This week it was announced that Sears settled a class-action lawsuit over injuries and deaths that were due to stoves tipping over because they weren’t securely attached to the wall or floor. For more information on the settlement and to see if your stove is covered, check out the lawsuit information details.
When a home sells in the St. Louis area, the standard contact usually calls for the seller to obtain a passed Laclede Gas utility inspection. One of the most common reasons for this inspection to fail is when a gas stove does not have an anti-tip device to prevent it from tipping over. (NOTE: Electric stove’s should have an anti-tip attached too and the buyer’s building inspector can check to see if the stove has one installed).
Think about it. If the oven door is open, and a child climbed on it or you lost your balance and fell on it, the stove could come toppling over on you or that small child. Even if it didn’t completely crash down on you, it could tip enough to dump the hot contents cooking all over you.
The solution to this problem is really simple. Every stove comes with a small metal bracket called an anti-tip device. The device is usually attached to the floor or wall, and one of the rear metal feet on the stove is slid into the bracket. If the stove starts to tip forward, the bracket holds the foot in place preventing it from moving more than a few inches. If your stove doesn’t have an anti-tip installed, you can pick one up at any large hardware store.
Regardless of whether you qualify for the Sears class action lawsuit settlement, every homeowner should check their stove and make sure that it has an anti-tip device installed correctly.
And while you are at it, make sure that your GE or Kenmore microwave doesn’t qualify for the recent microwave recall.
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- Microwave Oven Recall for GE and Kenmore Models
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