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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The manufacturer’s are (against assumed logic) not responsible under the Sale of Goods Act. If they want to help (to protect their own reputation) that’s great, but if not, your only address in UK consumer law is with the people you bought it from under the sale of goods act.
In circumstances like these where the door glass is exploding or shattering and you are not satisfied it is safe or that they will replace it with one that is safe you can only try to argue with the retailer that the washing machine has an inherent fault, or inherent design fault.
Glass does not have to break easily, and certainly shouldn’t during normal use (unless washing something with large metal buckles etc.)- or especially when the appliance (as reported several times here) is not even on. Glass can be made bullet-proof so glass per sae is not destined to break if manufactured strong enough to cope with all conditions it should encounter.
One thing to bear in mind is has the glass shattered into many small blunt pieces, or has it broken into dangerous sharp pieces? If the former it’s most probably designed to do that for safety reasons (like car windscreens). The latter is a serious safety issue.
UPDATE: I have a new article exploding door glass who’s fault is it?
b.hutchens
05/02/2012
today me and my two girls were siiting in the kitchen ,when a loud pop/bang followed by the sound of falling glass happened in our utillity room, i opened the door to find glass all over the floor and our washing machine in full spin with a great big gaping hole in the door ,i couldnt believe my eyes, i quickly turned the machine off and closed utillity door till the machine had stopped.
Once stopped, opened the door to find the washing machine door completely destroyed and the nastiest of shards of glass sticking out into the machine ,sicking really to think not 2 hours before our 5 month baby daughter had been laying beneath door on her rocker trying to sooth her as the motion helps , the machine is a bosch clasixx 1200 express about 6 years of age in mint condition.
I’m astonished to find this is a common fault ,having googled what just happened and have found this site devoted to this problem, i am currently in the process of contacting bosch this evening ,i just cant belived this has happened to see your washing machine in full spin with a gaping hole in it and glass everywhere on the floor is frightening….
Well looks like i can join the crowd today. I have a Bosch 500 washer and during the final spin it was making more noise then usual and when it stopped i noticed the glass on the inside was shattered. The unit is roughly 16 months old. Now im not sure if this is what happend or not but its plausable I looked through the clothes closest to the door to check for any item that could have done this and there was one of my wifes bra’s with a piece of the under wire poking out. is it possible that the wire could have scratched the door enough during the spins to score it at which point it shattered . I dont know theres a guy coming out friday to see if he can figure out whats going on to verify warranty or not leaving the clothes and glass in minus the bra of course. My only question is why do they use glass and not some sort of vac molded plastic does the washer generate that much heat that would cause other materials to melt?
Hello sh0ck99: Hoover used plastic at one point in the 70s but it used to crack and leak. Glass should be fine as long as it’s tough enough. Strictly speaking you aren’t supposed to wash bras in the washing machine (according to the bra manufacturers themselves) but I can’t imagine how a puny little bra under-wire could cause the door glass to shatter.
I own stackable whirlpool duet washer and dryer. The set was purchased 1 year ago. The washer was nothing but problems with a faulty bearing and the machine sounding like a jet engine on the spin cycle. Techs replaced bearing and the whole drum and two weeks later the noise was back and then a loud bang and the machine fell apart resulting in company after many long phone conversations and few weeks replaced machine. Now while the washer machine was washing the clothes and finished its cycle I open the dryer and observe the inside glass of the dryer shattered with glass fragments all over. These machines have been a nightmare and cost close to $1700.
I live in Cape Town & was the proud owner of a Bosch washing machine. However while NOT IN USE the 1/2 open glass door exploded ! No one was in the room so no damage
done to clothes or animal . I am still waiting for Bosch to ‘replace the door’ which quite frankly disturbs me greatly as I do not see how they are going to be able to guarantee all the glass gone & the machine safe for use.
The glass on our Miele W1714 door shattered the other morning whilst the machine was not in use and the door open. Luckily the plastic outer prevented too much glass in the kitchen and no one was in the room at the time
The drum and seal are covered in very sharp glass, some large chunks but with a fair amount of almost dust-sized fragments which may have got into the machine and re-appear on subsequent washes?
Engineer is due any time this morning so we will see what he says (the machine is still under warranty).
This really shouldn’t happen to any machine.
Here’s the latest tally
Beko – 14
Miele – 7
Bosch – 3
Hoover – 3
LG – 3
Samsung – 3
Zanussi – 2
Hotpoint – 1
Ignis – 1
Tricity Bendix – 1
Not specified – 2
It should be noted that out of the 40 cases reported so far, 10 have said the washing machine was not even in use at the time.
(See column over on right for updated figures)
Update on the retailer response (Sainsbury Online): As was to be expected they are “sorry you are having a problem with the spin cycle on your machine”. I did mention the problem was broken door glass, honest!
Of course, if I want to pursue this I will have to commission my own engineer’s report. They’re decent about this: “If the engineers report establishes that your washing machine had an inherent fault at the time of purchase, we will cover the expense of the engineers visit, repair, replace or refund you for the fridge freezer.” My fridge freezer still works thanks – it’s the washing machine that’s gubbed!
So their couldn’t care less stock letter works – Rather than shell out for an engineer’s report which either their engineer will refute or they’ll take weeks to remedy, I’m just going to buy the parts – door glass & 3 drum paddles costing about £40 – and then have a fun Saturday stripping the machine down to clean out any glass & then putting it back together. (my wife hopes!!)
BTW, the door glass is the same part for a very wide range of Zanussi & Electrolux machines, with spin speeds ranging from low to high – ours runs up to 1600rpm. I suspect the thinner glass from the “we’ll get away with that” School of Industrial Design works for lower speeds but maybe not for the higher speeds which may be more common in the higher end marques that populate the top of your league table. It would be interesting to know the speeds on those machines too.
Anyway, I’ve e-mailed the Which magazine beacause this is a safety issue which should be investigated. Hopefully, they will.