Most weeks, a recall comes with a fix: a refund, a repair kit, a replacement. This week, the biggest one doesn't. The importer said no, so the government told owners to throw the thing out.
That's the lead today, along with a laminator that can catch fire.
Below: two products to unplug, what won't fall back on its own when the clocks change Sunday, the pressure cooker we'd replace it with, what El Niño means for your winter, three recalls for families with little ones, and a pressure washer to stop using.
Reply and tell us: do you still cook with a pressure cooker? We read every one.
Stop Using These 393,000 Pressure Cookers
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If there's a stainless-steel Power Quick Pot on your counter, check it today. The CPSC is warning owners of about 393,000 of these 6-quart pressure cookers to stop using them and throw them away.
The lid can open while the pot is still under pressure, and the hot food comes out with it. CPSC has 24 reports of that happening, each with serious burns.
This isn't a recall. Tristar Products, the importer, refused to recall them or offer anything back, so there's no refund to claim.
Here's how to tell if yours is one:
Model Y6D-36, printed on a label on the back
"Power Quick Pot" printed on the front
A black pressure lid, button controls and a digital display
Sold at Walmart.com, Amazon and eBay from about July 2018 to November 2023, for $44 to $160
If it matches, stop using it and throw it out. CPSC says not to sell it or give it away. You can report a problem at SaferProducts.gov.
Not sure if you bought one? Search your Amazon, Walmart or eBay order history for "Power Quick Pot." A gift from a few years back counts too.
The second one lives in the home office. 3M is recalling about 53,634 Scotch thermal laminators, model TL1302Z, because they can overheat. There are 63 reports of smoking, melting or overheating and five fires, with no injuries reported. Five fires is why 3M wants them back now.
They're light gray and white with a 13-inch slot, and they sold on Amazon from June 2024 through September 2026 for $44 to $56. To get a refund check:
Unplug it and stop using it.
Fill out the form on Scotch's recall page.
Cut the power cord and upload a photo of the laminator with the cut cord.
Recycle it under your local electronics rules.
Renters, both of these are yours to handle, since they're your own appliances. Scroll down for the pressure cooker we'd replace a Quick Pot with.
What Won't Fall Back on Its Own Sunday
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Daylight saving time ends Sunday, November 1, at 2 a.m., when clocks go back to 1 a.m., per NIST. You get an extra hour of sleep, and the dark starts an hour earlier in the evening.
Your phone and computer update on their own. A lot of the house won't. Here's the quick lap, best done Saturday night before bed:
Set the oven and microwave clocks back one hour.
Change the car clock. Most need a manual change.
Turn back any plug-in light timers. A dial timer doesn't know the date, so your lamps will run an hour off until you move it.
Check the clock on your thermostat. Some programmable models adjust themselves and older ones don't. If yours didn't, the morning warm-up will start an hour early.
Reset the wall clocks and any clock radio.
Check anything on a delay timer, like a coffee maker set to brew before you wake up.
Smart thermostats and smart plugs usually take their time from the internet, so they should shift by themselves. Give them a glance Sunday morning anyway.
Hawaii and Arizona stay on standard time all year, NIST notes, though the Navajo Nation in Arizona does change. If you live there, you can skip this one.
It's a 10-minute job, and it works the same in a rental.
Worth a Look
The Pressure Cooker We'd Replace a Quick Pot With
If you just threw out a Power Quick Pot, the Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart is the one we'd point you to. It's $109.99 at time of writing, and it does the same job at the same size.
It pressure cooks, slow cooks, sautés, steams and makes rice and yogurt, with 13 one-touch programs. The inner pot is 18/8 stainless steel with a tri-ply bottom, so you can brown the meat in it before you seal the lid.
Steam release is a switch, which Instant Pot says makes venting fast and simple, so your hand stays clear of the valve.
We haven't cooked with this one ourselves. The features here come from Instant Pot's Amazon listing.
That said, $109.99 is a real chunk of money for a pot you might use twice a month. If you're not in a hurry, check for a sale first. Whatever you buy, register it with the maker so you'll hear about a recall if one ever comes.
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A Strong El Niño Is Shaping This Winter
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center put out its latest seasonal outlook on October 15, and the headline is El Niño. CPC says it's strong and still strengthening, and it gives 80 percent odds of at least a strong event through the winter.
TLDR: El Niño is a warming of the tropical Pacific. It shifts the jet stream, and the jet stream steers US weather.
Here's what CPC favors for November through January:
Warmer than normal: the northern tier, the western third of the country, much of the East and southern Florida.
Wetter than normal: California, the Southwest, the central and southern Plains, the Southeast and the Eastern Seaboard.
Drier than normal: the northern Rockies and parts of the Great Lakes.
CPC calls a wet Southeast one of the most reliable El Niño signals.
"Favored" means the odds lean that way, not that a cold snap can't happen. Don't skip the furnace check because the outlook says mild.
If you live in the wet zones, though, the prep that matters is water, not cold. Clear the gutters and downspouts once the leaves are down, and test the sump pump before the first big storm.
Renters in those areas, a quick note to the landlord about the gutters is fair game.
Three Recalls If You Have Little Ones
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Light-up toys are everywhere this week, in costumes, candy buckets and party bags. Two recalled this week share one problem: button batteries a child can get to. CPSC warns a swallowed button battery can cause internal chemical burns and death.
BAMAMON LED finger lights: about 6,533 boxes of 32 space-themed finger lights, sold on Amazon from March 2025 through August 2026 for about $13 to $14. Stop using them and email [email protected] for a refund.
CIYTI light-up princess costumes: about 94 blue dresses with a light-up crown, wand and remote, sold on Amazon from February through June 2025 for $21 to $35. Contact the seller for a full refund, write "RECALLED" on each piece and throw them away.
For both, CPSC says to dispose of the batteries under your local hazardous-waste rules.
The third is at the dinner table. About 3,332 Costway convertible high chairs lack a passive restraint, so a child can slip through the gap under the tray. They sold at Walmart, Target and Costway.com from May 2023 through July 2026 for $84 to $100, in brown, purple, blue or red, each with white.
Costway will send a free replacement. Reach it at 844-242-1885 or [email protected], and stop using the chair in the meantime.
Not sure of the brand? CPSC says these chairs carry no tracking label, so go by the colors and where you bought it.
The Pressure Washer With No Shock Protection
If you bought a green-and-black PowRyte pressure washer on Amazon or eBay, stop using it. CPSC warns these units, sold for $92 to $320, have no GFCI, the shock protection that belongs on or near the plug of a corded pressure washer.
TLDR: a GFCI cuts the power almost instantly when electricity starts going somewhere it shouldn't, like through water and you.
The maker hasn't responded to CPSC's requests for a recall, so there's no refund. CPSC says to unplug it, cut the cord and throw it out, and not to sell it or give it away.
Have a different corded pressure washer in the garage? Look at the plug before the next use. There should be a protection device on or near it, usually a bulky block with Test and Reset buttons. In September, CPSC flagged FOTING pressure washers for the same missing part.
The same goes for the outdoor outlet you plug into. Exterior outlets are supposed to be GFCI-protected too, so if yours has no Test and Reset buttons, and no GFCI outlet upstream that feeds it, put it on the list for an electrician before spring. Renters, that one's the landlord's.
One quick tap
What kind of home do you live in?
That's Monday: a pressure cooker to toss, a laminator to unplug, the clocks, the winter outlook, three family recalls and a pressure washer.
If you only do one thing today, turn your pressure cooker around and read the label on the back.
Forward this to whoever in your house does the cooking.
See you tomorrow.
The Home Wire
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