A recalled product can remain in daily use for years after the notice was issued. The delay is a communication problem built into how goods are sold and passed on.
Nobody knows who owns the product
A manufacturer usually has no record of who bought an individual item. Retailers may hold purchase records, and only where the buyer used an account or card linked to a name.
Cash purchases, gifts and marketplace sales leave no trace at all. The manufacturer knows how many units shipped and not where any of them went.
Registration cards exist to close this gap and are completed by a small minority of buyers, largely because they are perceived as marketing rather than safety infrastructure.
The message has to travel through intermediaries
Notices generally reach consumers through retailers, regulators, media coverage and the manufacturer's own channels, each of which reaches a different and incomplete audience.
Coverage is strongest immediately after a recall is announced and fades quickly. Someone who acquires the product afterwards is unlikely to encounter the notice at all.
Recalls in one country may not be announced in another, even where the same product was sold, because the announcement obligations are national.
Second-hand circulation defeats the system
Baby equipment is used briefly and passed on repeatedly, often several times. Each transfer moves the item further from any record connecting it to the original purchase.
The people passing it on are usually unaware of the recall themselves, and the item is presented as good condition because it functionally is.
Online marketplaces vary in how they screen listings, and enforcement against recalled goods is inconsistent, so recalled items continue to be resold long after withdrawal.
Response rates stay low even when notice arrives
Households that hear about a recall often do not act, particularly where the product has been used without incident and the described hazard seems remote.
Remedies that require effort reduce response further. Returning a large item, waiting for a repair kit or losing the use of something in daily use all create friction.
The result is that even well-publicised recalls leave a substantial number of affected units in service, which is why the same hazard can generate incidents for years.
What actually helps
Registering products at purchase is the single most effective step, because it converts a broadcast problem into a direct contact.
Checking the national regulator's recall listing before accepting or buying second-hand equipment takes a few minutes and covers the largest gap in the system.
Recording model numbers and dates for items in use makes any future check straightforward, since recalls are usually issued against specific batches rather than whole product lines.