Shark S3501

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20130107-B96DC-2147460146. Severity: Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Incident: I was using my Shark steam mop. Suddenly it stopped creating steam, so I unplugged it and waited for the mop head to cool. I started to take the mop head off of the unit by pressing the release button, when the mop head shot off the unit, followed by a huge stream of blistering hot steam that shot across the room. I sustained a very minor burn on my left thumb. Luckily, my children and dog were not in the vicinity when the steam shot out. I will NEVER use a steam mop of this kind again.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20111211-A86B8-2147472467. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Incident: I own a Shark S3501 Steam mop and have used it only about 13 times. Yesterday the steam stopped coming out of the bottom of the mop but I could feel that the water was still hot and the mop was still plugged in and on. I unplugged it and let it cool off for a few minutes. I attempted to take the mop head off to check if something was obstructing the flow of the steam and the head shot across the room and hot steam sprayed out on my hand. I was not hurt but if someone would have been standing in front of it they would have been injured. I put the head back on and now the hot water comes out of the tank as steam and gets very hot and burns your hand if you get near. Plus the mop still isnt' working and it appears the seals have blown.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20140801-D4419-2147442378. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Source model text: Shark Pocket Steam Mop S3501. Incident: I was using mop when it stopped steaming. Waiting for it to reheat to see if that would help and continued to pump handle to start steaming process. No steam released. The mop head shot off with great force 3 feet across the room and released steam and the heated water from tank everywhere. Luckily, my 6 month old baby and 4 year old were no where near and I was not injured. I use distilled water for the tank to prevent mineral build up and use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water to prevent any possible build up. This could seriously injury a person by the steam released under great pressure, the scolding hot water from the tank, or the mop head shooting off.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20110806-743C8-2147476482. Severity: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Incident: I have a Shark Steam Pocket Mop S3501. Last week steam stopped coming out of the head so I decided to remove the head to see if there was something I could fix. When I removed the head steam shoot out the nozzel that remained and scalded my hand. I put the other head on the unit and it worked fine. I disassembled the first head and cleaned it. When I began using it today it worked fine for about 15 minutes then stopped making steam. I let it cool for 30 minutes, removed the head and installed the other head. I plugged the unit in and waited about ten minutes for the steam to build up. Before I could begin to clean the floors the unit blew up spraying steam from the sides and top of the unit where the handle enters. It does not function now. This situation is very dangerous. I was very lucky I was able to move my hand out of the way when the steam shot out as I was removing the head. The scalding was only minor but could have been much worse.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20120903-D90EA-2147464104. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Source model text: S3501 N. Incident: I was using my Shark Pocket Steam Mop model S3501-N as I normally do when I clean my floor when it stopped producing steam, I lifted the mop head off the floor to see what was going off and it exploded off, shooting about 5 feet across the room with a rush of hot steam and water, all over my hand and right at my dog. I got the beginning stages of a burn on my palm and pinkie, but nothing that would need an ER visit. Had my kids been in the room or my dog literally 6 inches to the right, we would have been in big trouble.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20130123-23DC1-2147459539. Severity: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Source model text: S3501FS. Incident: I have two Shark Euro-Pro floor steamers and they both have the exact same issue. Once they are turned on and warmed up you push up and down in order to force steam out of the end onto the floor. What frequently hapens is the unit become clogged and the steam continues to build as there is no exit for the pressure. I have tried on multiple occasions to remove the head and if yoiu have not allowed at least 20 minutes for the unit to cool down it will literally explode with great force. This was the worst ever and it sprayed my foot, through my socks and slipper causing a burn. The fact that there are multiple compaints about this steamer and BOTH of mine do it should be a huge cause for concern. This could seriously injure somebody's face, child or pet. I cannot believe that these are still being sold!

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20111011-DCED1-2147474445. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Incident: While using my Shark Steam Mop S3501 yesterday, it worked normally for about 1 minute. Then it ceased producing steam through the mop head. I pumped the handle in an attempt to get it back to normal. The mop head was cool to the touch (not hot as is normal when the unit is on), but the unit was plugged in, the power light was on, and the water tank full. I unplugged it and went to eject the mop head to troubleshoot, but when I pressed the eject button, the attachment explosively shot off and steam started blasting from the bottom of the unit. My fingers got slight steam burns, but if a person or pet had been standing in front of me and the mop, they would have been seriously burned.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20120129-36239-2147470822. Severity: Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Incident: I have a Shark S3501 Steam mop I've used it approximately 8 times. Today I used the steam mop on my kitchen floor and at first the steam mop apeared to working just fine. After approximately 10 minutes of use, the steam stopped coming out of the mop. There was plenty of water in the tank and the floor under the mop was hot. I unplugged the steam mop, as I went to turn the mop over to see why the steam had stopped coming out, the head of the mop shot off of the unit very fast. It shoot clear across my kitchen and let out so much hot steam. The top of my foot got burned because of all the hot steam coming out like it did. It was so unexpected and startled the heck out of me. Had my children or one of my pets been in the kitchen when this happened they would have been seriously injured.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20120206-BE52B-2147470499. Severity: Injury, Seen by Medical Professional. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Incident: My wife has enjoyed the Shark Steam Mop for a while now. Recently when using it, it became clogged with no steam coming out . As she examined it the head exploded off & the steam burned her wrist.She had 2nd degree burns covering approx. a 5in long & 2inch wide path, which required medical attention. EURO-PRO (manufacturer) has sent us a claim form but has been uncooperative in sending a new unit & assisting with payment for medical & loss/restriction of daily activities.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20110620-6495A-2147478050. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Incident: I have been using the Shark steam mop for about a year with no incident. Last night it suddenly stopped working/steaming. In order to get the mop steaming again, I pumped the handle several times and nothing happened. I then unplugged it and went to move the mop and it started hissing and then steam exploded out of the bottom. Luckily I was not harmed from this, but I would have been badly burned if I was a few inches closer. This product malfunctioned after light use and is hazardous in homes. (Also want to mention that water started leaking after the "explosion" and this incident broke the mop.)

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20120428-04A81-2147468049. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Matched catalog product: Shark S3501. Incident: I have a Shark Steam Pocket Mop model 3501. I have had it approximately 3 years. I only use it occasionally. I have always made it a priority to clean it properly as I paid a lot for it and cannot afford to just ruin it. I was using the mop as usual yesterday. You have to pump the handle to make it have steam. I had been using it for probably 5 minutes and I was pumping the handle and it would not pump, then it exploded! There are two windows on each side and one window on the front where the water goes in. Hot water came flying out of each window. Luckily my one year old was far enough away and luckily I did not bend down to see what was going on with it or we would have been burned. I immediately sent an email to the company explaining the above. I then looked online to see if there had been any other incidents like mine and I was shocked at how many there were. Today I got an email back stating that they are glad that no one was hurt and because the mop is out of warranty there is nothing they can do except give me a discount on a new one. I feel like they know there is a problem with that model and are refusing to do anything about it. I paid around $150 for this mop and cannot afford to buy another one. I think something should be done. Thanks.

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20130102-E3F02-2147460344. Severity: Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional. Product: Shark S3501 (Shark Steam Pocket Mop. Purple and gray unit with telescoping gray handle leading into a purple water canister leading into a detachable head. Head is a variety of choices made of gray plastic material and covered by a white fabric cover.). Incident: I filled my Shark Steam Mop with tap water and plugged it in to warm up so I could steam clean my floors. I noticed that the unit wasn't making the usual periodic gurgle or steam sound as it usually did as it heated up. It was plugged in for several minutes by this time and the power light on the unit was illuminated blue to indicate there was power to the unit. I pumped the handle to try to produce steam and nothing happened. I pumped the handle several more times and there was no steam produced by the unit. At this point, I had gently felt the cleaning head attachment with my fingers and it was cool and dry. I do not think that any steam was making its way to the cleaning pad. I sat on the couch and picked the unit up, placing the unit parallel to the floor across my lap with the cleaning head hanging a few inches to the right of my legs to take a look at it. I leaned forward a bit while I was looking at the unit and in my hands and on my legs I felt that the unit was warm to the touch as I believe it usually was prior to the incident. While I was examining the unit in my lap, there was an unexpected, sudden very loud popping/exploding sound and steam burst out powerfully from all the seams of the body of the unit in a hot and quick release. I am not sure what happened internally, but to me it seemed like a large amount of pressure built inside the unit and it caused a mass steam exit from the body of the unit's seams rather than down the unit shaft and out through the cleaning head attachment. The hot steam exiting through the seams of the unit body caused mild