Unplug ‘death trap’ tumble dryers and don’t use them at all millions are warned

THE maker of ‘death trap’ tumble dryers has been forced to warn customers to stop using them.

More than a year ago, millions of machines sold under the Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda brands were identified as a fire risk.

But the owner of the brands, Whirlpool, said householders could continue to use the machines, under supervision, until they were fixed.

Now the company has told owners to unplug them and not to use them at all, pending a visit from an engineer. The move follows a threat of legal action from the consumer group Which?, complaints from trading standards and concerns raised by fire chiefs.

More than 750 fires have been linked to the dryers. And investigations are ongoing to establish whether a number of house fire deaths can be blamed on the appliances. In August, London Fire Brigade blamed a blaze that ripped through an 18-storey block in Shepherd’s Bush on one of the dryers.

Which? said Whirlpool’s handling of the issue had been ‘appalling’. It said families were being put at risk and complained that trading standards officers in Peterborough, where Whirlpool has its UK base, had failed to take the necessary action to protect the public.

It launched a judicial review against trading standards, which responded by telling Whirlpool it would have to change its advice to customers.

Yesterday, the company altered the information on its website to state: ‘If your tumble dryer is affected by this issue then you should unplug it and do not use it until the modification has taken place.’

The new advice means that potentially 3 million households with a faulty machine now have no way of drying their clothes.

At the same time, there is such a huge repair backlog that they face

a wait of many months before the machine is fixed. The problem relates to Hotpoint, Creda and Indesit dryer models sold in the UK over an 11-year period from April 2004 through to October 2015. The main issue is that fluff from drying clothes can accumulate and come into con- tact with the machine’s heating elements, triggering a fire.

Managing director of home and legal services at Which?, Alex Neill, said: ‘The way Whirlpool has handled the tumble dryer safety issue is absolutely appalling.

‘ Following our long- running campaign and our recent applica- tion for judicial review, Peterborough trading standards has finally taken enforcement action against Whirlpool and the company has responded.’

Whirlpool said: ‘Trading standards have confirmed that our actions to date in this campaign have been undertaken diligently and responsibly.’ Whirlpool now faces massive lawsuits over the fires caused by its machines.