Faulty dishwashers still causing fires

Reporter: Helen Wellings
Broadcast Date: November 25, 2008

Some Australian homes are potential firebombs likely to destroy everything in their path - and most people don't know it.

Four months ago we alerted viewers to possible tragedies in 25,000 Australian kitchens, with defective washing machines causing serious house fires.

An electrical fault in a number of big name electrical appliances causes them to suddenly ignite and burn down kitchens, sometimes destroying whole houses.

Dangerous dishwashers are thought to have caused 239 fires in Australia, burning down bench tops, whole kitchens, and in some cases, setting alight, melting and destroying whole homes and their contents.

Even with a nation-wide recall, the NSW Department of Fair Trading banning the sale of these appliances, and the manufacturer supposedly repairing or replacing thousands of faulty machines, the fire toll keeps rising and rising.

Alison Davis is furious that an electrical store chain was selling the dangerous dishwashers one month after they were recalled, with no records kept of those who bought them.

Electrolux has told Today Tonight this error was due to a "communication problem with retailers," but that problem could have cost Alison her new family home.

"The time between me noticing that (the machine) was glowing must have been 30 seconds (before) there were flames leaping from the dishwasher," she said.

"If you were anywhere but not in the room, you'd have never noticed it."

She said a representative of the manufacturer visited her twice after she complained about the appliance, and assured her it was safe.

Matthew and Amanda Wood assumed their dishwasher was perfectly safe too, before they received a call from a concerned neighbour when they were away - their home was engulfed in flames.

The Woods have been forced into rental accommodation for the past three months while the rooms destroyed in the blaze are rebuilt.

Electrolux is said to have told the Woods to claim the damages caused by the faulty washer from their insurer, but the pair are still around $6000 out of pocket.

And buyers beware: 25,000 faulty dishwashers have been sold in Australia, with an Electrolux spokesperson saying the company has been attempting to recall the defective whitegoods for almost a year, but many remain unaccounted for.

"We know they're in the market place. We don't know where they are," Electrolux's John Brown said, adding the dishwashers were first recalled in December 2007.

The company has launched an advertising campaign to alert owners to stop using the affected washers and call Electrolux to arrange an immediate inspection.

However by the middle of 2008, 5000 of the 25,000 owners of the potentially fatal washing machines still could not be tracked down.

The horror is many of the early repairs conducted by the company on the dishwashers did not fix the fault and more fires and destruction followed.

There still are almost 4000 dangerous dishwashers out there owners still don't know about.

Many were bought as factory seconds with different serial numbers from those purchased from normal retailers and there is no way of tracing the buyers.

Anyone with an Electrolux dishwasher purchased in seconds stores after April 2007, with the prefix A, B, or C, should contact the manufacturer immediately.

NSW Minister for Fair Trading, Virginia Judge, said consumers should seek government assistance if their calls for help from the company fall on deaf ears.

"Immediately stop using the dishwashing machine, turn it off, do not turn it back on (and) contact Electrolux," she said.

"If you need further advice, contact your Consumer Protection Agency."

If you've had a fire, any damage or costs you've incurred not covered by insurance should be reimbursed by Electrolux. Burnt dishwashers should also be replaced by the company.