Wallpaper Steamers
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Workshop Tools & Equipment · CPSC Code 971
Up 13% over 5 years
The verdict
Wallpaper Steamers carry a danger score of 29/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 60 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 13% over the last five years.
- 29/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 60
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 12.5%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 971 - last data year 2022.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 29/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for wallpaper steamers - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume60 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)12.5%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+13%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Wallpaper Steamers (CPSC product code 971, in the Home Workshop Tools & Equipment category) generate an estimated 60 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 479 ER-treated injuries across the 18-year span from 2005 to 2022. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 29/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are rising by about 13% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2007 (141 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2016 (15 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for wallpaper steamers is burn, scald to the face, accounting for approximately 135 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burn, scald to the finger (85 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 152 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 12.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 12 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how wallpaper steamers fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2022-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2022)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 0 | 40 | |
| 5-14 | 0 | 64 | |
| 15-24 | 15 | 0 | |
| 25-34 | 16 | 136 | |
| 35-44 | 70 | 15 | |
| 45-54 | 0 | 15 | |
| 55-64 | 0 | 75 | |
| 65-74 | 15 | 0 | |
| 75+ | 17 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Burn, Scald | |
| Finger | Burn, Scald | |
| Lower Arm | Burn, Scald | |
| Foot | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Foot | Burn, Scald | |
| Hand | Burn, Scald | |
| Lower Leg | Burn, Scald | |
| Wrist | Hematoma |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
84YOM, WAS USING STEAMER TO STRIP A WALL OFF WALLPAPER AND DEVELOPED, DX: BACK PAIN UNSPECIFIED
68YR OLD MALE USING WALLPAPER STEAMER WHEN IT BLEW UP AND BURNED SHINS
27YM WAS REMOVING WALLPAPER WITH A STEAMER WHICH ACC BURNT TOP OF HIS FOOT>>BURN
5YOF RAN INTO WALL PAPER STEAMERDX: BURN TO FOOT
FACIAL INJURY FROM WALL PAPER STEAMER. DX- SECOND DEGREE BURNTO FACE
LEFT WRIST HEMATOMA.PT WAS REMOVING WALLPAPER WITH A WALLPAPER STEAMERAND INJURED WRIST.
PT BURNED ARM ON WALLPAPER STEAMERDX// BURN RIGHT FOREARM
20 YOM WAS TRYING TO REMOVE WALLPAPER WITH STEAMER AND OPENED IT UP ANDSUSTAINED A BURN TO RIGHT PALM AND RIGHT THIGH
PT WAS AT HOME, GRABBED A STEAMER CAUSING A BURNT TO RT THUMB.
MOM USING HEAT JIM TO REMOVE WALLPAPER, HAD ON FLOOR, CHILD TANGLED INCORD, FELL ON IT. D.X BURN TO ABDM.
FOREARM BURN . PT BURNED ARM FROM STEAM FROM A WALLPAPER STEAMER
BURNED FACE ON A WALL PAPER STEAMERFACIAL BURNS 1ST AND 2ND DGREE
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to wallpaper steamers on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are wallpaper steamers?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, wallpaper steamers have a danger score of 29/100 (low risk). An estimated 60 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from wallpaper steamers?
The most common injury is burn, scald to the face, accounting for approximately 135 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from wallpaper steamers increasing or decreasing?
Up 13% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for wallpaper steamers injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 152 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by wallpaper steamers?
Of all ER visits involving wallpaper steamers, approximately 12.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (87.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with wallpaper steamers?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Workshop Tools & Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 29/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 25-34 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
