This article was originally about the poor construction of some washing machine doors, which resulted in a door glass falling out and smashing on a customer’s tiled floor when a child fell against it. It then attracted many comments from people who had experienced the door glass in their washing machine shattering or “exploding”.
New Article: I’ve closed this article to new comments, but anyone interested in this issue can still read through the 170 comments below discussing exploding washing machine door glass from myself and people affected by it. I’ve now written a new updated article summarising the situation so far (which is open to comments) – Exploding door glass in washing machines
Shattering door glass
The photos below are of the results of a door glass falling out of the door when a small child fell against it and it fell onto the tiled floor.
Original Article
This is the original article, which was quickly taken over by complaints of door glass spontaneously exploding. The comments below start off talking about this original article but soon change to the exploding door glass topic.
I’ve been contacted by a Washerhelp user about a safety issue regarding the door glass in washing machines. His young son recently had an accident where he fell against the washing machine door and it broke away from the washing machine. As the flooring was tiled the door glass immediately shattered and his son fell onto some very nasty pieces of glass.
He is keen to warn others about this safety issue after his son suffered “large cuts to his arms and legs which required emergency hospital treatment”. His question to me was, is it acceptable that the door was not manufactured with toughened glass?
I’ve never heard of an accident like this and it sounds like a nasty incident. The glass used in a washing machine door has always been quite thick but I’m not aware of any washing machine door glass being made from either toughened, or safety glass. The onus is on a washing machine manufacturer to make the glass tough enough to stand up to normal use and extremes of use such as violent banging about if a badly out of balanced sheet goes into spin etc. but whether they should anticipate this kind of accident or not is something to be decided by Trading Standards or some other body.
I would guess that the majority of washing machines these days would have behaved in the same way because most washing machine doors are made of plastic, and many door hinges are fairly weak. The quality of many washing machine doors and possibly even the thickness of glass has been decreasing in line with the demand for cheaper and cheaper washers.
I’m confident that a washing machine door from 15 years ago or more would have stood up to a small child or even an adult falling against the door without it dropping completely off. The door glass from a washing machine from 15 years or more back may not have shattered so easily and into so many hazardous pieces either but the main thing is that it would have not fallen onto the hard tiled floor in the first place. Washing machine doors and hinges used to be made of strong metal at one time (not plastic and alloy) and if someone was strong enough they could have lifted the washer up with the door and swung it around, they were that tough. These days many doors even fall off without any impact under normal daily use, just because of poor quality materials.
This incident should serve as a warning for people with children to be aware of the potential danger. It would make sense to keep the washing machine door closed when not directly loading and unloading the washing machine if children (or anyone) could potentially bang into, or fall onto the door. The chances are the door glass would only shatter like this if it falls on a hard flooring rather than a carpet though.
New Article: I’ve written a new article concentrating on this particular door glass issue and summarising the situation so far here – Exploding door glass in washing machines
Thanks for publishing that warning and showing the photos. It is truly shocking. Would something like the British Standards Institute be worth contacting for advice? They used to have a testing centre in Milton Keynes where they carried out rigorous tests on consumer goods. Might still be there.
Like yourself, I am shocked by shoddiness of modern washing machines as compared to their older counterparts.
My 14 year old washing machine was capable of doing a high temperature wash without the glass door becoming a lethal weapon. The 1st time I did a similar wash on my new (July 2008) machine, the glass got red hot – enough to cause a burn. Not that I routinely finger glass doors, of course! However, It would be too dangerous to use if there was a small child in the house.
I did question this with both the retailer and the manufacturer but was told that my machine was no different than others. Please tell me that that is not true! How do these things ever get passed for sale?
The chap involved is currently pursuing the washing machine manufacturer who seem to be taking the incident seriously. If I hear any significant news I will publish it.
I haven’t named the manufacturer because at this stage I believe most average washing machines would have done the same thing and this is a symptom of washing machines in general these days rather than one make. However, this would not have happened with a Miele washing machine – Miele washing machine build quality review (Note: This statement refers to the quality of the door holding the glass in place and the likelihood of the glass falling out after a knock, and not the possibility of a Miele door glass shattering during use, which unfortunately has been reported in the comments below)
On your problem with your door, modern washing machines usually have a plastic cover over the front of the door glass acting as a second skin which prevents someone touching the actual door glass. Clearly a door glass shouldn’t get so hot as to burn a small child. Asking the retailer and manufacturer is the wrong approach I’m afraid, they would be implicating themselves. It’s independent bodies like the one you mentioned and trading standards that you should ask.
The “shoddy” build quality of many modern washing machines is due entirely (in my opinion) to the majority of the general public naively accepting poor quality products because they have lots of the features they desire and they are an acceptable price. The same is true for most products today where true quality that we took for granted in the past is just too expensive for most people because we won’t go without any more and there is just too much to buy and we want it all. If we limited ourselves only to high quality products we’d only be able to afford half of the things we have.
Washing machine manufacturers are only supplying what customers want and even demand. For decades they’ve demanded cheaper and cheaper machines and they’ve been happy to supply them. Even when people started to realise how rubbish they were they still refuse to spend more money on a proper washing machine.
Until people stop buying all the common household name washing machines and buy really high quality ones the status quo will prevail.
I’ve been harping on about this on Washerhelp for over 8 years now :-)
An example of this is you can buy a 1400 spin, 6Kg drum washing machine for £180. Miele make a 1400 spin, 6Kg drum washing machine that is £700 at most places. Many (if not most) people either believe Miele are ripping people off (they are totally misunderstanding how much a proper washing machine costs) or even if they accept it’s the true price for a “proper” washing machine they say “I’d love one but can’t afford it”.
Most people resent spending money on a washing machine and refuse to buy properly well made products so the rubbish flourishes.
I hope that didn’t resemble a rant :-)
I myself am extremely dissapointed with how washing machine’s are made. At this moment I am waiting on an engineer comeing to my house to do a report on my washing machine . On Sunday night the glass exploded from the door shattering all over the floor and worktops when it was on the final spin,3mins to go. The machine is only 4 months old and luckily nobody was hurt. It was bedding and towels I had in the machine at the time.
I have recently had the experience of the glass door in my Beko washing machine exploding / shattering on a 90 degrees hot wash and the machine is less than 4 years old. Beko were not very helpful and the issue has been raised with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire Trading Standards. The machine has since now today been repaired but should I trust it with high termperatures again?
They only seemed to be willing to come back and finish the repair after contacting Trading Standards.
Hello Alex: If they didn’t explain exactly what caused the glass to shatter and what they’ve done to prevent it happening again (for example has the new door glass has been modified – presumably thickened – to prevent it happening again?) then presumably it could happen again.
If that’s the case you ought to be able to claim the washing machine isn’t fit for its purpose because it isn’t safe to use it on one of its programmes. If you have lost confidence in it you may be able to claim compensation from the retailer under the Sale of Goods Act which gives consumers up to 6 years (5 in Scotland) to claim compensation. Under the Sale of Goods Act it’s only the retailer who is responsible despite the fact that they didn’t make it and clearly aren’t “really” responsible.
If you pursue this line you can expect resistance from virtually all retailers who generally tend to just claim there’s nothing they can do because it’s out of guarantee, which is not true. If you do win compensation in the small claims court they will likely knock off about half the value of the washing machine because you’ve already had 4 years use from it.
Most people tend to think it’s not worth the hassle and stress pursuing a claim, but if you do want to pursue it further you need to read this article and its comments EU 2 year guarantee. Sale of Goods Act gives us 6 years to claim for faulty appliances
hallo
ik heb een samsung van 2 jaar maar vorige week brak ook het glas in mijn wasmachine toen mijn zoon de deur open deed omdat ik het zelf niet kon vanwege pijn in mijn pols.
nu zit ik zonder wasmachine en kost het me een nieuwe deur dit mag toch niet gebeuren met zo een vrij nieuwe machine
[translation]
I have a Samsung for 2 years but last week broke the glass in my washing machine when my son opened the door because I myself could not because my wrist pain.
Now I’m without a washing machine and cost me a new door that it must not be done with a relatively new machine
We had just bought a Samsung washing machine never again we were doin laundry as normal towels ect, when we heard a bang went to investigate and the the glass inside the machine broke right in half and glass everywere.We have been waiting for 2 weeks for a Samsung tec to look at it.Be carefull with theses machines the glass could have really hurt someone if they were standing there.Theses washers are dangerous and can cause serious damage to someone.
I am currently waiting for an engineer to come and fix the glass in my Zanussi washer dryer. I was doing a 40 wash not overly full and when I went to open the door I cut my hands on some glass.
The inner door had exploded all over my clothes…
I have never heard of this until it happened to me and I looked on the web abd saw your comments. I am really disappointed with how they are made, especially knowing that my mum has had many washing machines over the years and she has never come across this happening.
my hoover washing machine had just exploded .All the inside is ruined,the detergent drawer was blown out,the top came off and the drum is literally out of shape. I could’nt believe my eyes. I was lucky that neither me or my 5 year old son were’nt there when this took place cause the door was wide open with the blast.I’ve bought this washing machine in Dec. 2008.
I have had a BEKO WASHING MACHINE, for 10 days.
Last evening around 4pm, we were sitting in the living room, when we heard this loud bang, we found the cause, the DOOR ON THE WASHING MACHINE HAD JUST EXPLODED, the machine was not in use at the time.
There was no know reason for this, as the machine, was quite empty, and still, with not a soul any were near it.
On phoning BEKO, we were told, WE WOULD GET A PHONE CALL WITHIN THE NEXT 48 HOURS FROM A ENGINEER, mind you I know really don’t trust any machine, as he will be only fitting a new door.
Pamela: Yours is the most bizarre case so far. It’s hard to imagine a cause for a door glass shattering whilst not in use – do you have a poltergeist? ;-)
Please keep us informed.
BEKO has informed us they will be here some time on the 1st. SEPT.
To fit a new door, I must say, they didn’t sound a bit surprised, so I will let you know just what takes place.
With reference to the above comments, I am so glad that the exploding washer/dryer glass door has not only happened to me. I am currently pursuing the dangerousness of this matter as two weeks ago, with 3 items in the machine on a dry cycle, a loud bang occurred, similar to a pipe bomb going off. Following investigation, the glass of the door and its surround had been blown out at such a force, it had dented my fridge freezer door and also a sweeping brush handle which was approx 5 feet away from the machine. The 3 items inside the drum had also caught on fire.
I perish the thought that if any one had been in front of the machine when it exploded, they would have either been severely maimed, or, if it was my youngest child who is only seven, he would not have stood a chance and could have been killed. So far, a senior engineer has been out from the company who made this deadly machine to supposedly do a full diagnostic check, yet, all he did was a fire check and alienate me and my husband because of his rudeness and obstructiveness. He made us feel that it was our fault that this product had blown up and was not interested in how it has affected us. I even asked him whether he had any suspicions as to why it had happened and his reply was that he did not wish to speculate.Some senior engineer hey!
Yesterday, we were offered a replacement washer/dryer because they want the killer machine back for further testing yet, I am more annoyed that there has not been a mention of the word ‘SORRY’, for the stress this has caused and the numerous phone calls I have had to make to both parties who were involved with making and selling me this deadly machine. My advice to all consumers is that if they encounter safety issues with any items they may purchase, at first contact Consumer Direct about their worries and if they think that there is a safety issue they will pass the information on to the local Trading Standards Authority like they did in this particular case. Also, make sure you report the incident by writing to head office and send it by recorded delivery so that you can prove that it got there. Don’t forget to make a duplicate of the letter too so you can always refer back to it.
At present, I do not know whether I will have an explanation as to why the door exploded and by giving me a replacement in turn for the collection of the machine is a way of shutting me up and keeping me sweet. However, I am still very upset about the whole thing and now I have seen, by reading these comments that other people have gone through similar experiences has made me more determined to get to the bottom of it. If anyone has any suggestions or advice about this topic, please leave your comments as I feel, that at the moment, I will not be at ease until I have been given a reasonable explanation as to why this happened!
Hello Julia. You don’t mention the make of this appliance or the model number.
It sounds like the engineer may have been defensive, which is understandable. I’m not trying to excuse the attitude, just possibly explain it. I would assume that when any manufacturer comes across a safety issue like this they are pretty scared of potential consequences and may be quite reluctant to apologise, which could be seen as an admission of responsibility – especially if they genuinely don’t know how it happened yet.
Of course they should definitely be held accountable for safety failings if it’s shown to be the case. I think it’s quite likely most people will get the same cold, clinical and cagey response, (which is not what they want) because of their over defensiveness and fear of admitting responsibility. The irony is that many people would be satisfied with a genuine apology, and are much more likely to become litigious because of the lack of any apology or even sympathy.
Although the original article was about a door glass breaking when a small child fell against it, subsequent comments have been about exploding and shattering door glasses whilst the machine was in operation which is even more worrying.
Thanks for your contribution, and please keep us informed of unfolding events.
Hi
Well, we finally got the chap to fit us a new door on the washing machine. I asked him just what he thought would have coursed the first door to explode, all he could say was, how he thought there must have been a hair line crack in the glass some were, mind you this door now is much thicker, so lets hope we don’t have any more of smashed doors
If the new door glass is thicker it would indicate they are aware the original glass was too thin and have had to improve them.
I just googled washing machines and exploding doors and came up with this website. Contrary to what you think and I have been a Miele customer for years. I run two Miele one is 13 years old and it is used for animal bedding and smelly farm clothes and has never given any problems, when the old Zanussi packed up a year ago which the previous owner had left and was used for the above dirty jobs, I bought a new Miele for the personal clothes, t owels etc for my husband to come down stairs this morning and find that the glass door of the new one had exploded and put water and glass everywhere.
Hello openspacewalker: I’m sorry but I can’t work out what you meant by “contrary to what you think”.
Regarding the door glass exploding on a Miele washing machine someone else emailed me about it happening to them the other week (unless by any chance that was you). As I replied back to them this is definitely not what you would expect from a Miele washing machine.
My Miele W3740 washing machine glass door suddenly exploded shedding shattered glass and water around the room. The machine cost £700 and is only twenty months old so still within guarantee. It was about twenty minutes into the 95 degree cycle and was only at the beginning of this two hour cycle. On examination door looks as if it has been crushed into thousands of pieces, some hardly visible to the naked eye.
The glass is still attached to the metal door around the lock area but has completely disintegrated around the rest, especially on the hinge side. According to the specification the door is caste metal although the engineer said it was not? He also said the glass door is the only part of the machine that Miele do not manufacture themselves. Overall he had little to say but did mutter he thought it was a problem with the door! I was fortunate that no one was near the machine or they would certainly have been scalded or cut from the flying glass. I was also fortunate to be able to get to the machine before serious flooding occurred.
I don’t think I would ever leave a washing machine unattended in the future. I have written to Miele and Comet by recorded delivery under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 but so far there has only been a deafening silence. Miele’s engineer said their management support would be in contact, I have heard nothing. I am concerned that there are other potential time bombs out there, surely both retailer and manufacturer have a duty of care towards their customers. Miele’s own engineer has examined the machine and reported back his findings, if Miele want to retain their good name they should take immediate action to find the cause for this failure and ensure it cannot happen again. The Miele W3740 is still available for sale.
These reports make alarming reading, especially that a Miele washing machine glass door exploded – from one of the “best” manufacturers of washing machines!
I’m starting to wonder if there is only one manufacturer of the door glass itself? Probably some cheap Chinese manufacturer, with the low-strength glass being imported by all the washing machine manufacturers? Anything to cut costs!
This should NEVER happen and I hope someone will know which government safety department(s) should be contacted about this problem, along with the EU people, who could stop this happening in the EU member states.
Washerhelp, I quote you saying in comment #2:
“However, this would not have happened with a Miele washing machine”
Sadly, it DID HAPPEN to a Miele washing machine and I’m sure it will keep on happening to Miele and all other manufacturers’ door glass. It can only be caused by using glass that’s too thin and cheap.
As for the glass becoming too hot to touch on 90C or 95C washes – all washing machines should really have an outer glass or plastic cover to prevent young children from touching the hot inner glass.
Hello openspacewalker I have just read about your Miele washing machine door exploding – what model is your Miele ? I am the person whose Miele W3740 also exploded (see Anonymous ) sounds like you were unlucky enough not to have been around to switch the machine off. When Miele engineer examined mine he said he had not seen a glass door breaking like this for twenty years, or since he started working for Miele. I said I thought my Miele machine should be returned to the factory and properly examined but was told that as it had never happened before this was unlikely. Miele should be worried as they may well have a recall issue here. PENNY (aka anonymous)
Hello WMUser: No it’s still a comment I can stick too. The reference was to the construction of the door holding the door glass in place, which is cheap plastic on the washing machine that inspired the article, and solid stainless steel on a Miele.
Unfortunately this article is now trying to deal with two related but separate incidents after my original article attracted several comments from people experiencing exploding door glasses happening with the washing machine in use.
The original article is about the danger of anyone (in this case a small child) falling against or knocking the open door resulting in the door breaking off its hinges because of cheap plastic doors. This can result in the door dropping to the floor and the door glass smashing as demonstrated by the photos. My comment said the door would not have fallen off a Miele.
It’s now been broadened to include incidences of the door glass spontaneously shattering during use, about which I made no comment regarding the likelihood of it happening to a Miele – although I grant you I could well have if the subject had come up because I would expect that of all washing machines a Miele would have the least chance of that happening.
It’s clear now these are 2 different but related things. The Miele door would not fall off, but the door glass could break without warning, usually during the hottest wash or drying cycle in the case of a washer-dryer or just at random.
I’m glad I’m always at home when I have the washing machine on – you can’t trust a washing machine to be left totally unattended!! As regular readers will know from other blogs on this site, I have to add a little more hot water to the main wash and lots of hot water to the rinses, as my skin is too sensitive and modern washing machines don’t rinse properly, another sign of the poor quality of modern washing machines. In fact, modern washing machines are very poor quality as they are too cheap – the door glass breaking so easily is more proof they are cheap and nasty – literally!
Washerhelp, who should people contact if the door glass breaks? With today’s over-zealous “health and safety” laws, this problem must be rectified immediately. It never happened with older washing machines, so why is it happening now?
Hello WMUser: The responsibility in consumer law is with the retailer, so if someone wanted to reject the washing machine and say they cannot trust it any more they would need to argue that case with whoever they bought it from and not the manufacturer. Having said that, any manufacturer is likely to be concerned about something like this happening and may well try to accommodate a consumer in some way. The dilemma they face is that if they simply replace the part in question what assurance is there that the same thing won’t happen again, yet if they say they’ve improved the design they concede that the original one was in some way deficient.
Regarding more wider safety concerns, people like Trading Standards, watchdog and other consumer groups would potentially be interested if this was seen as a consumer safety issue, which it certainly looks like. Whilst on the topic of safety issues there are increasingly concerning related issues I need to write more about such as exploding fridges and exploding washing machines where serious explosions are taking place putting consumers at great risk. One can only assume these issues are likely to be caused by the ever increasing drive to keep production costs and retail prices down resulting in reduced quality and corners being cut.
It was my Miele W3740 that had the glass door suddenly shatter, unfortunately having written a letter to Comet under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and copied in Miele, both sent via Recorded Delivery, I have had a very disappointing response from both parties. Miele have agreed to clear the glass from the drum under the guarantee but as they want to undertake major engineering on my premises and use heavy lifting gear to access the drum I have declined. Under the Sale of Goods Act I am not obliged to accept a repair. In any case they are aware that I have lost confidence in that machine. Comet as retailer has the liability but they have made minimal effort. Neither Comet nor Miele have given me the the courtesy of a reply to my letter, I doubt that any of the staff are able to put one together. I have had one phone call from Comet when I informed them that legal action is to follow, that was a week ago and I have heard nothing from Comet or Miele. I still have no washing machine machine, three weeks now! Next step is I am off to get the forms from the local Court. I will keep you posted.
Hello Penny: Under the sale of goods act they are not obliged to replace an appliance once you’ve had it a few weeks if they can show it is disproportionately expensive compared to the cost of a repair – especially if it’s a minor fault. Having lost confidence in a machine that has exhibited such potentially dangerous behaviour though takes it into different territory and I would expect a retailer to be sympathetic to that. A lot depends on how long you’ve had the machine too.
Unfortunately as Miele are the highest quality washing machine you can buy it creates quite a dilemma as to what to replace it with. Please keep us posted thanks.
Dear Sir i own a Miele Komfort ModW1713. which was purchased Nov 07 up till now it has not been a problem.
Last Thursday while washing three towels on a cotton programme 60 degree wash about half way through there was a loud bang and a noise like shaking ice cubes in a cocktail shaker.
to my astonishment the inner dome on the door had exploded and filled the drum and washing with glass.
Ran Miele the following day customer afterservice said they had never herd of this happening before and needed to get an engineer straight out to investigate, also wanted me to speak to one of there engineers so put me on hold.
After a few minutes they came back said they didn’t need to speak to me and it would be over a week before the engineer would come out with the replacement parts and to investigate.
They asked if i had knocked door or anything but that is all, luckily we were here but like your other commenter my wife now has no confidence in the machine,makes it worse that they stated it has not happened before when it obviously has.
The machine is obviously out of warranty luckily they didn’t mention any charges i just don’t like the idea that a company with a reputation like Miele would say it is not a problem and has not happened. If they do after the event try to charge for the repair can you advise where i stand on the matter
To update on the Miele W3740 glass door shattering and Comet and Miele’s disapointing response. Since sending a letter to Comet under the 1979 Sale of Goods Act (no response) I have written again stating my intention to take legal action against them, I asked for a written reply, they replied only by telephone. No one wants to commit themselves to paper anymore. Comet appear content to sit back and let Miele dictate the outcome although it is they who hold liability under the Sale of Goods Act.
I had the same experience as Bill initially when I first informed Miele and it took another ten days for an engineer to just look, no repair. In the meantime I have been without a washing machine since 5 January. Miele have stated that they will undertake repairs under the guarantee. They will replace the door and remove glass from the drum using heavy lifting gear in my home, I have declined this offer, they then suggested they could do it in the garden!
I declined this offer too, not wanting glass all over my patio and garden, I have a dog. Comet and Miele continue to fail to acknowledge the safety issue, they said that should the glass door shatter again it will be covered under their extended warranty, no mention of what happens should injury occur or if it happens after the warranty has expired, presumably the customer pays. Miele are not interested at all in why this has happened and that this machine has proved itself to be a time bomb, Miele are obviously aware of the other machines and glass breaking incidents and appear happy to keep their customers in the dark, to maintain the status quo probably all in the name of money.
A suggestion to anyone who wishes to have this safety problem taken seriously…
BBC Watchdog comes and goes, but looking at the BBC website, they are still looking for more stories. I would definitely recommend contacting BBC Watchdog – I’m sure when this is broadcast (I say “when” and not “if), people throughout the UK with shattered glass doors on washing machines and washer dryers will be contacting the programme. Here’s their contact page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/
Hope that helps.
i had a beko which i brought in dec of 09 that exploded glass from the door all over my kitchen while nobody was around(luckily).this happened in oct 10 only 10 months old, that was finally replaced with a new machine exactly the same. today feb 11 sitting in the lounge with my baby and 8 year old we heard a loud bang thinking something fell off the side in the kitchen i went to investigate to find the door has exploded yet again with small shards of glass covering all my 8week old babys clothes. I am now trying to get a new machine with a different make as dont want to have to go through this again.
Hello natalie: Your experience highlights the point I’ve made from the start, which is if they just replace the door glass what’s to stop it happening again? If they replace it with an improved design then it’s pretty much an admission it wasn’t suitable in the first place.
Are the shards of glass pointed and sharp, or are they small squares of glass as in safety glass that are unlikely to cut?
bought a beko washing machine less than 2 months ago and 20 mins ago the glass shattered. it was on a final spin and sent the shards of glass all over kitchen floor and the clothes inside are covered in VERY SHARP pieces, best they can do is send sum1 out on monday. its thursday now. can i claim compensation for all the clothes that are ruined or is that a job for house insurance.
joanne: Apologies for not replying sooner. I would say you have a claim against the people you bought it from although it’s possible the manufacturer might decide to compensate you even though legally only the retailer is responsible.
You shouldn’t have to claim on your house insurance, which may cost you in increased premiums, loss of no claims bonus or simply in time and effort and the inconvenience of having to detail the claim for the next 3 to 5 years on any subsequent insurance quote enquiry you might want to do.
I have a 1.5 year old Samsung washing machine, one day we noticed that the door glass was cracked and a large piece had fallen out into the machine. It is out of warranty but we have an extended warranty but they refused to cover the repair so I just order the part myself and replaced it at a cost of about $75.
I am very surprised that this would break and do not consider it our fault so I am rather upset that we had to pay for the repair. I will be writing to Samsung about it to express my aggravation.
-walter
I’m sorry to still be reading about these shocking incidents of exploding glass doors.
BBC Watchdog has returned. Watching it earlier reminded me about the exploding glass doors that people have been reporting here. I eventually found this blog again (as the new website layout is still taking me time to navigate) – so reminders to people to please take photos and I definitely recommend contacting Watchdog with your evidence: http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/
If it happened to me, I would be contacting Watchdog immediately and I would *NOT* accept the washing machine manufacturer trying to blame me for their poor quality glass from breaking when it should *never* break on any programme or – in the case of washer-dryers – the hottest drying cycle. Glass doors should be able to withstanding becoming hot and being scraped by zips etc. If they break too easily, they are not fit for the purpose.
Take action and let’s put a stop to this forever, before somebody gets seriously injured!!
I bought a Miele W1730 in February 2009. I woke up this morning to find the inner glass
door totally shattered with glass all over the floor. The machine was not in use – this happened during the night. This washing machine cost me a lot of money and as things would have it, it’s just out of the guarantee period.
What’s going on with these door glasses – and on Miele’s of all brands? I can’t see how any door glass should ever shatter unless you were washing a brick. If washing normal laundry surely it’s unacceptable for any door glass to explode or shatter – and doing so when not even in use?
They can make bullet proof glass so it has to be down to cost savings or faulty manufacture?
My Meile W1613 had been unused for a few days when my a “bang” was heard. On inspection the inner glass door had exploded. Just to clarify: it was not in use at the time. The machine is approx 2 or years old. Currently awaiting a visit from the retailer’s engineer tomorrow.
We bought what we were told was the best make on the market. I hope Meile will take this obviously dangerous situation very seriously to protect their reputation.
I’ve made this point before and I’ll say it again. If an engineer simply replaces the door glass there’s nothing to stop it happening again – and again. The door glass is clearly defective, badly designed, has an inherent fault etc. In my opinion I don’t think it’s acceptable to say – it’s made of glass therefore this sort of thing can happen. They should be designed so they don’t break under normal conditions. Even if it’s coins or metal buttons etc. causing the glass to break they should be designed to withstand it.
If they don’t say they are fitting a new improved door glass they are not curing the problem, which is that the door glass on the washing machine can shatter at any time. If this is unacceptable I would complain to the retailer under the Sale of Goods act and take consumer advice.
On the other hand if they say the new door glass is improved, and not prone to this problem they are conceding the original glass wasn’t good enough, but even so most people are likely to be happy to have a proper repair.
The glass on our washing machine has just exploded! All that happened was that a cup fell out of a cupboard on the other side of the room, it went nowhere near the washer!
Nearly 3 weeks since my exploding Meile let go. Apart from a brief visit by the retailer/service engineer to assess the damage there has been zero action. no sense of urgency. No hint of concern from Meile. It really make you wonder if anyone really gives a toss. Another visit to the launderette beckons.
Hi Gary. I was about to buy a 1613 and came across this page while searching for reviews.
I’ve contacted Miele who appear to want to minimise the issue and refuse to give any sort of guarantee or assurance that the same thing won’t happen with mine. So I’ve decided I probably won’t buy it after all.
in their communications with me they state that there could be various reasons for the occurrence, (not that they have specifically addressed any incidents reported here) including ‘customer misuse’ or ‘a faulty part’.
It would be refreshing were a company of such repute be honest enough to say, yes, we have had reports of this, and yes, we are investigating it and plan to recall affected machines’. THAT would have made me go ahead with the purchase.
It’s all about attitude. Good luck and I hope you get somewhere.
My daughters Beko washing machine glass door exploded at 10pm last night and it wasn’t plugged in?
Reading all these comments, it now sounds as if somebody has to sort this out immediately before anyone is seriously hurt? I will contact Beko and Watch Dog. This machine is about 5 years old and the glass imploded which will now cause additional damage to the water pump if not flushed through correctly.
I would never buy a Beko!
It sounds like this is an issue that needs looking at yes.
I had this happen to a Beko machine a year ago and reported it via my local Trading standards before they would do anything. They only replaced the glass in the original door frame. Cambs standards replied saying they contacted the Trading Standards Office local to Beko’s Head Office but I have never heard anything further since the complaint was made.
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It seems the manufacturers appear to think that it’s perfectly acceptable and even normal for glass to break – it’s glass isn’t it? However, I can confirm that this never used to happen in the past. If you go back to a better period – say 1976 to 1990 in all that period I personally only ever saw one door glass broken and it just split in half. I had a hell of a job getting a replacement door glass because they just weren’t a part that normally needed replacing. It had to be specially ordered. I remember us all being amazed that they’d managed to break it and telling other engineers I came across about it.
Door glasses are made of glass yes, but glass is not fragile per se. Glass can be bullet proof. Glass can be made strong enough to simply just not break, and with a washing machine there’s no excuse for door glasses spontaneously shattering – especially when not even in use.
I’ll stick my neck out – and manufacturers please correct me if I’m wrong – but it would be quite simple to stop washing machine door glasses shattering like this. Just make them out of better quality, presumably thicker door glass.
There is a similar issue with the glass in ovens shattering too – sometimes spontaneously when not in use – and has been for some years. Manufacturers make plenty of money selling replacements of course.
Now 5 weeks since Meile W1613 exploded. Eventually the retailer/repairer obtained replacement door from the disinterested Germans. “Sorry, the engineer called in sick so we cannot keep our appointment. Will Saturday be OK?” No, not OK – but what else can we do but wait? An engineer arrived a day “early”. But when he unpacked his treasures “the office” had not given him all the neccessary parts. The missing bits arrived (presumably not all the way from Germany) by car soon after. The repair was completed. The machine washed. Everyone celebrated. The machine broke. Water inlet problem: probably gunk dislodged by the unavoidable robust manhandling during repair. A few more days and the engineer returned, removed gunk. The machine washed. everyone rejoiced. The machine broke. Water inlet problem: over a month after the explosion the machine has managed a few washes. A huge laundry bill has accrued. Meile apparently could not be any less interested. Please do not by a Meile. Buy a cheap one and ditch it when it goes wrong.
Last night my beko washing macenes exploded I used it about 30 hours before it exploded to do a small load it is about 2years old, I went out for a fag at 11 then locked up and went to bed then at about 2 in the morning I head a big bang I went running down stairs thinking someone was robbing my house just to walk in to the kitchen and find small pieces off glass all over the floor I am noe stuck with no washing machine:(
A summary of reports of washing machine door glasses exploding or shattering so far -
Beko – 8
Miele – 5
Samsung – 3
Hoover – 1
Zanussi – 1
Gutted to see Miele in second place. Why is the phrase, “you get what you pay for” so unreliable at times?
Now 7 weeks since Miele W1613 exploded. Retailer/engineer has visited twice more since my July 19 post. Now waiting for yet another part which should be fitted tomorrow. Meanwhile I have finally provoked Miele into action and they will send their local engineer to inspect – when he returns from vacation. They advise the replacement glass has been supplied by a different manufacturer to a higher specification following earlier explosions. The machine came with a ten year waranty so at least I will not be charged for the ongoing repairs. Miele also undertook to “consider” reimbursing laundry fees which is probably the least they should do under these circumstances. I have other equally expensive Miele appliances which have been well behaved up to now.