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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Thanks for the info regarding consumer rights, i thought that was the case but just wanted to check before i started spouting the law! It also helps that appliances online have a face book page so i was able to query everything publicly, they have (hopefully) sorted everything now, ill just wait and see if the money goes back on my card its a shame the installer didn’t install the machine properly, I’ve still got to try and get it level now which because of its position will probably mean uninstalling it!
i must say even though there were several issues getting this sorted the staff have always been very polite and helpful to the best of their abilities so i would buy from them again, i always say the problems isn’t if something goes wrong its how its dealt with when it does go wrong that
counts they have agreed to credit my card with 35 to cover the damaged washing (it was only two cushions and a throw that got damaged, would cost 32 to replace) so hopefully that is now done and dusted :-)
Thanks for the update daisydon. That’s my sentiment too, if a company deals with a problem well they deserve credit for it. Being confident someone will sort something out if anything goes wrong is a good reason to use someone. To be honest most companies wouldn’t have swapped it and would have insisted they had an engineer look at it first.
I have had an Indesit IWE 81681 ECO washing machine for 20 months during this time it has been fairly trouble free, until friday night when I heard what can be only described like a brick being thrown through a window. on inspection the Glass door on the washing machine had disintegrated resulting in sharp shards and crushed glass all over the kitchen and inside the machine . I contacted the retailer ( currys) who have said it will take TWO working days to be back in contact, and today I contacted Indesit themselves who initially were quite helpful up until I said it was over one year old. Thereafter i was transferred around different departments and put on hold about 8 times and cut off twice. i eventually ended up at ‘ Chargeable Dept’ who were only interested in me paying for an out of warranty repair or once again transferring me to the service dept who would only transfer m back to the Chargeable dept.
It was just luck that my daughter had left the kitchen only minutes before or she would have been covered in glass.
Hello Graham. Unfortunately the manufacturers rarely seem to be bothered. If someone had been injured they might have a different attitude (fearing bad publicity), but under the sale of goods act it is the poor retailer who sold it to you that shoulders all the responsibility even though it’s clearly not their fault. It may be possible to sue a manufacturer directly but the most accessible consumer right we have is the sale of goods act which charges retailers with the responsibility. If you want to take this further you have to do press the retailer or take proper consumer advice. (Exploding door glass who’s fault is it?)
On Saturday morning during the final spin my washing machine door smashed sending shards of glass flying across my kitchen. To make it worse the machine continued to spin meaning more glass was glug out but also sucked inside the machine and mixed in with the clothes. At this point there was also smoke coming out the machine and a strong burning smell so I had to turn off all my electric as the plus is located behind the machine. On calling Hotpoint I was basically told it’s tough and I would have to pay for a repair. Instead I email the CEO directly to complain and today have just received a call to arrange a repair. However on thinking about it I am still not happy as the machine could have a serious electrical fault and Hotpoint seem happy to just stick a new door on and leave it at that. Have emailed the CEO asking would he feel safe having this machine in his house and asking if Hotpoint would cover my insurance claim and provide a new house should mine burn down due to this…..will await his reply!
Thanks Tammi. I’ve added yours to he tally on the right column and will add one of your photos too. It’s useful to get as many experiences as possible. I doubt an electrical fault is involved although obviously without seeing it I can’t say anything with certainty. To me, the issue is probably that chunks of glass jammed in the drum and caused friction with the plastic inner drum, and maybe caused the motor to struggle and overheat trying to maintain spin.
In order to repair the machine they would need to strip it down and ensure all pieces of glass were removed from inside the drum, sump hose, pump etc. They may offer to swap it. They may offer a new one at a “discounted” price or in an ideal world free of charge. You will need to decide what you are happy with.
Thanks Andy, at least now I have some information to ask when the engineer comes out to see the machine on Friday. Surprise surprise the CEO has not answered my follow up email.
This has just happened to me this morning, I was lucky that none of my children were in the kitchen as shards of glass flew across the kitchen just missing me. I have contacted Beko but I have a feeling I won’t get anywhere. The machine is about 4 or 5 years old and I think the warranty has run out. I don’t know what my rights are and if it’s beko’s responsibility to repair or replace it. If anyone could guide me through what I’m supposed to do next that would be great. I can’t afford to foot the bill of repairs or buy a new one
I have just noticed Tammi Scott’s comment and that is exactly what happened to mine, it continued to spin until the machine was turned off. My clothes are now covered in glass.
Hello Karen. Contact Beko and see if they offer to do anything you might find acceptable. I don’t know what their policy is on this, but they have by far the most reported incidents (to me) which now amounts to 24. This is a slow burning issue which has still not gone away after over 6 years of reports. No one has issued any product safety notice on any of these washing machines despite it looking like a clear risk that sooner or later a child could get injured – especially with 19 people reporting that their washing machine was not even running when it happened.
My guess is that without a high profile serious injury nothing will ever be done and manufactures may well just be thinking it’s caused by customer misuse such as leaving coins in pockets or washing items with large buckles or metal buttons.
Ultimately, in consumer law it is the retailer who sold it who carries the can. Under the sale of goods act you might argue that the machine was sold with an inherent fault or design flaw and ask for a free repair or replacement but to my knowledge no one has proven, or even attempted to prove that it is indeed caused by a design flaw or fault. I’ve not been able to clarify whether manufacturers are obliged to design products that withstand easily predictable misuse or not. They certainly should be but I’ve seen no evidence that they are. This issue could easily be solved by placing a plastic cover in front of the door glass or presumably making the glass stronger.
If you haven’t already, read my follow up article exploding door glass who’s fault is it? and keep us informed.
Hi Karen and everyone else. Quick update on my machine, customer services were not interested so I contacted the MD of Hotpoint (easy to find email addresses online). I have now had my door replaced free of charge and they are also replacing the drum, door seal and heating element again all free of charge. Keep fighting as they need to take resposiblity for it.