Washing machines were the cause of one third of white goods fires in London in 2025, data from the London Fire Brigade shows.
The London Fire Brigade was called to 258 fires which were ignited by faulty white goods in 2025.
White goods are large appliances like washing machines, tumble dryers, fridges and freezers.
An electrical fire can ignite when the appliance is faulty and can quickly spread throughout a flat or house.
Washing machines were responsible for 92 fires in London, closely followed by tumble dryers with 86 fires.
Leanne Haynes from Warwickshire had a white goods fire in her home days before Christmas after her faulty tumble dryer started smoking.
She said: “Seeing the smoke was horrible, but the worst part was the flames, and watching how the fire engulfed the tumble dryer so quickly.”
“It was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to go through.”
Leanne and her family inhaled a lot of smoke but physically recovered from the incident.
She said that the fire had a lasting impact on the family though as there is a fear of it happening again.
Lesley Rudd, from the charity Electrical Safety First, said: “We can all take just a few minutes to reduce the chances of one of these frightening fires from happening in our homes.
“Make sure you regularly clean lint filters on dryers and register appliances so that in the event they are recalled you can be contacted by the manufacturer.”
London Fire Brigade advice is to stop using an appliance if you are unsure about its safety and contact the manufacturer about the concerns.
Also, stick to the one plug per socket rule and don’t overload sockets with a lot of energy-hungry appliances.
If you have a second-hand appliance take extra care that it has been safety checked and is not registered on the product recall list.
Feature Image: Free to Use from Unsplash
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