Domestic appliances - yes, I am going to nag you!

In light of last night's tragic events at Grenfell Tower, and in particular the allegation* that it was started by a fridge 'exploding'.

(* at the time of writing, the cause of the fire has not been confirmed, however this is the most common theory being spoken about in the media)

I have said it before on here, and I am going to say it again, and nag you all if necessary - you really do get what you pay for when buying domestic appliances and electronics. In earlier life, I would sell, install, rent and repair domestic electricals and electronics, and although I am now 20 years or so out of the game, the basics remain the same. I have also had training from the Fire Service in Hertfordshire, as well as completing and passing an IOSH course with the British Safety Council - - so, I promise you, I am not just letting my belly rumble here.

Whilst I understand that for many people, buying a new domestic appliance is a huge expense, taking the cheapest option in many/most cases a false economy, and as we have seen before the consequences of doing so can be FATAL.

DO NOT be lulled into a false sense of security by a 12-month warranty, or by manufacturers websites and advertising blurb suggesting that they somehow 'care' about you and their product - the vast majority of them are only interested in one thing, and that is PROFIT. Thankfully, there are some manufacturers out there who realise that the best way to be profitable is to make good quality products at reasonable prices.

Below, I will name manufacturers that I would not touch with a barge pole - for clarity, this is purely my opinion and I am not making any inference that this fire was caused by one of these brands appliances; the brands are:

Hotpoint
Beko
Indesit
Candy
Ariston
Elco
Hoover
Vax

Brands that I would buy (or have bought):

Bosch
Miele
Siemens
Electrolux
Zanussi
Samsung
Panasonic
Dyson

There will be other brands in both categories that I simply cannot recall off the top of my head - please ASK me on this thread, or PM me if you would like further advice.

Rechargeable Products
In particular those that contain Lithium based batter technology. Whilst Lithium batter technology has revolutionised modern electronics, and is a very safe technology, it is not without risk particularly if it is incorrectly designed/built.

• Lithium batteries MUST be charged with a charger built specifically to charge them - DO NOT attempt to charge any lithium product with any other charger (such as one made for Nickel-Cadmium or Nickel Metal-Hydride cells).

• DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES attempt to disassemble or destroy any lithium cell - even when they are showing as being 'flat' they still contain a fair amount of energy, and many have a chemical composition that will react instantly with the oxygen in the air and spontaneously combust.

• If you have a lithium battery that looks 'puffy' - STOP using it immediately, and make it as safe as you can until such times as it can be disposed of at an appropriate disposal site. If possible, put the battery inside a metal tin (biscuit tin or similar) OR a glass jar, and get it outdoors and as far away from combustible materials as possible.

• If you have a product that contains a lithium battery that is making a fizzing/hissing noise or is venting smoke, call the fire brigade IMMEDIATELY and remove everyone from the immediate vicinity.

• DO NOT be tempted to buy an el-cheapo mobile phone, tablet, or replacement batteries for laptops etc; indeed, be very wary of any rechargeable product (such as hoverboards and drones) that seem to be very cheap; if it is cheap, it is cheap for a reason!

• DO NOT buy cheapo chargers at markets or online auction sites etc; not only do they present a potential fire risk, but they may also damage your appliance, and many of them are so poorly designed that there are parts of the casing or sockets on them that are 'referenced' to mains power (presenting the risk of an electric shock.

As I have said above, I am more than happy to offer advice or answer questions either here on this thread OR by PM. I also know that we have other electrically 'savvy' people (@ARMANDII being only one that springs to mind), that will no doubt be able to answer anything that I can't.

PLEASE DO take this post in the spirit it is intended, which is merely to try and give some advice that keeps you all safe and happy.

 

Kitchenaid - yes, built like a brick sh*thouse and seem to be supremely reliable; we have their stand mixer (the one that seems to be somewhat famous), and I am extremely impressed by the build quality. Sadly, we don't get much more than the mixers from them here in the UK.

Maytag, again a brand that we don't see here in the UK - I believe they are big in the US and where you are in Canada?

Don't confuse the Hoover brand that you have in the US and Canada with the Hoover we get here in the UK. Many years ago, Hoover UK ran a 'free flights' promotion that went very, very badly for them (bit of a scandal, have a Google and you will see what I mean) - that resulted in their sales bombing in the UK to the point that the brand became unprofitable, and the net result was that they all but disappeared from the UK for a while. They are still not common over here (or not as common as they once were) and any contact I have had with their stuff over the years has not left me with much positive to say about them.

For clarity, I am not saying that all the brands above are a fire risk - what I am saying that in my opinion their build quality standards leave a lot to be desired in my opinion, and for that reason I would not put my money into them.

Samsung - yes, they have had some problems with door glasses exploding, BUT in all fairness to them they will be scurrying around to get the issue sorted as quickly as they can; the way they handled the problems with their Galaxy Note 3 demonstrated to me that they do take their responsibilities seriously. I worked in one of the first Samsung dealers in the UK when they started importing here, and even then their stuff was well put together - clunky and maybe not as flashy as others, but well put together.

Don't get me wrong, any manufacturer can make a howler of a product - it is the way that they deal with it that counts. I have even seen the odd pup from the likes of Sony over the years, but they have always stepped up to the mark and sorted it out.

A number of years ago, a colleague of mine was moaning about buying yet another washing machine - he was averaging 18 months out of each machine, and was yoyo-ing between brands like Beko and Indesit at £180-£200 a time. I persuaded him to buy a Bosch which was £400, and almost 10 years later it is still working perfectly. If he kept buying the cheap ones, he would have lashed out well over £1200 in the same period of time!

My own Bosch washing machine is getting on for ten years old now, and still works fine - and in fairness to it, if it died tomorrow I wouldn't even bat an eyelid before buying another Bosch to replace it.

 

Their washing machines are actually pretty good to be fair - they don't last just as long as Bosch/Siemens/Miele, but they are definitely not in the realms of being not worth considering. I am less sure about their refrigeration products as I have little experience of them - but again, I would trust them more than I would any of the list above (not least as they also are known for industrial air conditioning); brown goods (TV's etc) - you get a lot of bang for your buck, and their stuff seems to be in the reasonable to good category; not a Panasonic or Sony, but snapping at the heels of the likes of Samsung.

 

No timer, just utter garbage, built to a price.

Again, in fairness to all brands - if you think back to when "automatic" washing machines were the big thing in the late 70's and early 80's, a new washing machine would have set you back £400 easily then (so about £1200 in today's money); yet, now we expect to go and buy something for £180 and have it last any length of time.

 

John Lewis machines are of good quality too, yes - that is because they are made by AEG/Zanussi and badged as John Lewis

 

Yes, of course another solidly reliable brand

 

Grenfell Tower fire started by a Hotpoint Fridge Freezer

Coupled with the Shepherd's Bush flat fire because of an Indesit tumble dryer and the associated 'sister' brands, I would like to bet that Whirlpool are ruing the day that they decided to purchase the company in 2014.

And please note, that this is one of the brands that I noted in the original post as one to avoid.

I make no apology for repeating my advice, especially if it saves anyone here from the potential horrors.