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How to check a space heater for recalls and safety marks
Updated
Two checks take a few minutes and cost nothing. Search the CPSC recall list for the brand and model before you buy, and again for any heater already in your closet. Then look on the heater's rating label for the mark of a recognized test lab, such as UL or ETL. Known brands get recalled too, so do not skip the first check because you trust the name.
Recalls happen to big brands
On June 4, 2026 the CPSC announced that Vornado Air was recalling about 255,000 SRTH small room tower heaters. The notice says the fan blade can detach from the motor shaft, the heater can then overheat, and melted parts can ignite. Vornado had 32 reports of overheating, including eight reports of fire. The heaters were sold in stores and online from August 2013 through May 2026. The remedy is a refund, and the CPSC says to stop using them at once.
None of the seven heaters on this site is that model. We bring it up because it shows a heater can sit in homes for years before a recall. We have not run every pick here through a recall search for you. Do it yourself on the day you buy, because the list changes.
How to check
- Find the model on the rating label. It is usually a silver or white sticker on the bottom or back. For example the label on the recalled Vornado says "TYPE SRTH".
- Go to the CPSC recalls page and search the brand and model.
- Search SaferProducts.gov too. It is the CPSC's public database of reports from consumers, and it is also where you can file a report of your own.
- Register the heater with the maker so a recall notice can reach you. DREO's listings also tie a longer warranty to registering, up to 30 months from 12.
What UL and ETL marks mean
ESFI tells buyers to make sure a heater carries the label of a recognized testing laboratory. In the US, OSHA runs the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory program. OSHA says each lab on its list uses its own registered mark to show a product met the applicable safety test standards. OSHA's current list includes UL LLC and Intertek Testing Services. Intertek is the lab behind the ETL mark.
So ETL and UL marks come from different labs in the same federal program. One is not a weaker version of the other. On the listings we read, the DREO and Lasko heaters say ETL listed, and the Dr. Heater page for the Dr Infrared Heater DR-968 says UL certified. The De'Longhi EW7707CM and Amazon Basics Ceramic 1500W listings did not name a lab in the text we read, so check the photos of the rating label or the manual.
A mark on a web listing is a claim. The mark on the heater's own label is what counts. If a heater arrives with no test lab mark on its label, send it back.
A mark is not a pass on the rules
A listed heater can still start a fire if it sits against a curtain or runs off a power strip. The safety rules apply to every heater, new or old, listed or not.
Check your own room with the size and power use calculator, or compare all seven picks on the roundup page.