Has your washing machine glass door shattered?

@chiragkhetiya – We have had reports of glass doors shattering for a number of years and Which? has reported over 40% were Beko, well above their market share.

Questions have been asked of Which? about standards governing glass doors and whether the manufacture and quality control of Beko was adequate, which looks on the face of it to be pretty poor. Which? appears not to have followed up any of these suggestions and concerns. Why not? Or is Which? content to simply report these problems?

@chiragkhetiya – Hi Chirag. In the introduction we are told: “Bosch, LG, Miele, Samsung and Siemens have introduced this [plastic to provide protection] on some of their newer models and we believe that other brands should consider doing the same.” I have not seen any information about machines with plastic guards in the washing machine review. I’d be grateful if you could ask the relevant team about this.

Hi Linda – I suggest that you don’t use the maximum spin speed on your washing machine. Not only will it reduce the risk that the door glass breaks again but it will reduce wear on bearings and the motor. Door glass breakage was not a problem when machines had lower spin speeds.

Door glass breakage should not be a problem if it is moulded and processed correctly. I don’t know what evidence exists of spin speed vs breakage, nor of unbalanced loads at any speed putting higher stresses on the door.

Beko appear to stand out as the prime offender in w/m glass shattering, and into dangerous shards. Are there sufficient breakages to flag up a problem worth Which? investigating? Do other countries experience the same problems?

Like wavechange, I’d avoid high spin speeds because of excess wear, particularly on a cheaper machine.

Hi Richard – I suggest you contact the company you bought the dryer from and hopefully they will arrange a free repair.

Marion – My advice is that, if your washing machine was loaded at the time, you should take very great care when removing the laundry. With gloves on, transfer it into a bowl or tub, take it outside, shake it vigorously and hang it out to dry; then shake it vigorously again. Sweep up and dispose of any fragments. Any pieces of glass left in the drum should be removed with a vacuum cleaner.

Hi Tom – You might get some goodwill from Miele, such as a free repair, but they have no legal responsibility. Your legal rights are against the retailer and perhaps it would be worth subscribing to Which? Legal for advice.

I suggest not using your machine at the highest spin speed, which will reduce the risk of the glass breakage and also reduce the wear on the motor and drum bearings.

While subscribing to Which? Legal is not bad advice ot should not be necessary. We should not have to pay £108 a year plus a £29 joining fee when basic consumer rights should be clear to all. They are well-explained on line.
Which? should also be pushing to have them clearly summarised and displayed in all stores, on all sellers websites, and take action against retailers who abuse them, like one well known and extensively reported high street electrical and electronic chain.

Every impact with a zip or a coin accidentally left in a pocket can contribute to damage to a glass door. My first experience of delayed breakage was when a drinking glass made of toughened glass ‘exploded’ on a shelf when I was at school.

After 34 years of use the door glass of my Philips machine was noticeably abraded in one area, but it did not break.

It depends upon how the glass door is manufactured. I have tried in vain to find much information or standards. I suspect some will simply be moulded out of thick glass to give it inherent strength; if that does break it will produced sharp shards.

Some (maybe most) are thermally toughened that puts stress in the outer skin and resists impact, but if broken should break into small safe pieces. But the glass is susceptible to skin damage – a nick on the edge, scratch, for example – which will cause it to spontaneously shatter. However, toughening a shaped moulded door is difficult to do properly and requires specialist equipment, technique and quality glass. Done less well and it will only be partially toughened so still break into dangerous pieces. Beko don’t seem the best at this judging by the number of door breakages reported (in a Which? Convo).

Various options have been proposed that will contain the pieces in the event of breakage, such as a sprayed plastic film, or prevent them entering the room, such as a plastic cover. Some think there is no need for a transparent door at all.

We could get answers, perhaps, to some of these questions and consideration of alternative proposals if they were discussed at international level, accessed via the BSI. If Which? contributed to these committees by taking up BSI’s invitation to join them we might make more progress on product safety matters, or better understand the issues and initiatives involved. Maybe they don’t have the right people to contribute effectively, but it does seem to be a real deficiency when claiming to represent consumers? Better inside the tent p-ing out than outside the tent p-ing in?

Tom – At the end of the Introduction to this Conversation is a line in red saying “Your rights if your washing machine explodes”.

That is a link to Which? guidance which for convenience I repeat here –
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-do-i-do-if-i-have-a-faulty-product-aTTEK2g0YuEy

Malcolm wrote: “While subscribing to Which? Legal is not bad advice ot should not be necessary. We should not have to pay £108 a year plus a £29 joining fee when basic consumer rights should be clear to all. They are well-explained on line.” I presume you could pay £38 and join for a month, which could be cheaper than having to pay for the door to be replaced.

Since our statutory rights under the CRA are not any form of guarantee, claimants can be asked to prove that a product does not meet the legal requirements unless the retailer. As Em has said, that could be difficult. Which? Legal sometimes reports on some very satisfactory outcomes for consumers and I thought that if Tom asked for advice from Which? Legal we might all learn what can be achieved.

Thanks for reporting good service from Hotpoint, considering the amount of hassle that Whirlpool, the parent company, caused for many customers with fire risk dryers and washing machines, even though you were lucky.

It’s always good to hear positive comments about companies, especially those that have caused problems in the past. We have a Conversation about problems with the rotten customer service by Currys and it would be good to see some good reports.

I suggest you try using a 1200 rpm spin speed, which will reduce the risk of glass breakage and wear of the motor and bearings in the machine. I don’t remember cases of door glass breakage before machines with a high spin speed appeared.

Is there any evidence linking glass breakage to spin speed? Thee is evidence that BEKO have a much higher incidence of failure, taking account of market share, than other brands. This suggests a quality issue rather than an operational issue.

I have tried in vain to get any information on the specification of moulded glass doors. If they are thermally toughened then quality may well be the problem; this is a tricky process on thick moulded glass and requires high quality glass – no inclusions for example. If they just rely on thickness for strength then the moulding process can introduce stresses.

I have no empirical data but the kinetic energy of an object is proportional to the square of its speed. That will affect the damage that can accumulate as a result of impact by hard objects such as zips, buttons and the odd coin that may get into the machine. Often the door will break during the spin cycle but cases have been reported when the door has exploded when a machine is not in use.

Since we have no control of the quality of door glass, I suggest restricting spin speed as a sensible way of reducing the risk of failure and possibly a near miss, as experienced by Jason’s daughter.

Spinning generally sticks clothes to the inside of the drum by centrifugal force, rather than launching objects at the glass. I am not convinced by that argument. the incidence of failure is very small. But I would like Which? to tell us whether they know of any standards that apply to quality of these glasses.

I was involved in sourcing a toughening process for moulded glass bowls. The experts were Corning in Sunderland and I visited their plant to discuss the problems; they had ceased using the thermal toughening process but were extremely helpful in explaining the way to do it, and how difficult it was to do it successfully. We did experiment with our local glass producer but never did achieve full toughening where the glass, if broken, all ends up in very small safe-edged pieces. We did not have the volume of product to make it worth pursuing.

You can disbelieve me Malcolm but I have seen coins being tossed around and service engineers have referred to this problem. Damage can also occur during the wash cycle, when the drum stops periodically and it can be cumulative damage that results in breakage.

Malcolm wrote: “Is there any evidence linking glass breakage to spin speed?”

Further to what I said, here is advice from Which?

“7. Don’t wash belts or coins, or the door glass might break

Remove belts from trousers and jeans before you wash.

The glass in washing machine doors is toughened, but a belt buckle spinning at 1,600 rpm will do the glass in the door no good whatsoever.

And something small like a coin could end up blocking the filter or causing a din as your machine spins.

How to provide even more protection for the glass

Once you’ve removed any beltsfrom the load, consider using a laundry bag for any clothes that have large metal buttons.
Lowering the spin speed could also help to mitigate the already low risk of the glass breaking.”

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/06/10-things-you-should-never-do-if-you-own-a-washing-machine/

My old Tecnik washing machine that came with the Moben kitchen (now ceased trading), according to Whitegoods.co,uk was made by Beko and is still working after at least 25 years usage.

It has 2 spinning cycles, 800 and 1200rpm. I’m sure I have only used the 1200rpm spin about 3 times. This would most probably indicate the reason for its longevity, and also the reason why my clothes come out with fewer creases and why they are probably too damp to iron straight from the machine. It has never malfunctioned and incurred any expense during all the years I have owned it.

Tecnik was a brand belonging to Moben in the same way that Howdens own the brand Lamona, which features in their kitchens. I’m sure that using the lower spin speed will have improved the chances of the door glass surviving but since breakage is not common we don’t know if it would have failed if you had used the higher speed. The lower spin speed will have extended the life of the motor brushes, which are not expensive to buy but fitting them involves a callout and labour charge.

I’m impressed by how long your machine has survived Beryl. DerekP has an older Zanussi but he seems to have left Conversation. The Whitegoods website has useful information about brands but could do with updating to reflect the changes in the sector.

I doubt if parts will still be available in the event of a breakdown Wavechange. I am waiting for it to malfunction so that I can update the kitchen, but like you, I am reluctant to let any contractors in the house at present. Derek seems to have left us, but I am also missing alfa who hasn’t posted for a while.

Have a cracker lined up for the morrow!

Watch this space!

You should certainly make sure no coins are left in pockets and I wouldn’t put a metal-buckled belt in the wash. However, a properly toughened glass door should resist any reasonable impact; that is the property of toughened glass. I believe the problem is with improperly toughened glass; the descriptions generally refer to shards of glass, a characteristiv of untoughened, or inadequately toughened, glass.

I find a 1000rpm spin speed is quite adequate to give clothes enough dampness to hang up to dry.

If glass is properly toughened it will not produce shards but small pieces about the size of peas, which are much less dangerous. Replacing the glass door with stainless steel would completely eliminate glass breakage but the machines might not sell. Alternatively, a door guard could help protect people and animals nearby.

Beryl – I hope that Alfa does reappear soon. She often takes a break, though it has been a while.

Sharp points can break even high-quality toughened glass.

That is why small hammers with sharp points are provided to allow passengers to escape through windows of coaches in emergency. Early cars used toughened windscreens for safety but stone chips could cause them to shatter and we now have laminated glass windscreens. The ‘door bowl’ of a washing machine is I believe too complex to create a laminated equivalent with plastic sandwiched between two layers of glass.

“Sharp points can break even high-quality toughened glass.“. A concentrated impact breaks the “compressed” skin releasing the stresses in the roughened glass and causes it to shatter. The standard test for checking proper toughening is to used a centre punch and then count the number of fragments within a 50mm square.

The impact needs to be quite high and concentrated which is why properly toughened glass survives well. Even when car windscreens were toughened they survived many impacts from flying debris.