Hotpoint Creda & Indesit Tumble Dryer Fire Risk
This is one of the largest appliance fire risk safety notices ever issued in the UK. It covers potentially millions of Hotpoint, Creda and Indesit tumble dryers, along with some lesser-known related brands. All are part of the same manufacturing group – Whirlpool. If you own one of these brands and your dryer was made between April 2004 and September 2015, you need to check whether it is affected.
Whirlpool have updated their advice and now recommend that owners of affected dryers do not use them until the modification has been carried out. Do not wait to have this checked. Use the links below to verify your model.
What Is the Risk?
Whirlpool issued the following statement about the affected dryers:
“A potential concern with two types of tumble dryers manufactured between April 2004 and September 2015. In some rare cases, excess fluff can come into contact with the heating element and present a risk of fire.”
In practice, tumble dryers – particularly condenser dryers – can accumulate significant amounts of fluff inside over time. This can result from poor filter design, damaged filters, or filters not being cleaned after every use. When this build-up contacts the heating element, there is a risk of ignition.
Which Tumble Dryers Are Affected?
Affected brands: Hotpoint | Indesit | Creda | Proline | Swan
Manufacture dates: April 2004 to September 2015
Over 100 different models are covered by this notice. It is safe to say that most Hotpoint, Creda and Indesit tumble dryers made between these dates are likely to be affected.
This does not guarantee your dryer is unaffected. Dryers can sit in stock for some time after manufacture before being sold. The date that matters is when the machine was manufactured, not when it was purchased. Check your model using the links below.
How to Check If Your Dryer Is Affected
Find the model number and serial number on the label inside the door opening and enter them into the relevant manufacturer website:
Follow any instructions provided after entering your details.
What Is the Green Spot Sticker?
Check your tumble dryer for a small green spot sticker – look inside the door, near the door seal, or anywhere on the machine including the back. A green spot sticker indicates that the fault has already been addressed on that machine, most likely by an engineer who carried out a modification prior to the formal announcement of the safety notice. If a green sticker is present, the modification is likely to have been done – though it is still worth checking through the official process to confirm.
Is It Safe to Keep Using an Affected Dryer?
The original safety notice stated that consumers could continue using their dryers provided they were not left unattended while operating. Whirlpool subsequently updated this position, advising that owners of affected dryers should not use them at all until the modification has been carried out. This is the only responsible approach – if the dryer has not been checked and modified, the safest course is not to use it.
If the machine has not been checked and a fire starts, you need to be present and able to deal with it. If you must use the dryer before the modification is done, remain present at all times and ensure you have a suitable means of dealing with a fire. If this is not possible, do not use the machine.
Update: Government-Ordered Recall
Following sustained campaigning by Which?, the UK government took the unprecedented step of ordering Whirlpool to recall affected dryers. This is covered in the BBC’s report: Whirlpool told to recall dryers in ‘unprecedented’ government move.
General Advice on Tumble Dryer Filter Maintenance
This safety notice underlines the importance of filter maintenance on all tumble dryers – not just those covered by this notice. Filters must be cleaned after every use. Condenser dryers in particular can have several filters, some of them not immediately obvious and located behind panels or doors. Blocked or neglected filters cause overheating and increase fire risk.
Whitegoods Help has always advised against leaving any washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher running unsupervised – and this safety notice confirms why that advice matters.
Check your appliance now
Dishwasher Fires
Dishwashers can and do catch fire – sometimes with devastating consequences. This page collects real accounts from people who have experienced dishwasher fires, followed by practical steps to reduce the risk in your own home. All large appliances carry some fire risk, but dishwashers appear more frequently than most in reports of appliance fires.
The accounts below show how quickly a dishwasher fire can become catastrophic – and how often it is only the presence of someone in the house that prevents complete disaster.
Real Experiences: Dishwasher Fires
The following accounts were submitted by real people after experiencing dishwasher fires in their own homes. They are published here to illustrate why this is a genuine risk – and why it matters.
Amanda Edwards: “My AEG Favorit has just caught fire. I have just seen from your very informative website here that this model was recalled in March 2008 (I bought it in October 2007). Luckily I was standing right next to it when I heard popping and hissing and streams of smoke coming from the top of the front panel. I unplugged it. We usually put it on at night. My son sleeps directly above it. Had I not been there my house could have burnt down. I dread to think of the consequences.”
Mark Stoneman: “Our dishwasher caught fire at 3.30 in the morning. Luckily my wife heard what seemed like earthquake/rumble and woke up. It was the sounds of cracking when she said something is not right so I went to investigate downstairs and I found our kitchen alight. Flames and smoke from the dishwasher had caught the kitchen bench alight and smoke was halfway down the room. I got everyone out of the house and was instructed to wait for the fire brigade but they were 15 mins away so managed to get buckets of water and get it out. Our house and family were saved but how could this faulty product still be out there and we as home-owners not informed of the risks to our families and property?”
E F P Lee: “Purchased Zanussi ZDF601K in February 2007, on the night of the 6 December 2007 this dishwasher caught fire. Smoke alarms alerted us, we had three dogs in the kitchen, we had to leave one in as the smoke was so dense we could not find him, we risked our lives trying to get the dogs out.”
Alejandro: “My 2 year old dishwasher AEG Favorit F50870 caught fire and destroyed my house for a month. Insurance company takes care of us. How many cases and even deaths still waiting to come???”
Martin: “I was in the room next door and heard a loud bang from the kitchen. Thinking the dog had dragged something off a worktop I rushed in. I was greeted by billowing black smoke coming from the front of the dishwasher and a rather alarming red glow at the top of the door. Alarmingly we normally put the dishwasher on timer to come on after midnight! My wife has had a serious hip and socket replacement last week so would have been unable to move quickly or climb out of windows.”
Johnathan Chapman: “Our dishwasher caught fire and fortunately we were in the house otherwise it could have been very nasty.”
Mark: “Our Zanussi ZDF 501 caught fire the other night, 2 years after we’d purchased it. Fortunately we were in the house at the time, and were able to stop the fire within seconds of smelling the smoke. Having said that, the flames were pretty big, and the molten plastic from the dishwasher had started a secondary fire on our lino floor. I’ve no doubt the whole house would have gone up in smoke if we’d been out.”
In every single case above, the person was in the house. In several cases, the dishwasher was running at night or was typically set to run while everyone slept. This is the highest-risk scenario for any appliance fire.
How to Reduce the Risk of a Dishwasher Fire
Manufacturers periodically issue appliance safety notices when known faults are identified – but often years after the appliance was sold. Owners who have moved house, or never registered the appliance, may be completely unaware that a safety recall applies to their machine.
However, fires can start in any appliance regardless of whether a known safety issue exists. The single most effective precaution is to treat appliances as the fire risks they can be, and never leave them running unsupervised in high-risk situations.
Never run a dishwasher, washing machine, or tumble dryer when everyone is out of the house – or when everyone is in bed. If a cycle is interrupted by needing to leave, pause or cancel it and resume on return. This is a minor inconvenience that can prevent catastrophe. See: risks of leaving an appliance running when out or in bed.- Register appliances with the manufacturer when purchased so they can contact you if a safety notice is issued. See: should you register your appliance?
- Never ignore faults. Unusual sounds, burning smells, or unexpected behaviour should always be investigated and not dismissed. Have a fault checked promptly.
- Install a smoke alarm close to the appliance. Dishwashers are typically in kitchens where standard alarms may be triggered by cooking. There are kitchen-rated smoke alarms designed to avoid false alarms from cooking while still detecting genuine fire.
- Keep a fire extinguisher accessible that is rated for use on electrical appliances.
- Never leave pets unattended in the same room as a running appliance. As several of the accounts above demonstrate, animals trapped in a smoke-filled room face extreme danger.
- Check whether your appliance is subject to a safety notice. See the full list: dishwasher safety notices | all appliance safety notices.
More appliance safety guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Can dishwashers really catch fire?
Yes. Dishwasher fires are reported regularly and can start with very little warning – sometimes with popping or hissing sounds, sometimes silently with smoke. The electrical components, control panels, and plastic parts inside a dishwasher can all ignite under fault conditions. The accounts on this page demonstrate how quickly a dishwasher fire can escalate.
Is it safe to leave a dishwasher running overnight?
No – this is one of the highest-risk things a householder can do with any appliance. Several of the fires described on this page occurred when the dishwasher was set to run at night. If a fire starts when everyone is asleep, the time to detect and respond is far shorter. The strong advice from appliance safety experts is never to run a dishwasher, washing machine, or tumble dryer when everyone is in bed or out of the house.
How do I find out if my dishwasher has a safety recall?
Check the safety notices listed on Whitegoods Help: dishwasher safety notices | all appliance safety notices. Also register appliances with the manufacturer when purchased, so they can contact you directly if a safety notice is later issued.
What should I do if my dishwasher smells of burning or makes unusual sounds?
Turn the dishwasher off immediately at the appliance and at the wall socket. Do not use it again until it has been checked by a qualified engineer. A burning smell or unusual popping, crackling, or hissing is a sign of a potential electrical fault. Do not dismiss it or continue to use the appliance hoping the fault will resolve itself.
What type of fire extinguisher should I have near kitchen appliances?
A CO2 extinguisher is suitable for electrical appliance fires. A water-based extinguisher must never be used on electrical fires. A dry powder extinguisher is also suitable for electrical fires but is messy and damages surfaces. For kitchens, a CO2 extinguisher or a combined fire blanket and CO2 extinguisher is the most practical choice. Always ensure the extinguisher is within its service date.
Appliance safety tips – Detergent capsules – danger to children – Fire risks in appliances
Don’t stop a tumble dryer mid-cycle
Stopping a tumble dryer mid-cycle – particularly when it has been running for a while and the drum is very hot – carries two potential risks: component damage, and in extreme cases, fire. This guide explains why, and what to do instead if a cycle needs to be interrupted.
If the dryer must be stopped, use the cancel or cool-down function rather than cutting power directly. Do not open the door immediately after stopping if there is no cool-down period – allow the drum to cool first.
Why Stopping Mid-Cycle Is Risky
While a tumble dryer is running, the internal fan constantly circulates air over the heating element. This keeps the element at the correct operating temperature and prevents dangerous heat build-up. When the dryer is switched off mid-cycle, the fan stops immediately – but the heating element continues to give off residual heat for a short period with no airflow to dissipate it. This sudden temperature spike can cause two problems:
Thermal cutout (TOC) tripping
Tumble dryers contain thermal cutout devices (TOCs) designed to trip if the temperature inside reaches a dangerous level. Stopping the fan suddenly can cause a brief but significant temperature spike that trips the TOC. On some older Hotpoint and Indesit models in particular, this was a recurring fault. A tripped TOC typically means the dryer will not heat again until the TOC is reset or replaced.
Element damage or fire risk
The sudden loss of airflow can cause the heating element itself to overheat momentarily. This can cause the element to warp or, in extreme cases, create conditions that allow laundry inside to ignite – particularly if the laundry contains grease or other flammable residues.
The Fire Risk From Greasy Laundry
Some tumble dryers reach very high temperatures internally during certain drying cycles. Some manufacturers explicitly warn against stopping a dryer mid-cycle for this reason – Miele, for example, states in at least one of its instruction manuals that laundry could catch fire if the machine is stopped mid-cycle.
Laundry that has been exposed to cooking grease, engine oil, or other flammable substances – and which has not been washed at a temperature high enough to remove those substances – can retain enough residue to present a fire risk at high temperatures. Human skin also deposits natural oils onto clothing and bedding over time.
If the fan stops suddenly and the temperature momentarily spikes, this can be enough to ignite laundry that contains flammable residues – even in a machine that has just been unplugged. See: can a tumble dryer catch fire when unplugged?
What to Do Instead: Use the Cool-Down Period
Most tumble dryers are designed with a controlled cool-down phase at the end of the drying cycle. During this period – typically around 10 minutes – the heating element switches off but the drum and fan continue to run. This allows the internal temperature to reduce gradually before the machine stops completely.
If a cycle needs to be interrupted, the safest approach is to advance to this cool-down phase rather than switching the dryer off entirely. On machines with a mechanical timer knob, this means turning the dial to a point near the end of the cycle where only the cool-down period remains.
Many modern dryers no longer use a mechanical timer and are controlled by software instead. Some of these models do not automatically enter a cool-down phase when the programme is cancelled – they may stop immediately. Check the instruction manual for the correct procedure to cancel a cycle on your specific model. If no cool-down cancel mode is available, do not open the door until the drum has had time to cool.
The Broader Risk: Leaving Dryers Running Unsupervised
Tumble dryers are one of the appliances most commonly associated with house fires. It is strongly recommended never to leave a tumble dryer running when everyone is out of the house – or when everyone is in bed. If a fire starts in an unsupervised dryer, the consequences can be catastrophic.
There is therefore a degree of irony in the situation: leaving a dryer running unattended is a fire risk, but stopping it abruptly mid-cycle is also a potential fire risk. The answer is to plan ahead – aim to run the dryer when someone is at home, and allow it to complete its cycle naturally or use the cool-down cancel function if it must be stopped. See: risks of leaving a tumble dryer, washing machine, or dishwasher running when out or in bed.
More tumble dryer safety guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it dangerous to stop a tumble dryer mid-cycle?
When a tumble dryer stops, the fan stops immediately but the heating element continues to give off residual heat with no airflow to dissipate it. This brief temperature spike can trip a thermal cutout (TOC), warp the heating element, or in extreme cases create conditions that allow laundry containing grease or flammable residues to ignite. The risk is highest when the dryer has been running for a while and the drum is very hot.
What is the cool-down period on a tumble dryer and why is it important?
The cool-down period is typically the last 10 minutes or so of a drying cycle, during which the heating element switches off but the drum and fan continue to run. This allows the internal temperature to reduce gradually and safely before the machine stops. It is the correct way to end a cycle and prevents the sudden temperature spike caused by stopping the fan while the element is still hot.
My dryer doesn’t have a cool-down option when I cancel the programme – what should I do?
If the machine stops immediately when cancelled with no cool-down phase, do not open the door straight away. Allow the drum time to cool before opening. This reduces the risk of air entering the drum and potentially facilitating ignition if laundry inside contains any flammable residues. Check the instruction manual for any recommended procedure for cancelling a cycle on your specific model.
Can laundry really catch fire inside a tumble dryer?
Yes – in certain circumstances. Laundry that contains grease, cooking oils, or other flammable substances – and which was not washed at a high enough temperature to fully remove them – can retain enough residue to present a fire risk at high drying temperatures. Some manufacturer instruction manuals explicitly warn of this risk. It is also possible for laundry to catch fire after the machine has been switched off, if residual heat in the drum is sufficient. See: can a tumble dryer catch fire when unplugged?
Is it safe to leave a tumble dryer running overnight or when everyone is out?
No. Tumble dryers are one of the appliances most commonly involved in house fires, and a fire in an unsupervised dryer can cause devastating damage before it is detected. It is strongly recommended to run a tumble dryer only when someone is at home and able to respond if something goes wrong. See: leaving appliances running when out or in bed.
Siemens Tumble Dryer Fire Risk
Siemens issued a safety notice regarding a potential fire hazard in certain tumble dryers manufactured in 2002. If you own a Siemens tumble dryer that may have been made in 2002, check whether it is affected and contact Siemens directly.
Siemens’ own description of the risk: “An electrical component on a limited number of Siemens branded tumble dryers manufactured in 2002 may overheat and in very rare cases cause a potential fire hazard.”
Which Models Are Affected?
Siemens did not release specific model numbers with this safety notice, which makes it more difficult for owners to confirm whether their machine is affected. Siemens stated that affected dryers were manufactured in 2002.
Two points to bear in mind when checking:
- If the dryer was purchased before 2002, it is unlikely to be affected.
- If it was purchased in 2003, it is still possible it was manufactured in 2002 – always check the manufacturing date on the serial number plate rather than the purchase date.
The original Siemens safety notice page has been deleted or moved and is no longer accessible. If you have a Siemens tumble dryer from this period and are concerned, contact Siemens directly via their main website to establish whether your specific model is affected and what action to take.
More appliance safety notices
Haier and Bush washing machine Safety Notice
Certain Bush and Haier washing machines sold through Argos have been recalled due to a fire risk. If you own one of the models listed below, stop using it immediately and contact the recall helpline on 0800 888 6124.
This safety notice covers a potential fire risk in certain Bush and Haier washing machines sold exclusively through Argos. An electronic component in the control panel may overheat and in certain circumstances presents a risk of fire.
According to Argos, a defective electronic component in the control panel “can lead to localised damage and present a risk of fire.” If you own one of the affected models, stop using it and contact the recall helpline immediately.
Bush Washing Machine Models Affected
- BUSH WM 1270TVE (White) and BUSH WM 1270TVEME (Silver)
- BUSH DIHWD1270TVE (White) and BUSH DIHWD1270TVEME (Silver)
- BUSH WM1470TVE (White) and BUSH WM1470TVEME (Silver)
- BUSH DIHWD1470TVE (White) and BUSH DIHWD1470TVEME (Silver)
Haier Washing Machine Models Affected
- HAIER HWD1470TVE (White) and HAIER HWD1470TVEME (Silver)
- HAIER HWD1270TVE (White) and HAIER HWD1270TVEME (Silver)
- HAIER 1470TVE (White) and HAIER 1470TVEME (Silver)
Phone: 0800 888 6124
Email: [email protected]
Washing machine safety notices – Washing machine safety issues and warnings
Hotpoint and Indesit gas cookers safety notice
Certain Hotpoint and Indesit gas cookers sold in the UK during October and November 2013 are affected by a gas leak risk. Check the model number and serial number inside your cooker door against the list below. If affected, stop using the appliance immediately and follow the manufacturer’s safety notice.
This safety notice covers certain Hotpoint and Indesit gas cookers sold in the UK during October and November 2013. A specific part may fail, creating a risk of gas leak.
If you own one of the affected models and serial numbers listed below, stop using the appliance and check the manufacturer’s safety notice immediately.
How to Check if Your Cooker Is Affected
Check the model number and serial number on the inside of your cooker door. The serial number range for most affected models is 31002XXXX to 31016XXXX. ID60G2 models are also affected with serial numbers from 30924XXXX to 31016XXXX.
Full instructions and the complete list of affected models are on the Hotpoint safety notice page: Hotpoint and Indesit cooker safety notice.
Affected Model Numbers
- CH60GC
- HAG60
- HUD61
- HUG61
- I6G52
- I6GG1
- ID60G2
- JLG61
Turn off the gas supply, ventilate the room, and contact the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 (free, 24 hours). Do not operate any electrical switches.