‘A million homes still at risk’ from deadly tumble dryers
Whirlpool, the washing machine manufacturer, has admitted that up to a million homes could be at risk from faulty appliances which could catch fire.

The company told the Parliamentary Select Committee for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy that it had repaired only about half of the appliances since news of them broke in 2015, and that they were continuing to make the appliances for as long as three years after being informed they could be faulty in 2012. The machines have been blamed for a fire in a London tower block, and a fire at a flat in Wales that resulted in two people’s deaths.

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Whirlpool is in the process of replacing or repairing more than 5m potentially faulty machines across the UK – under the brand names Indesit, Hotpoint, Creda and Proline – after identifying a safety defect in November. More than 810,000 machines have repaired or replaced, leaving millions still at risk.

The Fire Brigade estimates there is one fire caused by white goods every day in the capital. The Local Government Association, which represents all fire authorities, says there are three a day caused by tumble dryers in England and Wales.

We urge everyone who owns an Indesit, Hotpoint or Creda dryer manufactured between April 2004 and September 2015 to check if their dryer is affected and then register for a free modification if it is.

You can do this using the model checker on two websites, Safety.hotpoint and Safety.indesit, or via the freephone helpline on 0800 151 0905 for the UK or 1800 804320 for Ireland.