HOUSTON -- The Spa Fantasy Aromatherapy Kits were on the top of Kayla Flythe’s Christmas Wish list. Her grandmother had tried to get the toy a year ago with no luck. The Consumer Product Safety Commission had recalled it for exploding.
The recalled sets had problems because the chemicals caused gas to build up in the sealed containers which could burst open.
This holiday season, the kits were back on the shelves after being fixed, according to manufacturer JAKKS Pacific.
Kayla was thrilled. The kits give children step-by-step instructions to make their own bath scents and fizzes.
"This is stuff I used, Fizzy Activator. It’s supposed to fizz in your bath water,” the third grader explained.
The recipe she followed was for a “Bath Bomb”. Her grandmother, Laurie McCarthy, said it lived up to its name.
“I mean it sounded like a firecracker,” Kayla said. “The jar exploded in my hands and I couldn’t feel my hands.”
Photos showed the bath powder sprayed over drapes, the counter and the floor when the bottle shattered.
“I know she screamed a good 20 to 30 minutes at the top of her lungs,” McCarthy said.
Fortunately, McCarthy is also a pediatric nurse and knew what to do. Kayla is fine.
McCarthy helped buy three sets for three granddaughters just before Christmas. Wal-Mart had a big sale on the products.
“If you think it’s gonna be recalled, it’s coming back better than ever because it’s been recalled," McCarthy said. "They’ve had to take it back. They’ve worked out all the kinks.”
In a statement, the toy manufacturer JAKKS said: “All product shipments after November 2008 that featured new bar codes have replacement caps with two vent holes.”
These were added to the old product with instructions to replace the caps on the jars. JAKKS said this solution was approved by the CPSC.
All this was news to Kayla’s family. She never noticed the tiny holes in the lid. Her family believes it’s unreasonable to expect an 8 year old to see the small holes and swap out the lids. They believe JAKKS should have done that in the retrofit.
Kayla’s family has contacted the Consumer Product Safety Commission. KHOU is waiting for a response on our query if there are any other reports of explosion with the retrofitted products.
The original recall was prompted by 88 reports of exploding jars. 13 resulted in injuries, typically to the face.
Repeated attempts to contact anyone at the JAKKS Recall Hotline failed. The line went unanswered.
