Electric pressure washers: the 2026 shock-hazard recalls and a CPSC warning on PowRyte

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) told owners of PowRyte electric pressure washers on October 22, 2026, to stop using them and destroy them. In a product safety warning, the agency says the machines, sold on Amazon.com and eBay.com for $92 to $320, lack a ground-fault circuit-interrupter (GFCI), an immersion protection device built in on or near the power plug, which exposes users to a risk of electrocution and shock. The warning is the latest of a run of actions on the same fault: by our count from a search of the CPSC's recall database on November 12, 2026, 13 recalls of electric pressure washers announced in 2026 cite a missing built-in GFCI, and 12 of them involved models sold on Amazon.com.

The PowRyte warning

The warning is not a recall. It names one company, Powell Works, Inc., of China, without saying whether it made or sold the machines, and says the company has not responded to requests for one. The pressure washers are green and black and came with accessories such as a hose, several quick-connect nozzles and a foam cannon. The warning gives no unit count, and it records one incident: a unit found without a GFCI.

The CPSC describes the missing part as an integrated immersion protection device on or near the power plug, "also known as a Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter (GFCI)". It urges owners to unplug the machine, cut the power cord and throw the pressure washer away, and not to sell it or give it away.

This year's recalls

The recalls came in waves: six on April 16, one on April 30, five between August 13 and 27, and one on September 17. Each notice says the pressure washers lack an integral GFCI and can cause serious injury or death from shock and electrocution. From August onward, six notices add a second problem, a power cord that is short or not of adequate length; three of them say this may encourage the use of an extension cord.

Added together, the 13 recalls cover about 13,100 units sold in the US, by our arithmetic, several of them given only as approximate figures. The largest is Le Hao Tool's, at 3,100 units, and it also has the longest sales window, from November 2023. Twelve of the recalling firms are based in China, according to the notices; the exception is SUGIFT, of Albany, New York, whose 13 units were sold on Best Buy's website. Only one recall reports an incident: the CPSC says it knows of one LANCHEZ unit found without a GFCI, with no injuries.

What the notices tell owners

Eleven of the recalls offer a full refund; DGIVOVO US and BAYOTAK USA offer a free replacement pressure washer of at least equal value instead. The notices ask owners to stop using the machine, destroy it by cutting the unplugged power cord, usually in half, and email the firm a photo of the destroyed unit. The LANCHEZ notice, for example, asks for the photo to show the model number, KLC-BULL135C, which is printed on a label near the handle. For the PowRyte machines, there is no remedy; the CPSC's warning tells owners to destroy them. Incidents can be reported to the agency at SaferProducts.gov.

What the records leave out

None of the notices we read names a standard that the pressure washers failed; they describe the missing GFCI and, in some cases, the short cord. The PowRyte warning gives no unit count, and the notices do not say how the missing GFCIs came to light. Our count relies on a search of the CPSC's recall data for "pressure washer", run on November 12, 2026, so a recall worded differently may be missing; a search for "power washer" the same day added none. The same search also returns recalls for other hazards, such as an expanded Generac recall of electric start pressure washers over carbon monoxide in May 2026; those are not counted here. Each recall covers only the brands and models it lists.

How this guide was put together: we read the CPSC's PowRyte warning, two recall notices in full (Le Hao Tool and LANCHEZ) and the agency's recall data for the other recalls. Where a notice page and the recall data differed, as on where LANCHEZ washers were sold, we used the notice page. We have not tested any pressure washer.