Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP Angus MacNeil is supporting calls from consumer group Which? for the Tory Government to put people’s safety first and ensure all fire-risk tumble dryers are removed from UK homes.

Which? UK estimate there could be up to 500,000 unmodified fire-risk tumble dryers still being used, more than three years after the first safety notice was issued.

Mr MacNeil appealed to island residents to check if their machines were affected when the first safety notice was issued in 2017.

He was subsequently involved in supporting several constituents in ensuring the relevant modifications were carried out or the machine was replaced.

The UK Government’s Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) finally published their review on Whirlpool’s modification programme last week and concluded that modified machines are safe to use.

Which? UK have however received reports that some modified machines are continuing to have safety issues. They are now urging the Government to take urgent action to keep unsafe products out of people’s homes and for manufacturers and retailers to remove unsafe products from the market without delay.

Mr MacNeil said: “Which? UK believe there are half a million unmodified fire-risk tumble dryers still being used across the UK and so I would urge constituents to check again if their machine is affected.

“I am supporting Which’s campaign for the UK Government to do more to deal with this matter and to make sure that unsafe products are not being sold and used.

“It is just not enough to make soft recommendations to the firms responsible.”

OPSS has published specific requirements for Whirlpool to act on and issued a Decision Letter telling Whirlpool that the company must improve its management of risk; set up a more rigorous system of quality assurance to ensure modifications are correctly installed; and reach affected consumers in more creative ways to minimise the risk of faulty machines still being in people’s homes.

While this stage of the review is now complete, OPSS say they will continue to scrutinise Whirlpool’s actions against these requirements.

https://campaigns.which.co.uk/product-safety/

• You can call Whirlpool on 0800 151 0905 to find out whether your dryer needs a repair and arrange for it to be fixed or replaced.
• Visit safety.hotpoint.eu or safety.indesit.eu where you can input your model number and, if your model is affected, you can register it for a service and modification. Creda dryers can also be checked on the Hotpoint site.
• Before you contact Whirlpool, check whether your dryer has a green dot sticker on the inside of the door towards the top, either on the door itself or the door rim. If there’s no green dot in these two areas, check the back panel of the machine in the middle and towards the top. If your dryer has a green sticker positioned in these areas, it is not part of the safety alert or has been repaired already.  
• If your dryer is one of those affected by the fault, you must contact Whirlpool to arrange a repair or replacement, unplug it immediately and do not use it until it’s been fixed.