Woman’s oven explodes at 400C and showers her kitchen in scorching glass in yet ANOTHER Whirlpool scare
- Karen Holdsworth, of Asfordby, Leicestershire, was left shaking in shock
- Her nearly new appliance blew up first time she used its self-cleaning function
- More than 70 ovens across major brands have exploded in recent years – including Whirlpool that detonated ‘like a bomb’ in August, according to owner
Whirlpool is under growing pressure over exploding oven doors after a new victim warned it is ‘only a matter of time’ before someone is seriously hurt.
Karen Holdsworth was left shaking in shock after 400C (750F) glass shot across her kitchen when the nearly new appliance blew up the first time she used its self-cleaning function.
The Mail last week highlighted how more than 70 ovens across major brands have exploded in recent years, including a Whirlpool that detonated ‘like a bomb’ in August, according to its owner.
Karen Holdsworth (above) was left shaking in shock after 400C (750F) glass shot across her kitchen when the nearly new appliance blew up the first time she used its self-cleaning function
Meanwhile, a mother of two who had the same model as Miss Holdsworth – manufactured by Whirlpool but sold under the Ikea brand – described how it blew up in the summer while on self-cleaning mode and showered her kitchen with shards of searing glass.
Earlier this month MPs branded the electrical manufacturer ‘dangerous’ for using gagging orders to silence victims of fires that started in faulty tumble dryers, which have caused 750 household blazes since 2004.
Miss Holdsworth, from Asfordby, Leicestershire, said: ‘I cannot believe Ikea are still selling these ovens knowing the dangers.
‘If I had been in the kitchen at the time, I would have suffered serious injury. I want action taken before it is too late.’ She had her £375 Ikea Mattradition electric oven installed by Ikea in June and tried its self-clean mode for the first time on November 17.
This function heats the oven to temperatures as high as 500C (930F), which burns grease and food residue to ashes so they can be easily brushed off. After setting hers, Miss Holdsworth went to her lounge but an hour later ‘there was a massive boom that seemed to last for five or six seconds, followed by the sound of breaking glass’.
The Mail last week highlighted how more than 70 ovens across major brands have exploded in recent years, including a Whirlpool that detonated ‘like a bomb’ in August, according to its owner. Above, from the Mail, June 12
She said: ‘I ran into the kitchen and was shocked to see hot glass from the oven all over the kitchen floor. I was in total shock and shaking. The force of the explosion meant I had hot glass from one side of the kitchen to the other – it has scratched and marked the floor.’
Miss Holdsworth – who said her oven had reached 400C – was astonished to learn the same model had blown up at the home of Emma Clark, who lives near Cockermouth, Cumbria, during self-cleaning in summer.
After that incident an Ikea worker said tempered glass used in the appliance doors had ‘a tendency to explode’, although it was unclear what caused the blast.
Miss Holdsworth said she was shocked the ovens were still being sold. The Mail revealed last week how grandmother Christine Burton, from Worthing, West Sussex, said her Whirlpool oven ‘exploded like a bomb’ on self-cleaning mode, shattering the glass.
Ikea said: ‘The safety of our products is always our highest priority. Over time, small knocks and fractures can affect the durability of tempered glass.’
Whirlpool apologised to Miss Holdsworth and said it was ‘doing everything we can to resolve the matter’. It added it had yet to examine the oven and was ‘unable to comment on the cause’.