Oh no not again we hear everyone cry but yes, it’s happening all over again with about half a million washing machines being recalled for a fire risk.
The BBC has reported today that Whirlpool (the owner of both the Hotpoint and Indesit brands) are set to recall a bunch of washing machines for this risk.
The problem is said to occur over time and so wasn’t visible until recently as the affected machines have only been sold since 2014.
Whirlpool said; “When the heating element in the washing machine is activated, in very rare cases a component in the door lock system can overheat, which, depending on product features, can pose a risk of fire,”
Extra current through the door lock when the element is on causes the lock to fail.
You can check if your model is affected here you will need the model and the serial number of the machine that is on the inside of the door.
There is also a free helpline, open every day, available on 0800 316 1442 but don’t hold your breath on getting through quickly.
Don’t Use It
Whirlpool’s advice. Unplug, don’t use.
Pretty standard stuff but the kicker is that the recall work likely won’t start till January and then it’s vulnerable customers first and after that first come, first served. That is not going to prove popular but over the holiday period, there’s only so much that can be reasonably expected.
But no washing machine from now till January, some time, is going to hack a lot of people off.
Jeff Noel, vice president of Whirlpool, said: “We know this will cause some concern. We especially understand that the washing machine is so important to family life, and in the Christmas holiday season it will be even more of an important matter and, for that, we apologise.”
For Whirlpool, this a bit of a PR disaster and one we expect many customers will find unforgivable.
Come across nuked door locks and wires to the interlock switches on Indesit appliances that are not on this list! On these I think it is the connector block that melts due to its tags having a too small a surface area relative to the door locks standard sized male tags in other words a poor connection over time with a heavy current e.g. the heater being on. Maybe there are more models affected to come?