The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recently issued a warning to owners of specific top-loading washing machines from Samsung that were built between March 2011 to April 2016. Apparently they have received reports from customers who claim that their washing machines have exploded. One woman in Texas claims that her machine “exploded with such ferocity that it penetrated the interior wall of her garage,” and that the sound of the explosion was comparable to that of a bomb.
Samsung is said to be in active discussions with the CPSC, and while it doesn’t seem like they’ll be heading towards a recall, they have provided customers with a link to a website in which they can check their washing machine’s serial number to see if it could potentially be a defective unit. They also note that it only seems that top-loading machines are affected, so for those with front-loaders, you guys are safe.
According to Samsung, “Samsung is recommending that consumers with affected models use the lower speed delicate cycle when washing bedding, bulky or water-resistant materials. There have been no reported incidents when using this cycle. It is important to note that Samsung customers have completed hundreds of millions of loads without incident since 2011.”