Fire risks in appliances

Do you Keep a fire extinguisher near your appliances? If one of your appliances suddenly caught fire could you try to put it out, or would you be helpless? This article has been inspired after hearing all the news coming out of the Grenfell fire inquiry.

They’ve been discussing all the contributing factors to the horrific event and are desperate to learn as many lessons as possible. There is no proof that it was started by a fridge. However, it remains the main suspect after the flat owner reported smoke coming from the back of the fridge during the 999 call. Thousands of house fires are started each year by white goods appliances (Risks involved in leaving a washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher running when out or in bed).

No mention of fire extinguishers?

One thing that struck me is that I haven’t noticed a single mention of whether there was a home fire extinguisher available or not in the flat where the fire started. This is despite all the dozens of hours of media and press I’ve seen and read. I have no idea if there was or not. My guess is that most people don’t have fire extinguishers in their homes.

We’ve had campaigns for years promoting the installation of smoke alarms. It’s now accepted by just about everybody that every home should have smoke alarms installed. Fortunately millions of homes do now have them. I’m not aware of any similar campaigns to promote home fire extinguishers. Wouldn’t it be desirable for every flat to have appropriate home fire extinguishers? Or more ideally every house in the country?

Personally I have a small fire extinguisher in my kitchen, and one in my garage where we have several white goods appliances. I’m not trying to suggest they can stop every fire, but how many serious fires could be averted if someone is able to use a fire extinguisher on it?

Being alerted to a fire is vital but having something to fight it with is needed too

During my time creating safety advice and warnings for Whitegoodshelp I’ve heard of many cases of people being alerted to a household appliance fire but being helpless to do much about it. At least they can evacuate the house and call the Fire Brigade. But by the time they get to the fire – how much damage has been done? I’ve heard of several cases where people have even tried to get burning appliances outside of the back door. It is clearly much better to have a small home fire extinguisher designed to tackle electrical fires. They don’t cost much, and last for many years.

I suppose there’s always a possibility that someone could try to tackle a fire inappropriately. It’s possible this might be why there hasn’t been multiple campaigns to encourage people to have them. But fire extinguishers are available in all public places so they must be considered necessary.

Which type of fire extinguisher is best?

If looking to buy a home fire extinguisher try adding the phrase, “for electrical fires” to your search. Any on sale should describe what type of fire an extinguisher is suitable for. This page gives all the information you need Fire Extinguisher Classes and Suitability

This is part 2 of a series of articles about the dangers of modern white goods appliances and how you can improve appliance safety in your home. Read part 1 first (How dangerous are our appliances?) for a full understanding of these very real dangers. This is not just a shallow list of do’s and don’ts. It’s an in depth look accompanied by reasons and explanations.

1: Make the effort to be more aware

If you are reading these articles you are already being proactive. Part 1 shows that substantially more fires are caused by white goods appliances than you think. Only a fraction are nationally reported. It also states that in a large percentage of cases a user could have avoided an incident if they’d been more aware, or had used the appliance exactly as instructed in the user manual. Not in all cases, but in a very significant percentage. In a way that’s good news. We can proactively avoid many of the dangers. Help make others aware too by sharing these articles.

Take proper notice of all incidents, not just for white goods. Ensure you don’t make the same mistakes. For example there are a lot of reports about things catching fire whilst charging. We might not be able to prevent it (apart from avoiding cheap and possibly counterfeit ones). But if we are properly aware of the risks we can make sure we never charge a product on or next to a flammable surface or object.

We can also make sure we never leave something charging totally unattended. This photo shows how my daughter left something charging at our house the other day when we all went out. It would most likely have been fine – but if by any chance it had caught fire it would have set the curtains (and house) on fire.

Do not overload the wall socket by plugging too many appliances in Extension leads and cables with appliances

2: Don’t risk leaving appliances running

You could lose your kitchen or entire house in the “unlikely” event of your washing machine, dryer or dishwasher catching fire if no one is at home. With no one around it would be free to keep burning and do as much damage as possible. Kitchens, garages, or entire houses can be gutted by appliance fires and thousands are. Any pets left in the house can be killed (dishwasher fire risks – pet dogs killed).

The same applies if you are all in bed. I have an in-depth article on this subject here – risks involved in leaving a washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher running when out or in bed. Some appliances have to be left on all the time so there’s little we can do about that – but not washing machines, dryers and dishwashers. Leaving one of these appliances running when out of the house or in bed is merely a convenience. It’s never a necessity. So why take any risk – no matter how small you may perceive it? The chances of something happening are arguably very low, but the consequences are catastrophically high. I for one will not take that type of gamble (in just 1 year 13,000 fires were caused by white goods appliances in the UK).

3: Always read instruction manuals

Always read instruction manuals properly. This can take time and patience. But if not used correctly, or properly maintained, their potential to harm us or burn down our house should not be underestimated (see The Facts LINK from Part 1). We need to properly understand how to look after them and use them safely. User misuse and ignoring manufacturer warnings is a major contributor to or direct cause of many injuries and fires – maybe even most.

Some user manuals can be long and difficult to read. After an initial look I leave mine to hand for the first week or so and keep returning to it. That way I absorb the contents more efficiently and I’m less likely to forget important things.

At least seek out the warnings

Most white goods appliances are substantially more complex than they were in the past, with many more components. These complex appliances come with a lot of advice, warnings, and essential maintenance instructions that you need to know about. Understand the do’s & don’ts. There are often some serious warnings in manuals that many people never even read. For example, in my 79 page tumble dryer manual it says –

..if the drying programme is interrupted before the end of the cooling down phase, this could cause the laundry to self-ignite   ”

Now that is a very serious warning. It’s not prominent at all other than just being one of a list of dozens of don’t do warnings. It’s not even in bold – that’s my emphasis. So not reading and understanding this could potentially lead to burning my house down – how can a tumble dryer catch fire when unplugged?

Manufacturers need to warn us more efficiently about serious consequences. I don’t believe it’s good enough just slipping the information inside lengthy manuals and washing their hands of it. But until they improve it’s up to us to invest time carefully reading the manuals for essential information. I think that important safety information should also be printed on a separate sheet, or even occasionally on the front of the appliance if appropriate. It’s far too important to be hoping everyone will read it.

Read instruction manuals for your existing appliances again

Seek out the instruction manuals for all your existing appliances. Particularly ones containing a heating element. Read them properly. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn that will help you use the appliance more effectively as well as the safety warnings. I’ve often found brilliantly useful information about an appliance that I’ve had for ages by re-reading the manual. Things I’d forgotten or never absorbed in the first place.

Lost your white goods manual? download white goods instruction manuals

4: Use smoke alarms

It’s totally impractical to watch all appliances. But when someone is close by it reduces the risk of a full kitchen or house fire if that person is alerted quickly enough. Being alerted by the smell of burning, or the sight of smoke is one way. A much better and quicker method would be via a smoke alarm. Use smoke alarms close to all white goods appliances whenever possible. Kitchens can be difficult for smoke alarms, but you can use heat alarms designed for kitchens. Check out this UK Fire service – Smoke Alarm Advice.

Don’t rely on smoke alarms to hopefully wake people up in the event of an appliance fire during the night. Just don’t wash or dry laundry, or wash dishes during the night.

5: Keep fire extinguishers near to appliances

Your ability to put out a burning appliance is limited or none existent if you have nothing to fight it with. It’s one thing being aware enough to catch a burning appliance early on. At least you can evacuate and call the fire brigade. But if you have a small fire extinguisher close by (suitable for electrical fires) you can put out the fire immediately. They do not cost much. I have a few small ones strategically placed. I’ve had them for many years and never needed them. They are insurance, and give peace of mind. Worth every penny even if never needed.

6: Register your appliances

Registering an appliance with the manufacturer is vital these days. Manufacturer’s discovering serious safety issues (sometimes many years after you’ve bought it) need to be able to contact you to let you know. Explained in full here Should you register the guarantee?

7: Register for regular safety notice updates

When better informed we find out quickly about new dangerous appliances and can stop using them, and get them fixed or replaced. There are several databases you can register with to be notified of safety notices and product recalls.

A good first step is to register for new Whitegoods articles by adding your email address below this article where it says “Keep informed – especially about safety warnings”. Any new safety information I come across will be warned about here on Whitegoodshelp. The same applies to my Facebook page. I don’t add many articles but many are safety related – my Whitegoodshelp Facebook Page. Same applies to Twitter – Whitegoodshelp on Twitter

8: Check available safety notices

Check out all of the appliance safety notices already out there to see if you or a friend or family member has an appliance already known to have a safety issue. I can’t guarantee they are all here but these are all the ones I am aware of –

• Official Safety notices – all appliances
  • Cooker & Oven safety notices
  • Dishwasher safety notices
  • Fridge and Freezer safety notices
  • Tumble dryer safety notices
  • Washing machine safety notices

Safety Categories

The following categories and tags contain many more of my safety related articles –

• Safety Tips Advice & Warnings
• DIY Repairs Safety
• How dangerous are our appliances?

White goods appliances come with an inherent risk. We do not need to increase this risk. Bad design, poor quality, user misuse and complacency all increase this risk unnecessarily. If you haven’t experienced any incidents or know someone who has, it might seem unnecessary to read this article. The reality is that many of our white goods appliances are potentially very dangerous. Being proactive is the sensible thing to do.

Fires & explosions

Appliances and other electrical devices are routinely setting fire to themselves – and our homes. Some are exploding, injuring, and even killing people. It’s not just white goods either. Cars, mobile phones, e-cigarettes, mobility scooters, children’s toys and many other devices are catching fire or exploding.

Here are just a few white goods examples – Millions of tumble dryers have a potential fire risk, fridges and dishwashers catching fire. The door glass on some washing machines has been exploding and even washing machine inner drums have recently exploded. Even as I write this article another safety scare involving top loading washing machines in the US has just emerged Samsung recalls 2.8m washing machines in the US

This needs to stop

It’s about time someone did something about it. Governments and manufacturers have a big responsibility – but so do we the users. However, a substantial percentage of incidents (if not the majority) might have been avoided if the user had been more aware. Was the appliance used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions? How carefully do you read yours? Do you keep an eye on appliance safety notices?

How real is the danger?

Most people are unaware of how potentially dangerous white goods appliances can be. The fires, deaths and injuries affect a relatively small percentage of the population. But look at the stats in the next paragraph. It’s a lot bigger than you think. With a few changes to how you use your appliances and a few tips from this article you could be spared a serious fire or injury.

The facts & stats

In recent years 3 people have been killed and over 300 injured – by tumble dryers alone. Other figures published by Electrical Safety First for just a 1 year period (2011/12) show approximately 13,000 fires were caused by white goods appliances in the UK (Deaths, Injuries and Fires). That’s 250 fires every week. These fires were also blamed for 10 deaths, and over 1,600 injuries.

If you aren’t aware of how many appliance safety notices have been issued, and the plethora of media reports about exploding washing machines (exploding door glass danger) or appliances catching fire (and more) then you and your family are particularly vulnerable. Without a proper awareness of the potential dangers you are likely to take more risks such as leaving appliances running when everyone is out of the house or in bed. This can put your home and family (including pets) in unnecessary danger.

55% of all house fires were caused by white goods appliances according to government figures collated between 2011 & 2014 (quoted by Which? – the home appliances most likely to catch fire). This makes white goods the most potentially dangerous things to have in our homes.

Electricity is inherently dangerous – it’s just a consequence of modern life

This isn’t an article looking for someone to blame. We need to put things into perspective. It’s a complex problem with multiple contributors – not least the people using the appliances. We all know that sometimes things can go wrong. We are all aware that electrical wiring and appliances in our home could cause a fire. To a great extent there’s not a lot we can do about that. But there is a lot that we can do to greatly reduce risks. So read on..

Read part 2: 8 ways to make your appliances safer

8 ways you can make your appliances more safe