Warning as 11,000 washing machines affected by recall

Consumers who own certain Hotpoint or Indesit washing machines have been urged to check their make and model details carefully after a product recall of more than 500,000 fire-risk appliances was flagged yesterday.

Whirlpool said as many as 519,000 washing machines sold under the Hotpoint and Indesit brands in the UK and Ireland between October 2014 and February 2018 could be affected by a flaw with the door-locking system that could lead to them over- heating and potentially catching fire.

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An estimated 11,000 washing machines sold in Ireland may be affected.

Whirlpool said the issue, which does not affect Whirlpool-branded washing machines, was identified by its safety team and that “no serious injuries have been reported”.

It said it is now working at “full speed” to prepare for the recall which will not start until early January when all affected customers will have the choice of either a replacement free-of-charge of a similar washing machine, or a free-of-charge in-home repair. Meantime, it advised affected consumers to unplug their washing machines and not use them.

Those who chose to continue using their machines should only use cold water cycles of 20C or lower as this significantly reduces the risk because the issue is associated with the appliance’s heating element being activated during washing cycles above that temperature, it said.

It is the company’s second product recall this year over fire-safety concerns after the full recall this summer of 800,000 tumble dryers made between 2004 and 2015.

Jeff Noel, the vice president of the Whirlpool Corporation, apologised for the inconvenience and concern the recall may cause to customers, particularly over Christmas. “But we hope people will understand that we are taking action because people’s safety is our top priority,” he said.

The company’s online model checker crashed yesterday prompting a flood of complaints, with Whirlpool using social media instead to inform customers of the affected models.

Affected customers can call its freephone hotline [phone] with both the model and serial numbers, which can be found inside the door, or on a label on the rear of the appliance. You can check online to see if your washing machine is affected on washingmachinerecall.whirlpool.ie.