Most consumers assume the products they use every day are safe and that they will be pulled from the market if a problem arises, but as Consumer Specialist Lea Williams-Doherty found out that’s not always the case.

Whirlpool-made dishwashers have been catching fire in Calgary for at least five years.

A class action was filed three years ago in the United States and a year ago in Canada to prove what hundreds of consumers already believe, that the control panel can spontaneously ignite.

Albertan Pam Rockerbie joined the suit last year after her fire in 2012.

"It's obvious that Sears and Whirlpool knew about this and have never recalled it and so kinda that's what we thought our input should be, is people should have been warned," said Rockerbie.

Colleen Schmidt's Sunbeam heating pad just caught fire this week and she says she had it on low for only 30 minutes when it started smoking and then burned a hole through her couch and blankets. 

Schmidt says she found similar stories online including one about a Nevada woman who settled her lawsuit for $200,000 after her Sunbeam pad set her bed on fire.

"I'm amazed that they're still allowed to sell it.  I mean it's only two years old, the cord is not frayed, it’s not like it started on fire at the edge of the cord, it's in the middle of the pad," said Schmidt. “I would say it’s a defective product.”

A number of other products have also had problems including; exploding sunroofs on BMWs, an Ikea desk that shattered in an unoccupied Ottawa office and a smartphone that caught fire under a Texas teen's pillow.

Millions of homes in North American are still using these products and those who have had issues with them are wondering why.

"It takes time for a manufacturer to investigate and determine what's an appropriate course of action and maybe what gave rise to that incident, is it a one off or is it something inherent in the supply chain?” said Products Liability Lawyer, Taryn Burnett.

If a defect is easily found a manufacturer usually issues a voluntary recall or the government orders one, but if it's unclear what caused the problem, it may take a lengthy lawsuit to determine whether or not a product is safe.

"Litigation is time consuming and it’s not unheard of for matters to go on for five to eight years before you reach trial,” said Burnett.

Lea says the only way a recall would flow from a settlement is if the parties agreed on that as a term.

The federal government just received the power to order companies to recall defective products in 2010, when the consumer product safety act was passed.

Otherwise, settlements are done outside of court before a ruling is ever made on whether or not a product is defective and the contents of the settlement are not a matter of public record.

Lea contacted Sunbeam about Schmidt's fire and asked for the company's position on the safety of these heating pads. The company has not responded.

(With files from Lea Williams-Doherty)