Sensationalist headlines?
The story then developed..
A few years after the article was published it started to attract comments from people experiencing a different, but more dramatic danger. Reports started to accumulate of spontaneously exploding door glass. Most reports were of the glass “exploding” whilst on a wash cycle but several reported the glass exploded when the washing machine was not even in use. However, the 52 cases reported in the press have accumulated over the last 2 and a half years so this remains a rare phenomenon at the moment.
Don’t confuse two separate “exploding washing machine” issues
There are two totally unconnected issues, which unsurprisingly are getting confused or fused together. This article is talking about the door glass alone exploding, sometimes spontaneously when not even in use. The other issue, which had national press coverage last year is when the washing machine itself explodes from the drum out. The revolving drum splits apart during high spin and mechanically explodes through the plastic outer tub and plastic lid as well as the control panel and door. This is a known issue related to specific brands and is covered in my Washerhelp article here – Washing machines exploding: What’s going on?
Back to shattering door glass
I’m not entirely happy using the word explode because it sounds sensational but as the word is used by people experiencing this problem it needs to be used. Some have even described it as being like “a bomb”. This picture is of a Beko washing machine, who so far have the highest reported cases – though they are one of the most common UK washing machines. The consumer who sent it me wrote, “I dread to think the outcome if my son had been in front of the machine at the time!” and of course the concerns over children have been mentioned by several others.
So what’s happening?
Although the exploding washing machine issue mentioned above has a precise explanation, the exploding door glass problem doesn’t. Manufacturers so far have tended to fall back on blaming customers. They say large metal buckles or buttons on some laundry, or leaving coins and other metal objects in pockets are causing the door glass to take hits, which is weakening them. Whilst I have some sympathy with this explanation, and for all I know it could be the common link in all cases, I have to say that coins, bad loads and metal parts on laundry have always been present. Not only that, but they always will be. Therefore it’s hard to argue that washing machine door glass should not be strong enough to cope with extremely well known incidents. It’s also worth noting that in the past, this did not happen despite the (mis)use of washing machines being the same, and this is a relatively new phenomena presumably caused by something manufacturers are doing differently. Possible explanations are -
- Maybe the door glass is thinner and/or of poorer quality than in the past
- Maybe there is a flaw in the manufacturing process
- Maybe doors and their glass are larger now, and therefore weaker because quality hasn’t increased to take it into account
- Maybe the larger drum capacity has changed something which is allowing the revolving drum to hit the bottom of the door glass more often and/or more harshly
- Maybe this as always happened, and is in actual fact extremely rare but just feels more common because the Internet allows people to find others with the same problem
I feel the answer is probably one or a combination of the possibilities in this list. The last one should be borne in mind, though with over 30 years experience I have to say I had never come across exploding door glass before until recently.
Isn’t it the user’s fault anyway for leaving coins in pockets or washing laundry with metal buttons or buckles?
It may or may not turn out to be related to user misuse. If it is, my question is why have washing machine door glasses only recently started to shatter in such dangerous ways? What has changed recently which is allowing this to happen? It’s more likely to be something related to manufacture than related to what people are washing unless a sudden recent change in washing habits has occurred. It may well turn out to be a combination of user misuse and something that’s changed in manufacture. However, the onus is on manufacturers to make products that pre-empt predictable user misuse and not allow dangerous consequences to occur when their customers do totally predictable things.
Here are the door glass tallies so far -
The latest added up numbers are -
Beko 18 | Miele 8 | Hoover 4 | Zanussi 4 | Bosch 3 | LG 3 | Samsung 3 | Hotpoint 2 | Candy 2 | Not specified 2 | John Lewis 1 (John Lewis washer made by Zanussi) | Ignis 1 | Tricity Bendix 1 | AEG 1
There are usually more cases reported in the comments that are only added to this list every so often. Out of the 53 cases reported so far, 15 have said the washing machine was not in use at the time.
Why the fuss?
I’m personally trying to keep things in perspective but at the same time I know it’s a genuinely serious safety concern. If the door glass was shattering only when the washing machine was on that would be one thing, people could just keep out of its way when it’s running. But the main reason people, and the media, are concerned is because of the reports of spontaneous shattering, which means there’s the fear of it shattering at any time no matter who is in front of it. The reports of this particular phenomenon number only 15 and they are of course only anecdotal, but unless all 15 people are lying this puts the sensational spin on it I’m afraid.
What’s the solution?
Until a definite cause is proved it’s difficult to know what needs to be done. The main expectation is that the door glass needs to be made thicker, but there’s currently no proof of that. One improvement that should help is if manufacturers placed a plastic cover in front of the door glass making it double-glazed though it would need to be designed like this from the off. This was done by Hoover for many years going back to the 90s although it was done more for thermal protection. If a see-through plastic cover is fitted inside the door at the front it should protect anyone from exploding glass although it would be better if the glass didn’t explode at all.
Meanwhile..
Although this still appears to be rare, enough reports have come through of the glass shattering whilst the washer isn’t even on to be taken seriously so it may be best not to let kids play around washing machines until this issue is hopefully resolved.
Remember, this is only 50 odd cases reported out of millions of washing machines and only 15 claim the washer wasn’t running at the time so the odds of it happening at all – never mind someone being in front of it at the time – should be very low. If you are concerned enough to need to do something, you could try hanging a thick towel over the door when the washer is not in use in case it helps prevent or limit any glass flying out, and keeping children away from it especially when it’s running.
(More views on this subject from another experienced engineer : Ken Watt runs UKWhitegoods and is an experienced appliance engineer. He has written an article giving his views here – Washing Machine Door Glass Failures)
Do you have any photos of your exploded door glass?
If your washing machine door glass has shattered or exploded please send photos so I can put them on this article as examples. Contact me using my contact form I can then reply, and you can attach the photos to my email reply.
Related article For article on actual washing machines exploding go here – Washing machines exploding: What’s going on?
Comments?
Here are all the previous comments on this topic from my original article – Original comments
I purchased a 9kg Hotpoint washing machine in march and in May a large crack appeared on the glass door.At first I thought it was a mark from the powder not having dispersed properly .But after trying to wipe it quickly realised when a large chunk of glass fell away that it was actually damaged .Hotpoint took over a week to supply a replacement.
I would suggest to ask people experiencing such problem to take pictures but also to collect all glass fragments carefully. A fractographical analysis could easily allow to detect the reason of fracture.
I had the same experience last month. The glass from the inside of the door actually cracked and broke and we found a large piece of the glass inside the machine after a wash,
The machine is a Siemens XL1600 part WXL 167 AGB/16, which I bought and had it replaced.
I took some photos of the shard of glass.
I tried to report the incident to Siemens, to no avail.
Francis Mallia Chiswick.
I contacted the Zanussi helpline about my 2 yr old Washer/Dryer having a crack in the glass of the door.
They said they hadn’t heard of any problems & said a call out to replace it would cost £90 + parts a total of £150.
They then said it would be cheaper for me to take out their insurance & bombarded me with blarny about extended 1 yr cover etc. I felt their helpline was just a cover for insurance sales.
Liz. Camberley.
Our Beko washing machine door ” exploded ” last year. The machine was not in use and the door was slightly ajar! Luckily for us our grandchildren were not staying with us that weekend but eventually something more serious will happen. We contacted Beko and trading standards but our complaints fell on deaf ears!?
Gary and Linda Hughes: Your experience is the type that’s causing the most concern and is the most unexpected and bizarre. At this stage it still appears to be very rare but nevertheless a genuine safety concern.
This comment was added to my article on exploding washing machines instead of this one about just the door glass so I deleted it and requested they repost it in the right one. If they do I will remove this comment but in case they don’t this is the comment made -
Date: 3rd October 2012 12:12:33 AM
Name: c roberts
Comment: I bought a Candy washer dryer a year last January…it wasn’t overused and i didn’t use the dryer part at all..well i tried it once and aborted the drying bit and went on to use the old fashioned way..hanging it up..so i was a light user…I have not kept the machine model..
I was sitting in one Friday evening about to watch the final of BB with the dog..when we heard an almighty explosion coming from the kitchen..it was similar to a brick being thrown through the window! When we went to look the ‘inner’ glass had exploded across the kitchen floor ..shards of it..it could have killed me if i had been standing at the sink!
The machine was not switched on and the door was slightly open! I left it a few days before i rang Hoover…and an engineer was sent out…he was very ‘edgey’..’jumpy’ and told me i could have a new door!!! So said would go to the papers…so he rang someone and they offered me a new cheap machine..not a washer/dryer…This could kill children..and animals…I hope there is more publicity about this and recalls…
If your washing machine glass door has shattered, exploded or broken in any way, I suggest you contact BBC Watchdog and get their help. Hopefully doing this will help you get any out-of-pocket costs reimbursed and also put a stop to this problem in future.
Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/
Thank you for your advice. I will contact the BBC
Regards
It’s happened to my Dryer! I bought a Hoover VHC691 tumble dryer in October 2012 (last month). It sprung a leak and an engineer changed a seal – still leaking so re booked another visit for my next day off. Due to the leak we stopped using the dryer – Then overnight a large crack appeared from the hinge side across to the centre of the glass door!!! I contacted Hoover and they are sending a new door with the engineer and it will be covered by the warranty – I thought I was going to have a fight on my hands and have to pay for the repair myself but no questions asked!! Wanted to post a comment so others know it’s happened before.
Same as Amanda (3rd Oct). Recently purchaced Hotpoint washer/drier was found with a large piece of door glass broken off inside the drum. The washer/drier was not in use and has a plastic front cover so cound not have been impacted. Just doing some research before contacting the manufacturer.
A new Miele Washer Dryer bought 3 weeks ago, has a large crack appeared in the glass door! Noticed it yesterday when I was getting washing out of the machine!
Five week old Hotpoint washer dryer has a large crack across inner glass door. Noticed it when I loaded second wash today but didn’t notice it when I unloaded the first lot. Think it happened between the two uses possibly when machine cooled down as I heard a funny pop. Waiting for engineer to come to make a report.
my beko shattered last night! it went with a bang too! glass everywhere the poor dog was horrified, luckly no one eles was in the kitchen & the dog was protected by his crate. what a mess it has made, mine was in use at the time& we think it may of been on a spin?
Hi….I bought my IFB washing Machine ELITE VX 3 months back … and the glass of the machine just exploded. i m in shocked state !!… I gave IFB customer care a call and they said they will repair the glass only.
could anyone please advice me whether i get it repair or replaced.
My Miele W5740 Washing Machine (purchased in January 2012) the glass in the door exloded yesterday whilst in the middle of a wash cycle, luckily I was not in the kitchen but the noise was terrible, I was scared to touch the machine to turn it off, but had no choice as it could have flooded the kitchen. Miele said they have only ever known of 5 machines with the glass door exloding and that is why they are not being recalled, they also said they do not know why this is happening but the technician is coming this week to find out what is the cause????
Indesit washing machine purchased Oct 2012 – found glass door to be cracked today, Hotpoint have agreed to replace door, no charge for call out,parts or labour – only because we have an extended warranty. If we were relying on the 12 month parts and labour warranty or the manufacturers 5 year parts warranty they would have wanted to charge us !!! this machine is less than 6 months old! but they say it is not an insurance against accidental damage and we may have damaged the machine ourselves ??? How exactly? by using it to wash socks! thats what i expected to use a washing machine for. The inconvenience is bad enough as we are a large family, luckily the local independant supplier has offered to swop the door until the engineer comes with the new one, – triumph of common sense.
just over a week ago our four month old beko washing machine glass door
exploded on a final 1500 spin cycle and sucked the glass in & shot glass in
all direction out of the machine and nearly injured my partner. Luckly no
one was hurt . also luckly we put our kids to bed 15mins earlyer other wise
they would have been in the firing line of glass and things would have been
alot worse as my young kids would have panic. Beko have now agreed to
replace the machine and will pick the old one up for investigation and
deliver a new one. My confedance in beko is not good as they said they dont
know of any other incidents but after reading the diferent articals about
other people suffering the same thing and our machine picture being featured
i think there is a cover up going on. Frankly i just want a new machine as
we are a family of 9 and without the machine we get a back log of washing
that we have to do at the laundret , just hope the new one doesnt do the
same?
maybe it will take someone to get seriously injured before beko will do
something, maybe its a batch of machines which are faulty, i will be keeping
an eye on the new one for unusual noises.