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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I’m sorry to still be reading about these shocking incidents of exploding glass doors.
BBC Watchdog has returned. Watching it earlier reminded me about the exploding glass doors that people have been reporting here. I eventually found this blog again (as the new website layout is still taking me time to navigate) – so reminders to people to please take photos and I definitely recommend contacting Watchdog with your evidence:
If it happened to me, I would be contacting Watchdog immediately and I would *NOT* accept the washing machine manufacturer trying to blame me for their poor quality glass from breaking when it should *never* break on any programme or – in the case of washer-dryers – the hottest drying cycle. Glass doors should be able to withstanding becoming hot and being scraped by zips etc. If they break too easily, they are not fit for the purpose.
Take action and let’s put a stop to this forever, before somebody gets seriously injured!!
I bought a Miele W1730 in February 2009. I woke up this morning to find the inner glass
door totally shattered with glass all over the floor. The machine was not in use – this happened during the night. This washing machine cost me a lot of money and as things would have it, it’s just out of the guarantee period.
What’s going on with these door glasses – and on Miele’s of all brands? I can’t see how any door glass should ever shatter unless you were washing a brick. If washing normal laundry surely it’s unacceptable for any door glass to explode or shatter – and doing so when not even in use?
They can make bullet proof glass so glass isn’t necessarily fragile by default.
My Meile W1613 had been unused for a few days when my a “bang” was heard. On inspection the inner glass door had exploded. Just to clarify: it was not in use at the time. The machine is approx 2 or years old. Currently awaiting a visit from the retailer’s engineer tomorrow.
We bought what we were told was the best make on the market. I hope Meile will take this obviously dangerous situation very seriously to protect their reputation.
The glass on our washing machine has just exploded! All that happened was that a cup fell out of a cupboard on the other side of the room, it went nowhere near the washer!
Nearly 3 weeks since my exploding Meile let go. Apart from a brief visit by the retailer/service engineer to assess the damage there has been zero action. no sense of urgency. No hint of concern from Meile. It really make you wonder if anyone really gives a toss. Another visit to the launderette beckons.
Hi Gary. I was about to buy a 1613 and came across this page while searching for reviews.
I’ve contacted Miele who appear to want to minimise the issue and refuse to give any sort of guarantee or assurance that the same thing won’t happen with mine. So I’ve decided I probably won’t buy it after all.
in their communications with me they state that there could be various reasons for the occurrence, (not that they have specifically addressed any incidents reported here) including ‘customer misuse’ or ‘a faulty part’.
It would be refreshing were a company of such repute be honest enough to say, yes, we have had reports of this, and yes, we are investigating it and plan to recall affected machines’. THAT would have made me go ahead with the purchase.
It’s all about attitude. Good luck and I hope you get somewhere.
My daughters Beko washing machine glass door exploded at 10pm last night and it wasn’t plugged in?
Reading all these comments, it now sounds as if somebody has to sort this out immediately before anyone is seriously hurt? I will contact Beko and Watch Dog. This machine is about 5 years old and the glass imploded which will now cause additional damage to the water pump if not flushed through correctly.
I would never buy a Beko!
It sounds like this is an issue that needs looking at yes.
I had this happen to a Beko machine a year ago and reported it via my local Trading standards before they would do anything. They only replaced the glass in the original door frame. Cambs standards replied saying they contacted the Trading Standards Office local to Beko’s Head Office but I have never heard anything further since the complaint was made.
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