Whirlpool to issue product recall for faulty dryers

In 2015, Whirlpool issued a safety warning about millions of dryers after it acquired the Hotpoint and Indesit brands and discovered some machines had a fault which made them a fire risk. The machines in question need a fix to make them safe to use.

The affected brands are Hotpoint, Creda, Indesit, Proline and Swan.

Whirlpool has been modifying the affected products to make them safe, but under the recall, consumers with unmodified, affected tumble dryers will be entitled to a new replacement machine. The machines will be delivered and installed, with the old ones removed, all at no cost.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) said Whirlpool had also agreed to deliver wide ranging publicity of the product recall aimed at reaching affected consumers and driving up awareness, guarantee no charges for delivery, installation or removal of machines and provide the OPSS with "timely" reporting of progress.

Earlier this month, the firm admitted the number of faulty tumble dryers in homes across the country could be far higher than first thought, with company execs telling the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee that the figure could be as high as 800,000.

I have a Whirlpool dryer – what should I do?

If you think you may have an affected dryer that's not been modified, here's what to do:1. Unplug it and do not use it.2. Check if it's a model with a known fault on the Hotpoint checker (or there's a full list online).3. If yours is one of the affected models, contact the Whirlpool helpline on 0800 151 0905 for your next steps.

Dryers that have already been modified aren't part of the recall. We've asked Whirlpool if customers who've had their dryer modified can now instead ask for a replacement, and will update this story when we hear back.

What does Whirlpool say?

A Whirlpool spokesperson said: "Safety is Whirlpool’s top priority. That’s why we have been working with the Government for some time to reach today’s agreement to launch an enhanced campaign that will offer customers who own a tumble dryer that has yet to be modified to the highest safety and quality standards the opportunity to have it replaced free of charge.

"We’ve always put customer safety first, that’s why we voluntarily approached Trading Standards immediately after we purchased Indesit in 2015 and became aware of a potential concern with two types of tumble dryers manufactured between 2004 and 2015.

"The extended recall programme announced today will offer consumers several options that include replacement, deeply discounted exchange as well as flexible free of charge in home modification that has been available since 2015. We urge consumers with unmodified dryers to contact us on 0800 151 0905 or visit our websites."