Safety surrounding electrical white goods – such as washing machines – has always been an important cause for Electrical Safety First. Now, with electrical fire safety dominating news headlines after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, they’ve launched a brand new and really useful website that solely focuses on this issue.
Appliances from many of our biggest and most well-known brands have been linked to fire safety concerns. Household names such as Hotpoint, Beko, Bosch, Hoover and Siemens have all been forced to put out safety recalls after recent incidents. Beko alone had to recall 480,000 fridge freezers after they were linked to numerous electrical fires.
For as long as we’ve been aware of Electrical Safety First, they’ve stayed on top of product recalls, including those that concern white goods and appliances. Their new website, White Goods Safety, houses a product checker that informs homeowners if their appliances have been recalled. If this check comes out positive, then they’re likely to be at a greater risk of an electrical fire. It’s that simple.
According to the White Goods Safety website, there were 1,873 fires caused by electrical white goods last year in England. This is equivalent to over five fires a day. The average success rate of an electrical product recall in the UK is said to be between just 10-20%, meaning there could be millions of recalled items still located in UK households. Clearly, this is a huge risk that needs eliminating, and White Goods Safety can help tremendously.
Not only do they make product recalls simple to check, White Goods Safety offers some great safety tips and accompanying videos for the different types of white goods. If you’re interested in the best practices surrounding washing machines, fridge freezers, dishwashers or tumble dryers, then you should visit their website.
It’s not only Electrical Safety First who are raising awareness for white goods fire safety. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) have been running a Total Recalls campaign to aid people in protecting themselves from potentially faulty appliances. The LFB are calling on the government and manufacturers to make changes in an effort to improve safety and we feel that any initiative to raise awareness of this important topic should be welcomed.
White goods fire safety tips
So, what are our key tips to assist in keeping you safer?
– Purchase from a reputable, professional dealer or manufacturer
– Avoid buying second hand goods
– Register your appliance so you can be updated on any problems
– Use Electrical Safety First’s product checker to see if your goods have been recalled
We encourage you to make use of the helpful tools and tips available online to stay on top of the safety surrounding your white goods. Here at Right Action we are committed to helping you with all things safety, through our range of products and services, as well as our social media channels. Visit our website here and follow/like us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
White goods fire safety has never been more important
