Initially believed to have been part of Samsung’s series of unfortunate (and explosive) events, the fiery incident at Segar Road two weeks ago involving one of its washing machines was not due to manufacturer malfunction.
On Nov 9, a mother and her daughter was forced to flee their home after their Samsung washing machine caught on fire. In their unit’s kitchen toilet, a woman had been doing her laundry when it got engulfed in flames, burning up the toilet walls, ceiling and air-conditioning pipes.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze soon after, and fortunately no one was hurt.
It was suspected that the appliance is one of the many washing machine models that Samsung is currently recalling in North America, where nearly three million of them pose an injury risk — the lids of the machines can explode violently while the laundry is spinning. Samsung Electronics Australia has also initiated a product safety recall for six models of the washing machines that were manufactured between February 2010 and 2013.
Samsung has assured us that this was not the case for the recent blaze here. After completing its own investigations, it said that the cause of the incident is likely to be due to the placement of the washing machine in a wet area.
“Based on the available information, the cause of the incident is likely due to moisture from the bathroom where the washing machine was placed, which may have resulted in a electrical short circuit to the washing machine,” it stated.
The company has also advised customers not to install the washing machine in an area exposed to “moisture or weather, or in an area which may be prone to water leaks”. No operating on the washing machine if the power supply cord is wet, and no spraying of water directly onto the washing machine and its parts too. Just basically don’t get any water on the exterior of washing machines of any brand — they’re only meant to take water on the inside.
