The faucet in your kitchen or bathroom could be poisoning your family with every glass of water — and you may have no idea. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued urgent warnings against multiple Chinese-manufactured faucets sold on Amazon that have been tested and found to leach lead into drinking water at levels that are particularly harmful to infants, young children, and pregnant women. CPSC conducted an enforcement sweep targeting these dangerous faucets and found that many lack branding, source-identifying labels, or safety certifications — making them nearly impossible for consumers to identify as hazardous without laboratory testing.
Why Lead in Faucets Is So Dangerous
Lead ingestion can cause serious, irreversible neurological harm — particularly in children under 6 and developing fetuses. Health effects from lead exposure include attention-related behavioral problems, decreased cognitive performance and lower IQ, developmental delays, and learning difficulties. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children. Unlike contamination from water pipes or municipal supply systems, lead-leaching faucets introduce lead directly at the point of use — meaning running the water does not eliminate the risk the way it can with older pipe contamination.
Faucets to Stop Using Immediately
CPSC has warned consumers to immediately stop using and dispose of the following faucets sold on Amazon, which were found to leach dangerous levels of lead:
- VESLA HOME Kitchen Faucets (sold by VESLA HOME)
- CEINOL Brand Bathroom Faucets (sold on Amazon)
- Multiple additional unbranded or lightly branded faucets identified in CPSC enforcement sweeps — many of these faucets lack any branding or safety certifications
If you are unsure whether your faucet is included, check your Amazon order history. CPSC advises that if you must continue using a suspect faucet until it can be replaced, run the water for at least 15 seconds before consuming.
How to Buy a Safe Faucet
- Look for faucets that comply with NSF/ANSI Standard 61, which sets maximum allowable levels of lead and other contaminants. Look for this certification label on the product or packaging.
- Also look for NSF/ANSI 372 certification, which designates lead-free plumbing fixtures.
- Purchase faucets from established, reputable brands with verifiable certification marks.
- Be cautious when purchasing from online marketplaces — low prices and missing certification marks are warning signs.
- As a routine precaution regardless of faucet type, flush faucets for 15 seconds first thing in the morning, after the water hasn’t run for 6 or more hours, or any time after extended periods of non-use.
To report a dangerous faucet or a product-related injury, visit SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772.
