Do you leave your washing machine unsupervised?

Alanp

Plugging a high current device into any extension lead is potentially dangerous if it isn’t fully unwound first, let alone the 10a ones…

travis-powers

Section62 said:

travis-powers said:

SuzieSue said:

travis-powers said:

We had a small fire start at a socket (our fault) but since then we have never left them running unattended.
 God knows what would of happened if I didn’t smell the smoke!

Why was it your fault?

We had a washing machine and tumble dryer plugged into one socket with a short lead, this was drawing more power than the socket could cope with, ohms law apparently so the plug caught fire!

The 13A (or lower) fuse in the plug should have blown before anything got hot enough to melt or catch on fire.

This is why it is a MUST to have the proper protection with correctly rated fuses and/or trips. Surprisingly, not everyone agrees with what should be a fundamental and obvious safety requirement.

There's a particular problem with cheap extension leads only rated and fused at 10A.  Most people have some 13A fuses laying around, and few people have spare 10A ones.  So when the 10A fuse inevitably blows, the quick fix people do is to fit a 13A one instead. And then..... (this is a general comment, not saying it is what happened in your case)

IMV the 10A extension leads should be banned from sale, because there are so many appliances in the home (washing machines, tumble dryers, kettles etc) that can easily overload a 10A lead on their own.

Plugging a high current device into a shoddy extension lead and then leaving it unattended would be asking for trouble, and the average punter just doesn't understand the risks. Hence appliances get a reputation for causing fires which isn't always deserved (as per EssexExile's post).

Cannot agree more, big lesson learned big lecture off sparky! 
 Of course it was the cheap Chinese lead that was the problem not the plug.
What scares me is so many people do diy electrics, I’ve been shot down on here for saying leave it to a professional.

unforeseen

TBH I have never yet come across an extension lead with a 10A fuse in it. 

mumf

A friend of mine has an industrial washing machine company .He installs Miele brand washers and driers into old folks homes and the likes. His advice? NEVER leave a washer or tumble unattended.He deals with at least one burnt out one a week he tells me,as they can often jam.

Zandoni

I'd never leave a washing machine machine or tumble drier unattended, not worth the risk of the insurance company not paying out.

jackieblack

No, I never leave my washing machine unattended. 
I time doing laundry when I know I’ll be home until it’s finished 

getmore4less

machines now have to have their eco wash to get the ratings.

The rating is based on full and partial load 60c cotton wash.

To get the rating they are allowed to use a lower temperature than 60c and less water but need to run for a lot longer.

Depending on the machine there may be override functions, in many cases they will just go back to higher temp and more water to mimic the older cycles and be on for a shorter time.

eg. my Bosch go fast button takes the full eco wash from 3hr to 1hr 15m 

I like machines which have independent override for the temp and the spin so you can set them to what you want.

 

chrisw

Hmm. I've always left mine unattended but this is in our local news this morning. Maybe time for a rethink.

'THREE fire crews were called out during the early hours of this morning following reports of a washing machine fire at a property.... On arrival, the crew found that the fire involving towels in a washing machine.'

Section62

chrisw said:

Hmm. I've always left mine unattended but this is in our local news this morning. Maybe time for a rethink.

'THREE fire crews were called out during the early hours of this morning following reports of a washing machine fire at a property.... On arrival, the crew found that the fire involving towels in a washing machine.'

Sounds more like a washer dryer.

Getting damp towels to ignite is challenging.  In fact using a damp towel used to be the standard advice for dealing with chip pan fires (but no longer so).

It's often the case that important details are missing from reports of appliance fires.

Section62

unforeseen said:

TBH I have never yet come across an extension lead with a 10A fuse in it. 

It doesn't take much looking for if you go shopping for an extension lead online....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/240V-Splitter-Mains-Extension-house/dp/B00OZJO4BS

That one helpfully has 10A on the throwaway cardboard labels, but 13A printed prominently alongside the BS number on the reel itself. (I'm not suggesting there is anything unlawful with that though)