Whirlpool washing machines are linked to 3,000 house fires in past decade – as scandal-hit firm tells 500,000 customers to their unplug appliance over Christmas due to fire risk
- Analysis of Home Office and fire brigade data reveals thousands of blazes
- The US-based firm has apologised and recalled the washing machines
- It says it is unable to take any action until January, putting families at risk
- MP Andy Slaughter branded it ‘biggest product safety scandal in modern times’
Washing machines made by Whirlpool have been linked to nearly 3,000 fires in the past decade.
The revelations come as bosses of the faulty appliances are telling half a million of us to unplug our washing machines over Christmas due to fire risks.
Labour MP Andy Slaughter has branded it the ‘biggest product safety scandal in modern times’.
Washing machines made by Whirlpool have been linked to nearly 3,000 fires in the past decade
The company, based in the US, says it is unable to fix the washing machines until January.
According to analysis by The Sun, London Fire Brigade and Home Office figures show Whirlpool machines have caused thousands of fires.
The figure could even be far higher than 3,000 as appliances are often destroyed in the blazes.
Whirlpool, which made a profit of £140million last year, has apologised for the scandal and recalled 519,000 Indesit and Hotpoint washers, The Mirror reported.
That came just months after it had recalled 500,000 potentially dangerous machines.
Labour MP Andy Slaughter has branded it the ‘biggest product safety scandal in modern times’
Labour MP Rachel Reeves slammed the company’s response to wait until January to fix the machines as a ‘wholly inadequate response’.
She said they should fix the machines ‘as a matter of urgency’ as home insurers warned that using a faulty washer could void insurance cover.
Whirlpool disputes claims that a Hotpoint fridge-freezer may have sparked the horrific Grenfell Tower blaze which killed 72 people in 2017.
A fault inside the door of a tumble dryer caused a fire which killed Bernard Hender, 19, and Doug McTavish, 39, in Conwy, North Wales, in 2014.
No one has been charged despite deaths and injuries being caused by the machines and campaigners have called for a public inquiry.
The company says customers should not use the washers at all to avoid all risk, but if they do they should use cold cycles of 20C or lower.
Whirlpool said the Home Office warned that the Fire and Rescue Service incident data ‘could not be guaranteed and should not be relied upon to make judgments about particular appliance makes or models’.