I’ve been writing about and following cases of “exploding” door glass on washing machines since 2008. There’s been a steady trickle of reports from people with various brands. Some even claim their door glass shattered spontaneously when the washing machine was not even switched on. It’s potentially a genuine safety concern. Especially for children.
Customers who report these incidents are definitely claiming it is dangerous. I have seen reports of people being cut and injured, but nothing serious so far. As far as I can make out it’s been more to do with being cut picking up the glass.
Back in 2012 there was a brief flurry of international media interest in my article. It was widely quoted and linked to. However, presumably without any reports of serious injury it was soon forgotten.
Don’t confuse two separate “exploding” washing machine issues
This article is about the door glass exploding. Another issue, which has also had national press coverage is when the washing machine’s inner drum “explodes” during spin.
This is a known issue related to specific brands and is covered in my article here – washing machines exploding: What’s going on?
Shattering door glass
I’m not entirely happy using the word explode because it sounds sensational. But as most people experiencing this issue use that word it needs to be used. Some have even described it as being like “a bomb”.
The previous picture is of a Beko washing machine. Beko are one of the most common UK washing machines who so far have the highest reported cases. 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!
Lots of people have expressed concerns over children and pets.
Seeing the following photo on my Facebook news-feed heightened my concerns. It’s of a friend’s small child innocently looking into their washing machine.
Reports of spontaneous exploding glass when washer not even running
No parent could be expected to foresee the thick door glass of their washing machine shattering, either when on – or especially when it’s just standing unused. This photo is worrying when you know about all of the incidents that have happened (rare or not). Clearly it’s best to not let children get this close up just in case.
Manufacturers are saying the problem is caused by foreign obstructions such as coins or metal buckles hitting and weakening the door glass. The weakened door can then shatter under constant heating up and cooling down.
Another theory is that it’s caused by people overloading the washing machine. However, it would be nice if the door glass was strong enough to cope with such inevitable stresses. I have written an article specifically covering that subject here – exploding door glass who’s fault is it?
Which washing machines are affected?
Many brands have been mentioned across the price range. Cheap, middle, and even some top-end brands have been affected. So it’s not necessarily only the cheapest brands. See the tally of reports on the right column (after the comments on mobile devices).
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 maybe needs to be made thicker. There’s no proof that the glass is too thin as yet. If manufacturers placed a plastic cover in front of the door glass it would definitely prevent any injuries. This would make it double-glazed.
It’s likely to be difficult to fit one retrospectively. So it would probably need to be designed like this from the off. This was actually done around 20 years back by Hoover on models like the Eco Logic, Soft Wave and New Wave. However it was done for thermal protection and insulation. To my knowledge, and in my experience, the shattering door glass was not an issue back then. I didn’t come across any shattered door glass until around 2008.
What can you do to limit any danger?
Enough reports of the glass shattering whilst the washer isn’t even on have been made to be taken seriously although this still appears to be rare.
Don’t let kids play around washing machines until this issue is hopefully resolved.
Some door glass appears to break into relatively safe rounded chunks, but some (see photos of broken glass ) have broken into more sharp and jagged pieces, which definitely look dangerous.
Remember, there are only (presumably) a few hundred cases out of millions of washing machines and only a small percentage of them 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. That would prevent or limit any glass flying out. Keep children and pets away from it especially when it’s running.
Take care of your washing machine and treat it gently
Many of them aren’t built as well as they used to and can’t take much “abuse”. Don’t overload the machine by cramming it so full that the whole laundry just turns around in one big lump. Don’t under-load it either – Loading a washing machine).
Also make sure you check all pockets for coins and other obstructions before washing.
Don’t put laundry in with metal buckles or buttons which could hit the door glass.
Some new washing machines do have a plastic barrier in front of the glass
I’ve seen two new AEG washing machines that both have a protective plastic see-through plate in front of the door glass (which is the solution I’ve always described). However, they were both washer dryers.
So it’s more to do with thermal insulation again than protecting against shattering door glass. As AEG have only had 1 reported incident on Whitegoodshelp (so far) it seems unlikely they would have introduced this “shield” for safety. It’s likely to just be coincidental.
(More views on this subject from another 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)
Photos and tally of broken door glass
I have a separate page where I feature some of the photos of shattered door glass I’ve received. On this page there is also a list of all of the incidents reported to me in order of which brands are most affected. Photos are currently here – photos and tally of broken glass.
There are also plenty of comments on this article below to read and research if you scroll down. If you have any information or would just like to register an incident with me please add a comment or contact me
Related articles
- Exploding door glass who’s fault is it?
- For an article on actual washing machines exploding (not just the door glass) go here – Washing machines exploding: What’s going on?
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this morning i put my beko washing machine on to only notice there was a huge crack running along the bottom of the glass door. it wasn’t there yesterday so this appeared when the machine was not in use. it is scary to think what could of happened if i hadn’t noticed it. my machine is about 3 years old. I’ve got a replacement glass coming but im going to make sure in future the glass is checked before every wash
Just 3.30pm the glass in the front door of my Hotpoint WMF 823 has exploded. Large pieces of glass have blown out onto the floor and the washing is hanging out of the door. It was a standard 60 degree wash. I now have to pay £104 for an engineer to come and replace the glass. HOTPOINT DO NOT accept that it could have been faulty as it would have happened before now. The machine is 6 months old. This could have been so dangerous had someone been standing by the machine. HOTPOINT say I have damaged it! why would I? DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE MACHINES I WILL NEVER BUT HOTPOINT AGAIN
Karen, the Sale of Goods Act says products should be free from Inherent faults. Although it’s true that faults commonly show up within 6 months, inherent faults can take years to show and the Sale of Goods Act allows us to sue for damages up to 6 years (5 in Scotland) after purchase.
Faults that show within 6 months are deemed to have been there at purchase and therefore we were sold faulty goods unless the seller can prove otherwise. Unfortunately though, after 6 months it’s up to the consumer to prove that a fault is inherent or was there at time of sale. It’s difficult to prove what is causing this specific issue.
NOTE: I have a journalist interested in featuring someone affected by exploding washing machines in That’s Life magazine and are willing to pay for an interview. If anyone affected is interested please contact me and I will put you in touch with them.
We have a Zanussi essential Washer/Dryer. About 2-3 yrs old.
About 6 mths ago I noticed an internal crack on the inside glass of the door. Should I stop using it? Should I contact Zunussi ?
Having just read an article in the Daily Mail i felt i must tell you my experience> I have owned Miele Washing Machines and dryers for 20+ years and always considered them the best on the market then about 6 months ago i woke to find that the glass had completely shattered into the machine drum after not being used for 2 days i presumed (even though the door was closed) that someone had knocked it but i couldnt see how< i then ordered a new glass from Germany (from Miele) and had it replaced but less than 6 months later the exact same thing happened AGAIN the machine was not in use and luckily not full of water so i ordered another new glass from Germany (through the Miele website) and yes you've guessed it happened AGAIN after the experience of having to buy 3 new glass bowls at £60 each plus labour to fix them i had begun to think that Miele no longer lived up to their promise of making quality machines and given that my current machine was 11 years old i have sadly taken the decision to replace it with a Samsung
Liz: Yes, the glass is clearly weakened if there is a crack and it could shatter.
Hi, I had the same thing happen. Last August Bank Holiday whilst not in use and switched off late at night…but I am adding another brand AEG….
CONCERNED Most concerned to read this as will be buying new washing machine soon. What to buy? See even Bosch affected and told Siemens and Neff built in same factory and share many parts. Our present machine is a 22 year old Zanussi which has been excellent, only needing a new belt, one set of carbon brushes for it’s AEG motor, and two selector switches in all that time, all of which I fitted myself so no maintenance contract. Bearing now beginning to sound a little noisy and some rust on machine (it’s located in our garage at present). The outer drum is also made of metal and the door has thick glass and is firmly attached. Wish I could buy this model again new!! Quality is definitely not what it used to be.
Hello Barry: You express a very understandable concern. I have to say that although more cases are coming forward since the publicity, this still appears at the moment to be very rare so the overwhelming odds are that whichever washing machine you bought this would not happen.
If there are still any washing machines with a double glazed door, where a plastic outer piece is fitted in front of the door glass then clearly that’s the type to go for if anyone is specifically concerned about this issue. I know Hoover used to do this for many years but I’m not sure if they stopped. The plastic was there for extra thermal protection.
Here are tips for anyone wanting to try and prevent this happening –
* Always ensure that the person who puts laundry into the washing machine checks carefully for coins, or any other object inside pockets. Coins and other metal objects may be damaging the door glass.
* Keep checking the door glass for flaws, cracks or any other damage and if found get the door glass replaced.
* If seriously worried about the even rarer reports of the glass shattering when the washer isn’t even on you could drape a towel over the door when not in use. It sounds almost ridiculous to have to do this, but it should help prevent flying glass if the glass were to shatter.
* Don’t overload the washing machine.