October starts Thursday. It's the month every battery in the house works a little harder and the furnace comes back from its summer off.
Below: this week's recalls, six charging habits for Fire Prevention Week, what this winter's heating bill is forecast to cost, where a dead battery should actually go, the mattress label worth a look, and a $27.99 extinguisher for the kitchen doorway.
Reply and tell us: how many things are plugged in and charging at your place right now? We read every one.
This Week in Home
Image: CPSC
Four things worth knowing this week.
🔋 51,000 recliner battery packs. If your power recliner runs on a battery pack instead of a wall plug, check the back of the pack. The Blue Cactus Company's black 2500 mAh packs, model RWX-RBP02, can overheat, and the CPSC has four reports of packs smoking or igniting. They sold on Amazon from May 2023 through July 2026 for about $105. Stop using it and contact the company for a free replacement.
🔥 21,380 power banks. NEWDERY's black power bank with a yellow cable, model ZHX-PB22, sold on Amazon from October 2023 to November 2024 for $27 to $50. The CPSC has nine reports of explosions and fires, including one fire that caused $2 million in property damage. NEWDERY is offering refunds.
🗄️ 25,073 dressers. Aitjunz 8-drawer wood dressers, sold on Amazon, Wayfair, Temu and Walmart from May 2025 through July 2026 for $230 to $270, fail the federal tip-over standard. Per the CPSC, stop using one that isn't anchored to the wall, and ask Yuyitop for the free kit of counterweight blocks.
🛏️ Three boxed mattresses failed the federal fire standard this week. The label to check is further down.
Look at the first two together. Both are lithium-ion batteries, both sold for years before the recall, and Fire Prevention Week, which starts Sunday, is about exactly that kind of battery. The habits that go with it are next.
Six Charging Habits for Fire Prevention Week
Image: The Home Wire
Fire Prevention Week runs October 4 to 10, and this year the National Fire Protection Association built it around one subject: charging lithium-ion batteries safely.
That's the battery in your phone, laptop, power tools, e-bike and scooter. It holds a lot of energy in a small space, which is exactly why it's worth handling with a little care.
NFPA's list is short, and every item is a habit rather than a purchase:
Use the cord and charger that came with the device, or one the manufacturer approves.
Charge on a hard, flat surface like a table, a desk or a bare floor. A bed, couch or pillow traps heat.
Unplug it once it's fully charged.
Charge big items like e-bikes, scooters and power tools outside when you can.
Never charge anything where it blocks your way out, like a hallway or the front door.
Stop using any battery that gets very hot, swells, smells strange, leaks, smokes, or pops or hisses.
Number two is the one to change tonight. The phone that charges under your pillow, or the laptop that charges on the duvet, is the most common version of this in any house.
What This Winter's Heating Bill Is Forecast to Cost
Image: The Home Wire
The National Energy Assistance Directors Association published its winter heating forecast on September 16, and the headline number is up 8.7%.
That's more than twice the rate of inflation. The average household is expected to spend $1,030 on heating this winter, $82 more than last year.
Your fuel decides how much of that lands on you:
Heating oil: up 31.3%, driven by a sharp rise in oil prices
Electric heat: up 9.0%
Propane: up 8.7%
Natural gas: up 5.8%
Two things in the report are worth holding onto. First, the forecast assumes a warmer winter than normal, which NEADA says is holding the increase down. A cold one would push every number above higher. Second, across all fuels, heating costs are up 23.9% since the winter of 2021 to 2022.
If you heat with electricity, tomorrow's edition does the math on the space heater. It's a closer call than most people think.
Where a Dead Battery Should Actually Go
Both battery recalls above say the same thing about the old unit: not the trash, and not the curbside recycling bin. That goes for any lithium-ion battery, recalled or not.
Per the EPA, these batteries can be damaged during collection and processing, and that damage is what starts fires at waste and recycling facilities.
So when a phone, power bank or tool battery is done:
Put each battery or device in its own plastic bag.
Cover the battery's metal terminals with electrical tape, so nothing can touch them.
Take it to a battery recycler, an electronics recycler, a store take-back bin, or your local household hazardous waste site. The EPA's page links to two free locators, Call2Recycle and Earth911.
For a recalled battery, check the recall notice first. NEWDERY's, for example, says its recalled power banks should skip the store battery bins and go to household hazardous waste.
And if a battery is swollen or damaged, call the maker before you move it, per the EPA. Those are the ones most likely to catch fire in transit.
Three Mattresses, One Label to Check
Image: CPSC
This week the CPSC recalled three boxed mattresses sold on Amazon that fail the mandatory federal flammability standard. That's the fire test every mattress sold in the U.S. has to pass. No incidents were reported for any of them.
Each recall points to the same place: the white label sewn onto the side of the mattress.
Kesyup, about 48,405 sold from December 2024 through April 2026 for $100 to $200. 12 inches thick, white top, blue sides, twin through king. The label reads "Prototype ID: <PU-US>".
WinxMatrs, about 792 black 10-inch twins sold August through November 2025 for about $120. The label reads "WinxMatrs".
Emerspring, about 263 queens sold January through May 2026 for $226. White with green trim, and a label reading "Prototype ID: <EMERS-12" with a 6/2025 date.
The fixes aren't the same. Kesyup and WinxMatrs owners get a refund. Emerspring owners get a free fitted cover that brings the mattress up to the standard, so that one stays on the bed.
If you bought a boxed mattress online in the last two years, lift the sheet at one corner and read the label. It takes ten seconds.
A $27.99 Extinguisher for the Kitchen Doorway
Fire Prevention Week is a good week to check whether your home has an extinguisher at all. Plenty don't.
The one we'd point you to is First Alert's Rechargeable Home Fire Extinguisher, at $27.99. It's UL-rated 1-A:10-B:C.
TLDR: those letters are the kinds of fire it's rated for. A is wood, paper and fabric, B is flammable liquids, and C is electrical.
So one unit covers the everyday list. It has a pull pin with a safety seal, comes with a mounting bracket, and can be recharged by a certified professional after use instead of thrown away.
Mount it near the way out of the kitchen, not over the stove. You want to reach it while moving away from a fire, not toward one.
We haven't discharged this one ourselves. The rating and the price come from First Alert's own store.
Know its limits, too. It's for a small fire that's just starting. If a fire is spreading, or it's a battery pack burning, get everyone out and call 911. And for a pan fire on the stove, a lid is still the first move, as we covered on September 17.
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One quick tap
What kind of home do you live in?
That's Monday: four recalls, six charging habits, the heating forecast by fuel, a battery's last trip, and a label under the sheet.
Tonight's job is number two on the charging list. Move whatever's charging on the bed onto the nightstand.
Forward this to whoever in your house charges the e-bike.
See you tomorrow.
The Home Wire
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