Washing machines exploding: What's going on?
Hoover Candy & Indesit washing machines exploding
For many months now there have been reports of exploding washing machines. First reports were from abroad and the manufacturer assured that UK washing machines were not affected. Now we are getting increasing reports of exploding UK washing machines. Incidents are increasing and it's looking more like a serious consumer safety issue. Already, Trading Standards and Which? are looking into it and presumably it won't be long before BBC's Watchdog are also on the case.
Though I have seen reports of Indesit washing machines also exploding it seems most reports so far are on Candy or Hoover washing machines (who are the same company) generating headlines and pictures such as these -
- Cumbrian family's lucky escape as Hoover washing machine explodes (News & Star)
- Lad age 6 dodges washing machine explosion: Shocked mum finds eight similar cases (The Sun)
- Woman hurt as washing machine explodes in Norwich (Mirror)
- Mother calls for recall after washing machine 'explosion' (Wales Tonight - video report)
- (Indesit) Machine blast in kitchen (The Sun)
What's happening?
It seems the drums of these washing machines are coming undone at the seams or splitting on spin, which is causing the laundry and parts of the metal inner drum to burst through the top of the (plastic) outer drum and through the plastic lid and control panels. Due to the strong centrifugal forces involved on high spin the washing machine virtually explodes throwing pieces of metal and plastic across the room. For a graphic picture of the aftermath of such an incident see the Lad age 6 dodges washing machine explosion article on the Sun's web site.
Why is this happening?
Hoover / Candy have been quoted in the press as saying,
"A tiny fraction of washing machines produced before September 2009 have experienced a failure of the drum. The manufacturing issue was identified and resolved in September 2009."
What's being done about it?
At the time of writing, very little apart from attending to exploded washing machines, which is why we have the headlines calling for something to be done, and consumer group Which? have an article criticising the lack of action, going as far as to write -
"If there was a machine in my home that could explode, I’d expect the manufacturer to inform me, apologise and get it out of my house. Quickly. So why isn’t [Hoover] Candy recalling its potentially faulty machines?"
The statement from the manufacturer saying a manufacturing issue has been identified and resolved in Sept 2009 only amounts to saying that washing machines produced after that date are "resolved" and therefore the ones built before 2009 have not been.
It would appear that washing machines with this potential to explode are in use all around the UK. As usual, manufacturers try to mitigate the issue by quoting how rare it is to occur, and how only a very small a percentage of the hundreds of thousands built have been affected. Whilst true, I would have thought that the only thing relevant is the potential consequences, not the percentage.
What if you have one of these washing machines? Do you have one?
As yet there is no official safety notice on these washing machines so I can't point you to a definitive model and date range to identify if you have one or not, but according to Which? Hoover/Candy can't guarantee any model manufactured prior to September 2009. Of course I will publish more details as I become aware of them but companies can be slow to deal with safety issues presumably because of costs and (ironically) fear of adverse publicity.
The faster spinning washing machines appear to be the problem, particularly 1400 rpm or faster. I've commented before on Washerhelp that in my opinion many modern washing machines spin too fast for their quality of build though the consequences usually manifest in less dramatic ways. Plastic outer tubs (or drums) also play a part in allowing this sort of thing to happen, which couldn't happen when we had metal outer tubs. Spinning at such high speeds puts a lot of stress and strain on a washing machine and involves powerful forces. Do manufacturers increase the quality of motors, drums, suspension etc. when they make them spin much faster? As far as I'm aware, most don't.
If you are concerned, the best thing you can do is -
- Stop letting your washing machine spin at full speed by changing the wash programme, or preferably if you have options to reduce the spin speed of the final spin reduce it to 1000 rpm or as near as they will allow. If you are seriously concerned maybe even down to 800 rpm
- Make sure people stay out of the room the washing machine is in when it's spinning - especially children
I cannot guarantee these tips will prevent an incident, however, logic dictates that the faster one is spinning the more likely and the worse an incident could be.
More safety related washing machine and kitchen appliance tips and warnings on the right column ...
[Related link: I have a Whitegoodshelp article which also discusses a different but related topic. In these cases "just" the door glass is shattering - sometimes when not even in use - Washing machine exploding door glass danger]
Related appliance safety advice
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- Is it safe to leave washing machine on whilst I'm out - or in bed?
- Follow my regular Safety Warnings & Appliance Recalls articles on my white goods blog
Consumer advice on Washerhelp is written to specifically relate to washing machines but should equally apply to other products and services.
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14th May 2012 11:46:38 AM - Janet Walker
Our Hoover vision washing machine did the same thing on Sunday (13/05/2012).My husband was in the lounge and heard a horrendous bang like something had exploded.He ran to see what it was and saw smoke coming out of the washing machine drawer and quickly turned off the mains electric.There was a smell of burning.The drum had completely collapsed and looked like it had bounced up through the top of the machine as the chipboard top was torn apart.Inside the machine looked like a grenade had gone off and there was mangled metal and bits of plastic everywhere.There was a normal load of everyday items of clothing in the machine and nothing which could have caused a problem. A pair of trousers was caught up on the broken drum and damaged. Goodness knows what could have happened if we were all out at the time as it may have caught fire. I rang Hoover today and they are sending out an engineer to survey the damage, so at least they seem to be taking this seriously.The machine was registered with them and the lady i spoke with said it was manifactured in 2008 although we purchased it new from Comet in early 2010, so it appears it is one of the faulty pre 2009 machines, trust us to get one ! I only hope we get a new machine and some compensation too.
8th April 2012 09:39:26 PM - Penny
My hoover washing machine has exploded today - 15months old!!! What the hell is going on? Thankfully it was in the cellar and no one was hurt. The machine only had 3 items of clothing in it at the time. There is glass everywhere, its even damaged the rubber sealed and the plastic inside the drum. I hope HOOVER will be simpathatic on Tuesday (Easter Holidays!)
11th January 2012 08:06:32 PM - Craig Capewell
Our Indesit 1400 rpm washing machine brought in 2009 has just exploded this evening. The drum has ripped through the worktop and sprayed debris everywhere . Its a good job our kids were not near it as it could have done some serious damage. We have called the manufacturer and they say they have not heard of this before... i beg to differ as looking through the internet this seems an all too common occurrence. Indesit insisted it was not there fault but a manufacturing matter. I await a manager from the manufaturers to call me tomorrow.
11th January 2012 06:54:23 PM - Lesley Checkley
on the 10th January I heard a loud shattering noise from the kitchen, it turned out to be the glass in my Indesit IWB5113 washer shattering throwing glass across the kitchen and the largest piece which was still attached at the top was dragged inwards on the spin cycle slicing through the dog bed inside.
I expected Indesit to be interested in this but I have had no reply to my email, on phoneing Dixon I did get an engineer to call but he was rude and basically said it was my fault for putting the foam dog bed in the washer which he says would have cause the washer to shudder and the glass to smash!! I AM NOT AMUSED, call this customer service!
11th January 2012 09:46:36 AM - carol cuthbert
I bought an indesit 1600 spin speed washing machine in ~November 2009 and it exploded last week. I had to wait a week until they could get an engineer out to look at it. It exploded and cracked the worktop above it, the unit next to it and it shunted my dishwasher over and knocked the side support for the worktop of.
The engineer came out to look at it and said he has never saw anything like it. He went outside and phoned Indesit and came back in and said someone will phone me this morning. so I am waiting on their call. The plastic drawer and another piece of plastic blew out the front and hit me on the back, though I was well padded so it didn't cause any injury.
My 2 year old granddaughter was sitting at the table about 6 feet to the side of the machine and started screaming. Although the worktop was cracked I dread to think of the amount of damage and injury would have been caused had it not been under a worktop and 'wedged' in between the cupboard and the dishwasher as the top completely blew of.
7th January 2012 10:44:02 AM - Matthew Hyatt
I think I had better let everybody know about this. After reading this article about exploding washing machines, I was reminded about what happened last year in August 2010. I have a Bosch Classixx washer-dryer, which I purchased brand new from Apollo 2000 in Gloucester, in 2004. It was a really good washing machine - it washed my clothes properly and it also dried my laundry properly.
I can remember my dear mum (now deceased) when she used to use Indesit washing machines during the 70's and she had problem after problem after problem with those Indesits. I honestly thought I had a really good machine - it being a Bosch - in comparison to those Indesits that my dear mum had.
Until last year - when first, the drying function stopped working. But that was not all. One day, I was in my bathroom and I heard a noise like an earthquake. I immediately rushed out of my bathroom and what I saw really horrified me. I had never seen anything like it in my life! The whole front of my Bosch had blown right out, and was lying on the floor! But sadly, it was no longer under guarantee, and was seven years old.
Nonetheless, I called an engineer who deemed it irreparable. Why the front had exploded out like that, I am not sure, but it appears the tub weight structure - the structure that keeps a constant weight on the tub whilst it spins - had got loose, and that is why the whole front had blown right out! I had never seen anything like it in my life and if I had been in my kitchen,I could have suffered from an injured arm and leg, or whatever. If manufacturers really are making washing machines that suddenly explode like that, then that is diabolical and it should be addressed now. Otherwise, someone is going get killed by an exploding washing machine!
11th November 2011 10:00:05 AM - Jim
Our 2 and half year indesit exploded a couple of days ago, rang indesit and they are replacing washing machine and paying for all damage too worktops and clothes
9th November 2011 11:08:18 PM - Rachel
We had a Indesit washing machine which violently exploded in March 2011. Luckily my children were in bed and not around when it happened. I contacted Indesit who replaced the washing machine but would not admit the problem was serious and warranted a re-call. I advised Trading Standards and WatchDog but have not heard anything since.
19th October 2011 02:07:58 PM - Merry
My mum bought a hoover washing machine in September 2008, and on saturday 15th Oct 2011 at about 11am, 5minutes after my mum put it on it exploded. There was a loud bang and the drum had twisted and spiked out of the top of the machine. There was bits of broken plastic everywhere, a brush that was on top of the machine had skewered itself an inch and a half into the ceiling and the blast had dented the freezer next to it.
All of our clothes that were in there were totally ruined. It also managed to blow 2 of our electrical fuses so the telly stopped working as soon as the blast happened. Thank God we didn’t have any small children running around because it could have killed someone or seriously injured them. The company has been very apologetic and they want to view the machine and issue us with a new model. It’s actually made me and my mum quite scared of washing machines now :(
8th October 2011 03:24:35 PM - Sarah
I bricked myself... My Candy CWB 110 (which i brought 2008 1100rpm) was shaking more violently today, but I wasn't really that concerned until I could smell burning plastic and white smoke billowing out from behind and the detergent drawer.... shan't be using it until I get it checked out! maybe a lucky escape who knows!
7th October 2011 02:54:42 PM - Amy
I am a researcher for the BBC and I am keen to speak to anyone about Candy washing machines. If you can help please get in touch with me on 02920 322983.
6th October 2011 06:59:01 PM - Lorraine Hughes
My Candy Washing Machine which is approx. 2 year old has blown up in my kitchen today causing damage to the worksurface which has been blow off the wall. Thank goodness nobody has been hurt. This is obviously a serious problem with this machine. What to do now.