Safety Notices – Wiltshire Retired Firefighters Association

TUMBLE DRYER FIRE RISKS

Update – 20^th March 2016
Three months after the list of dryer brands that are known to be at risk of catching fire (Creda, Indesit and Hotpoint) the Whirlpool Corporation has added a further 58,000 dryers to the fire-risk list. These are sold under the brand name of Proline or Swan. This brings the total of dryers needing to be urgently replaced or repaired to 5.3 million. Whirlpool has not published the model numbers. Any reader owning a Proline or Swan tumble dyer should contact the manufacturer without delay.

Update – 16^th March 2016
Tumble dryers sold under the trade name Hotpoint, Creda or Indesit have proven to be at risk of catching fire when excess fluff makes contact with the heating element. The parent company, WHIRLPOOL, has been trying since October last year to replace or repair the estimated 4.3 million faulty appliances that are in use throughout the UK. Some customers have had their faulty dryer replaced by Whirlpool but in many cases these too have proved to be faulty.

Trading standards officers are reported to be very concerned and are accusing the manufacturers of failing to take the problem seriously. Trading standards officers fear that it will take a fatality linked to a fire started by a faulty dryer to make the companies fully commit to removing the risk to their customers.

Original News Article – 2015
Three manufacturers of air-vented and condensing tumble dryers in the UK are instituting a recall years after it was identified by Which? magazine that some models do pose a fire risk. The manufacturers are Creda, Hotpoint and Indesit.

A number of models have been identified that were manufactured between 2004 and 2014. If you think you may have one of these appliances, you should visit https://safety.hotpoint.eu or https://safety.indesit.eu and follow the steps set out to ascertain whether your tumble dryer is affected. It is recommended that tumble dryers are not left running when no one is at home or last thing at night when everyone has gone to bed.