy metals into their drinking water.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday that it’s recalling four Chinese-made faucets sold on Amazon over unsafe levels of lead exposure. It said the lead can be especially harmful for babies, young children and pregnant women.

The recalls come after American faucet brand Moen noticed cheap foreign-made faucets for sale on Amazon, the company told NBC News. Moen paid the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, a plumbing certification agency with American National Standards Institute accreditation, to test 19 of the top-selling inexpensive foreign-made products.

The IAPMO lab found 17 of the 19 faucets failed to meet national drinking water standards — 11 for lead and 15 for organic compounds including carcinogens and a chemical used to treat lice and scabies.

“Consumers that use these products and drink this water with these higher levels of contaminants are going to be at higher risk for getting things like cancer,” said Tom Palkon, chief technical services officer at IAPMO.

The government’s recalls were greeted with applause on Capitol Hill. 

“The American consumer is going to know that they need to stop using all of these faucets that they may have bought on these websites,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told NBC News on Wednesday. “You need to ban people who can’t meet our safety standards.”

In March, Duckworth and Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., wrote a joint letter to the CPSC asking it to investigate imported plumbing products, citing the results of IAPMO’s faucet testing.

Moen said an estimated 35 million cheap faucets from foreign brands were sold in the U.S. in the last five years, citing an industry e-commerce tool.

The faucets might seem like a bargain at around $30 — and can look very similar to faucets from top American brands that can go for hundreds of dollars. Moen said that makes it tough for consumers to tell a high-quality fixture apart from a knockoff.

“We’ve seen examples where they’re literally copying every aspect of our product, from markings to trademark names and logos that we put on our product,” said Aaron Bores, Moen’s executive vice president of product development.

During a U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property hearing Wednesday, Bores asked the government to close intellectual property loopholes that allow the sale of the counterfeit faucets.

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Holding up two valves at the hearing, Bores said: “When searching for this one Moen valve on e-commerce, we found one real Moen SKU. That same search resulted in 41 counterfeit SKUs. Consumers have no chance of discerning a real product from a fake, nor do the most experienced plumbers.”

Amazon has not responded to NBC’s request for comment. The companies selling the recalled faucets couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The CPSC said in its recalls that consumers should immediately stop using the faucets — adding that until they’re replaced, people should only drink from them after running the water for 15 seconds.

Palkon from IAPMO said consumers can look for certification marks on faucets and verify them with the certification agency online or by calling the agency. He said consumers can also use water filters to remove some heavy metals and chemicals.