Would you keep a washing machine that might explode?

I had the fire brigade out as it made my tea towels so hot they self combusted I didn’t put two and two together at first until it burnt my duvet cover and then I dried another duvet cover and it actually burnt a hole in the middle and other parts were melted together now I am scared to use it the fireman said if we had been in bed the use wouldnhave gone up in flames

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That must have been a bit of a shock, Gaynor. In addition to the manufacturer’s guarantee and also have statutory rights thanks to the Consumer Rights Act. http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-do-i-do-if-i-have-a-faulty-product#use-our-faulty-goods-compaint-tool Unless it can be proven that you have misused the machine you are entitled to a replacement (or repair if replacement would be disproportionately expensive). As Duncan says, repair would be expensive, so it’s likely you will get a new machine.

I’m sorry to hear about this but at least no-one was injured.

Fire brigades urge us not to leave appliances on at night. For example, the London Fire Brigade says:

“Don’t leave the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher on overnight and unattended.”

If a fire starts when you are awake then you can take prompt action, such as switching off the appliance. This can be done at the fuse box/distribution board if there is smoke or fire.

I’m sorry to hear about what happened, Kevin. This is why fire brigades stress the importance of not leaving white goods running overnight or when you are out of the house.

Since you dealt with the fire the incident will not have been recorded, so please contact the manufacturer. You should also be able to make a claim against the retailer unless you misused the machine, and Which? provides this advice: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-do-i-do-if-i-have-a-faulty-product-aTTEK2g0YuEy With luck you might at least be given a replacement machine.

White goods are responsible for a considerable number of fires in the UK and washing machines are one of the most common problems, even though few of us will experience a fire. I believe that white goods should be designed to contain a fire, so that it cannot spread to the room/house, but our current safety standards do not require this. Plastic case parts could be replaced with steel, which does not burn, but maybe there are not enough fires to deem this necessary.

Have you asked Which? about containing fire in similar appliances? Such matters are the province of international standards which, in turn, feed our national standards. These deal with product safety. UL (Underwriters Laboratory USA) did some work on this a few years ago – electric dryers if I remember correctly – and are represented on the committee dealing with the safety of such appliances and their work will, no doubt, have been evaluated and considered in the preparation of standards.

Plastics come in a wide variety with differing properties, including flammability. Therefore choosing the correct type and grade of plastic is important. The safety standard requires any plastic used to resist the spread of flame and very specific tests must be passed to demonstrate compliance. Maybe the material used in the Candy machine was not compliant. I wonder if fire brigades ever ensure this is checked when there is an incident like his.

We really need the OPSS (Office for product safety and standards) to investigate such matters and, if necessary, either propose improvements to regulatory standards or hold manufacturers to account.

Yes I have, to no avail. I have also posted numerous photos of laundry appliances, mainly driers, where plastic parts of the cases have burned or melted, allowing fire to spread.

Yes there are plastics that are non-flammable or self-extinguishing but as I have explained before I have taken samples from the cases of appliances of several brands and found that they burned rapidly producing copious and possibly toxic smoke. I have spoken to two firefighters who have witnessed burning plastic. It’s easy to demonstrate flammability yourself. Any plastic that burns readily is not non-flammable or self-extinguishing!

There is no need to use plastics in the cases of white goods and older appliances did not use them. It does not matter if internal parts are plastic (e.g. for electrical insulation) providing that the appliance has a metal case and can contain a fire.