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”.
John Lewis
Minimum 2 Year Guarantee on Appliances
This 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.
Peter Tyson Appliances give high quality service coupled with special offers and competitive prices on carefully chosen white goods.
Reports of spontaneous exploding glass when washer not even running
Seeing this picture on my Facebook news-feed heightened my concerns. It’s of a friend’s small child innocently looking into their washing machine. 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
If your washing machine door glass has shattered or exploded please send (in focus) photos so I can consider putting them on this article as examples. Contact me using my contact form and you can then attach the photos to my email reply.
I have a separate page where I feature all of the best photos of shattered door glass. 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 on 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?
Washerhelp says
Hello Julia. You don’t mention the make of this appliance or the model number.
It sounds like the engineer may have been defensive, which is understandable. I’m not trying to excuse the attitude, just possibly explain it. I would assume that when any manufacturer comes across a safety issue like this they are pretty scared of potential consequences and may be quite reluctant to apologise, which could be seen as an admission of responsibility – especially if they genuinely don’t know how it happened yet.
Of course they should definitely be held accountable for safety failings if it’s shown to be the case. I think it’s quite likely most people will get the same cold, clinical and cagey response, (which is not what they want) because of their over defensiveness and fear of admitting responsibility. The irony is that many people would be satisfied with a genuine apology, and are much more likely to become litigious because of the lack of any apology or even sympathy. The problem is that manufacturers appear to be saying the issue is always caused by user “misuse” so are not likely to accept any responsibility unless it can be proven that it is a manufacturing flaw or failing.
Thanks for your contribution, and please keep us informed of unfolding events.
PAMELA ODELL says
Hi
Well, we finally got the chap to fit us a new door on the washing machine. I asked him just what he thought would have coursed the first door to explode, all he could say was, how he thought there must have been a hair line crack in the glass some were, mind you this door now is much thicker, so lets hope we don’t have any more of smashed doors
Washerhelp says
If the new door glass is thicker it might imply they are aware the original glass was too thin and have tried to improve them.
openspacewalker says
I just googled washing machines and exploding doors and came up with this website. I have been a Miele customer for years. I run two Miele one is 13 years old and it is used for animal bedding and smelly farm clothes and has never given any problems, when the old Zanussi packed up a year ago which the previous owner had left and was used for the above dirty jobs, I bought a new Miele for the personal clothes, t owels etc for my husband to come down stairs this morning and find that the glass door of the new one had exploded and put water and glass everywhere.
Washerhelp says
Regarding the door glass exploding on a Miele washing machine someone else emailed me about it happening to them the other week (unless by any chance that was you). As I replied back to them this is definitely not what you would expect from a Miele washing machine.
Anonymous says
My Miele W3740 washing machine glass door suddenly exploded shedding shattered glass and water around the room. The machine cost £700 and is only twenty months old so still within guarantee. It was about twenty minutes into the 95 degree cycle and was only at the beginning of this two hour cycle. On examination door looks as if it has been crushed into thousands of pieces, some hardly visible to the naked eye.
The glass is still attached to the metal door around the lock area but has completely disintegrated around the rest, especially on the hinge side. According to the specification the door is caste metal although the engineer said it was not? He also said the glass door is the only part of the machine that Miele do not manufacture themselves. Overall he had little to say but did mutter he thought it was a problem with the door! I was fortunate that no one was near the machine or they would certainly have been scalded or cut from the flying glass. I was also fortunate to be able to get to the machine before serious flooding occurred.
I don’t think I would ever leave a washing machine unattended in the future. I have written to Miele and Comet by recorded delivery under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 but so far there has only been a deafening silence. Miele’s engineer said their management support would be in contact, I have heard nothing. I am concerned that there are other potential time bombs out there, surely both retailer and manufacturer have a duty of care towards their customers. Miele’s own engineer has examined the machine and reported back his findings, if Miele want to retain their good name they should take immediate action to find the cause for this failure and ensure it cannot happen again. The Miele W3740 is still available for sale.
WMUser says
These reports make alarming reading, especially that a Miele washing machine glass door exploded – from one of the “best” manufacturers of washing machines!
I’m starting to wonder if there is only one manufacturer of the door glass itself? Probably some cheap Chinese manufacturer, with the low-strength glass being imported by all the washing machine manufacturers? Anything to cut costs!
This should NEVER happen and I hope someone will know which government safety department(s) should be contacted about this problem, along with the EU people, who could stop this happening in the EU member states.
As for the glass becoming too hot to touch on 90C or 95C washes – all washing machines should really have an outer glass or plastic cover to prevent young children from touching the hot inner glass.
Penny Hills says
Hello openspacewalker I have just read about your Miele washing machine door exploding – what model is your Miele ? I am the person whose Miele W3740 also exploded (see Anonymous ) sounds like you were unlucky enough not to have been around to switch the machine off. When Miele engineer examined mine he said he had not seen a glass door breaking like this for twenty years, or since he started working for Miele. I said I thought my Miele machine should be returned to the factory and properly examined but was told that as it had never happened before this was unlikely. Miele should be worried as they may well have a recall issue here. PENNY (aka anonymous)
WMUser says
I’m glad I’m always at home when I have the washing machine on – you can’t trust a washing machine to be left totally unattended!! As regular readers will know from other blogs on this site, I have to add a little more hot water to the main wash and lots of hot water to the rinses, as my skin is too sensitive and modern washing machines don’t rinse properly, another sign of the poor quality of modern washing machines. In fact, modern washing machines are very poor quality as they are too cheap – the door glass breaking so easily is more proof they are cheap and nasty – literally!
Washerhelp, who should people contact if the door glass breaks? With today’s over-zealous “health and safety” laws, this problem must be rectified immediately. It never happened with older washing machines, so why is it happening now?
Washerhelp says
Hello WMUser: The responsibility in consumer law is with the retailer, so if someone wanted to reject the washing machine and say they cannot trust it any more they would need to argue that case with whoever they bought it from and not the manufacturer. Having said that, any manufacturer is likely to be concerned about something like this happening and may well try to accommodate a consumer in some way. The dilemma they face is that if they simply replace the part in question what assurance is there that the same thing won’t happen again, yet if they say they’ve improved the design they concede that the original one was in some way deficient.
Regarding more wider safety concerns, people like Trading Standards, watchdog and other consumer groups would potentially be interested if this was seen as a consumer safety issue, which it certainly looks like. Whilst on the topic of safety issues there are increasingly concerning related issues I need to write more about such as exploding fridges and exploding washing machines where serious explosions are taking place putting consumers at great risk. One can only assume these issues are likely to be caused by the ever increasing drive to keep production costs and retail prices down resulting in reduced quality and corners being cut.