washing machine fire – possible cause?

[nerdette]

The other day, my neighbour was using a Whirlpool washing machine which started smoking/burning whilst in use. Fortunately, the fire brigade arrived promptly, so it was all under control very quickly.

But what typically causes a fire in a washing machine? I’ve heard of these things happening before.

I am presuming that the fault was in the machine itself, because the switch in the consumer unit was tripped, knocking out the electrical sockets in the house.

It was a fairly old machine. My neighbour said it was about 7 years old, but it looked older to me, more like 10-12 years old judging by the design.

[Penguin45]

Re: washing machine fire – possible cause?

This was quite exciting:

To be serious, it is very rare for any appliance to literally go up in smoke these days. Almost always caused by electrical problems – poor connections generating heat, plastic switches overheating and certain filling problems which can allow the heater to be activated when not immersed in water are the common reasons. Most of these will fizzle and melt rather than igniting, so it is a most unusual event.

Regards,
Penguin45.

[nerdette]

Re: washing machine fire – possible cause?

From what I can tell, the fire seemed to be at the top of the machine, which is now blackened and smoke damaged.

I can only assume that this machine is older than the 7 years the neighbour says she has had it. It certainly looks old-fashioned.

It does make you wonder. The fireman referred to it as being “left unattended” but it is quite unrealistic for anyone to spend two hours or so watching over a washing machine. They were at home, though, doing other things, like most people do when they having washing in the machine.

I still wonder how it happened. An electrical fault inside the machine seems the obvious explanation.

[Author]

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