5-Gallon Zep-Brand Cleaner, Floor Stripper Sold at Home Depot Recalled, Containers Crack and Leak Corrosive Liquids

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #06237) was formally reported on August 17, 2006. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Acuity Specialty Products Group Inc., a subsidiary of Acuity Brands Inc., of Atlanta, Ga. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 6,800 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: 5-gallon plastic pails containing the cleaning products can unexpectedly crack and leak from the base, posing a risk to consumers, due to the corrosive nature of these products. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Consumers should stop using the recalled products and contact Acuity Specialty Products Group Inc. for information on how to receive a free replacement pail. Consumers with a leaky pail should place … — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 1 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 20 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.