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posted by takyon on Sunday October 02 2016, @11:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the more-samsung-stuff-exploding dept.

Consumerist reports:

[Dozens of] owners of Samsung top-loading washing machines say their appliances exploded while in normal use.

[...] The Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed it is working with Samsung to address safety issues related to the top-loading washing machines after receiving dozens of reports that the appliances have exploded while in use.

[...] Owners of the machines, sold between March 2011 and April 2016, are advised to only use the delicate cycle when washing bedding, water-resistant, and bulky items. The lower spin speed of the delicate cycle lessens the risk of impact injuries or property damage due to the washing machine becoming dislodged

A Georgia woman [said] that on April 8, she and her four-year-old son were standing next to the machine when it exploded. "It was the loudest sound. It sounded like a bomb went off in my ear", the woman said, recalling that nuts, bolts, and wires were laying on the floor.

[...] Several consumers have banded together to sue Samsung in federal court, claiming that a support rod in the appliance is insufficient to hold the tub in place and can become unfastened during the spin cycle.


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  • (Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Monday October 03 2016, @12:31AM

    by Magic Oddball (3847) on Monday October 03 2016, @12:31AM (#409195) Journal

    A normal washing machine should be capable of handling a king-size comforter, and even if the load becomes unbalanced, the worst the machine should do is possibly move a few inches across the floor. Instead, the reports are pointing out that the machines are "exploding" at random points in the cycle, regardless of load size:

    My wife put a small load of laundry in to the Samsung washer. After a few minutes, she felt what she explained to me as "a car driving into our house", the "whole house shook."

    She then discovered that the washing machine had "exploded". The top flew off the base, being held only by the plastic drain hose. There were pieces of the washing machine all over the floor. The machine jumped forward about 2 feet and turned 90 degrees. It slammed into the dryer, leaving a huge dent in the side of it. The force was so powerful, it ripped the electrical outlet from its screws and bent it to the side.

    That's not remotely near an acceptably safe failure mode; unless the owner deliberately threw a brick into the machine while it was spinning like PhotonicInductor [youtube.com], it shouldn't do anything remotely like that.

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