8 ways you can make your appliances more safe
Eight practical steps reduce the risk from white goods at home: be genuinely aware of how appliances fail, never leave a washing machine, tumble dryer, or dishwasher running unattended, read the instruction manual properly, fit smoke or heat alarms near the appliances, keep a CO₂ extinguisher in the kitchen or utility area, register every new appliance with the manufacturer, sign up for safety-notice alerts, and check today whether any current recall already affects an appliance you own.
This is part 2 of a Whitegoods Help series on the real dangers of white goods appliances and how to reduce risk at home. If you have not already, read part 1 first: how dangerous are our appliances? What follows is practical, in-depth advice with the reasons behind each step – not a shallow list of dos and don’ts.
More fires are caused by white goods appliances each year than most people realise, and only a fraction make national news. In a meaningful proportion of cases, better awareness or following the manufacturer’s instructions correctly could have prevented the incident outright. The eight steps below address that directly.
1. Make the effort to be genuinely aware
Awareness is the foundation of every other step. The risks from white goods appliances are real and they happen in ordinary homes – not just in unusual circumstances. Understanding those risks is the first step to reducing them.
One of the most consistent patterns in appliance fire incidents is that the risk was known but not acted on. Being aware is not enough on its own – awareness has to translate into behaviour. Take notice of reports of appliance incidents. Look for what went wrong and ask whether the same situation could arise in your home.
Charging devices is one area where incidents are frequently reported. The risk from a faulty or counterfeit charger may be difficult to eliminate entirely, but the consequences can be dramatically reduced by never charging a device on or next to flammable surfaces, and never leaving something charging in an empty house. Avoid overloading wall sockets – our guide on extension sockets and adaptors with high-load appliances covers why this matters.
2. Never leave appliances running unattended
An appliance fire in an empty house, or while occupants are asleep, is dramatically more damaging than one that is discovered straight away. With no one present to smell smoke or notice a problem, a small electrical fault can develop into a full kitchen or house fire before any alert is possible.
Washing machines, tumble dryers, and dishwashers do not need to run unattended. Doing so is purely a matter of convenience – it is never a necessity. The probability of something going wrong on any given cycle is low, but the consequence of it happening with nobody present is potentially catastrophic. Thousands of UK homes are damaged or destroyed by appliance fires every year.
See the full guide on the risks of leaving a washing machine or tumble dryer running when out or in bed, and our coverage of dishwasher fire risks.
3. Always read the instruction manual
User error and failure to follow manufacturer instructions is a leading cause of appliance incidents in several categories. Modern white goods are substantially more complex than previous generations – more components, more operating modes, more maintenance requirements. The manuals reflect this.
Many manuals contain serious safety warnings that most owners never read. As one example, a standard tumble dryer manual includes the following warning.
If the drying programme is interrupted before the end of the cooling-down phase, this could cause the laundry to self-ignite.
Standard tumble dryer instruction manual
That is an extremely serious warning – laundry that can catch fire after the cycle has stopped – buried among routine instructions with no special prominence. Not reading it could have catastrophic consequences. Our related guide on whether a tumble dryer can catch fire when unplugged covers the same risk in more detail.
Manufacturers could do more to make critical safety information prominent. Until they do, reading the manual carefully is the owner’s responsibility. For an appliance you have owned for a while, re-reading the manual is often worthwhile – it is common to find important information that was not absorbed at installation. Lost the manual? See our list of where to download white goods instruction manuals.
Long manuals are hard to absorb in one sitting. The effective approach is an initial read on the day of installation, then keep the manual accessible for the first week and return to it several times. This helps the important information stick rather than fade. At minimum, always seek out and read the warnings sections before using any new appliance.
4. Fit smoke or heat alarms near appliances
Smoke alarms give the earliest possible warning of a developing fire. Being alerted even a few minutes sooner can be the difference between a manageable incident and a serious one. Smoke alarms near washing machines, tumble dryers, and dishwashers make particular sense.
Kitchens are problematic for standard smoke alarms because cooking produces smoke and steam that trigger false alarms. Heat alarms, which respond to temperature rather than smoke, are designed for kitchen use and are the practical choice in that room. The UK Fire Service publishes guidance on choosing and placing alarms correctly: UK Fire Service smoke alarm advice.
Smoke alarms are not a reason to leave appliances running at night. The right approach is simply not to run washing machines, tumble dryers, or dishwashers overnight in the first place.
5. Keep a fire extinguisher near appliances
Being alerted to a fire early is far more useful when there is something at hand to tackle it. A small extinguisher suitable for electrical fires, placed in the kitchen or utility room, makes it possible to address a small contained fire before it develops – rather than simply evacuating and waiting for the fire brigade.
Home fire extinguishers are relatively inexpensive, last for many years, and need almost no ongoing maintenance other than a periodic check that the pressure gauge is in the green zone. For most households, a CO₂ extinguisher is the right choice for electrical appliance fires.
See our full guide on home fire extinguishers near appliances for the practical detail on type, size, and placement.
6. Register every new appliance with the manufacturer
Registering a new appliance is one of the most important steps an owner can take – and one of the most commonly skipped. When manufacturers later discover a serious safety issue, sometimes years after sale, they need to be able to reach owners directly.
Without registration, there is no reliable way for the manufacturer to contact owners of affected products. Safety notices are publicised through retailers, the media, and sites like Whitegoods Help, but direct manufacturer contact is the most certain way of finding out about a recall on an appliance you own.
See our full guide on whether you should register your appliance guarantee for what the registration process actually involves and what data is collected.
7. Stay informed about safety notices and product recalls
New safety notices are issued regularly. Staying aware of them means finding out quickly if an appliance you already own has a known safety problem – so it can be stopped, repaired, or replaced before an incident.
Several UK databases let residents register for product recall and safety notice notifications. The Electrical Safety First product recalls register is a comprehensive and authoritative resource: Electrical Safety First product recalls and safety notices.
Whitegoods Help also publishes safety notices as they are identified – see the full appliance safety notices page for the current list across washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, fridges, and cooking appliances.
8. Check all known safety notices today
Before any incident happens, spend a few minutes checking the current safety notices to see whether any appliance already in use is known to have a fault. Cross-reference these resources against the model and serial numbers of every washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, fridge, and hob in your home.
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Whitegoods Help safety notices page. See the full list of all appliance safety notices covering current and historical UK recalls. -
Electrical Safety First product recalls. The Electrical Safety First database covers electrical appliance recalls across all categories. -
Tumble dryer safety notices. Tumble dryers carry a higher inherent fire risk – see the dedicated list of tumble dryer fire-risk safety notices. -
DIY repair safety. If a fault is found that you intend to investigate yourself, read the DIY repair safety advice first. -
Part 1 of this series. Read how dangerous are our appliances? for the wider context behind these eight steps.
Need a repair, a part, or to report a concern?
If you have identified a fault or want a professional to assess an appliance before continuing to use it, our engineer network can help.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to leave a washing machine or tumble dryer running at night?
No. Whitegoods Help strongly advises against it. An appliance fire that starts while occupants are asleep is significantly more dangerous than one noticed immediately. Running washing machines, tumble dryers, and dishwashers only when someone is awake and at home is a simple way to reduce risk substantially. See our full guide on the risks of leaving appliances running when out or in bed.
How important is it to read the instruction manual?
Very important. User error and failure to follow manufacturer instructions is one of the leading causes of appliance incidents. Modern appliances are complex and their manuals contain genuine safety warnings – some very serious – that many owners never read. At minimum, always read the warnings sections before using any new appliance, and revisit the manual for existing appliances you may not have read carefully the first time.
Do I really need to register my appliance with the manufacturer?
Yes. Manufacturers discovering safety issues sometimes years after sale need to be able to contact owners directly. Without registration there is no reliable way for the manufacturer to reach you if a recall or safety notice is issued for your specific appliance. Registration takes a few minutes and costs nothing. See our guide on whether you should register your guarantee.
What type of fire extinguisher should I have near kitchen appliances?
A CO₂ (carbon dioxide) extinguisher is the appropriate choice for electrical appliance fires in a kitchen or utility room. It is safe to use on live electrical equipment and leaves no residue. Never use a water extinguisher on an electrical fire. See our full guide on home fire extinguishers near appliances.
Where can I find out about UK appliance safety notices and recalls?
Whitegoods Help publishes safety notices as they are identified – see the appliance safety notices page. Electrical Safety First also maintains a comprehensive product recalls database: Electrical Safety First product recalls. Registering your appliances with manufacturers ensures direct contact if a recall is issued.
How do I check whether a specific appliance has a current safety notice?
Find the model and serial number on the rating plate, then cross-reference against the resources listed above. Most manufacturers also have a “product safety” or “recall check” tool on their website where you can enter your model and serial number directly. If you cannot find the rating plate, our guide on how to find an appliance model number covers the typical label locations on washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, and refrigeration.
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