Total Recalls:

Make it easier for people to protect themselves from lethal faulty appliances.

One fire every other day in London involves white goods. That includes tumble dryers, dishwashers, washing machines, fridges and freezers. 

Our Total Recalls campaign wants to make it easier for people to protect themselves from lethal faulty appliances.

6 tips for safer white goods 

  1. Don't ignore strange noises. If you think there might be a problem, always unplug it and contact the manufacturer or a qualified repair technician.
  2. Register your appliance. Registering your appliance means manufacturers can tell you if there are any issues with your products.
  3. Check for recalls. Faulty white goods can cause fires. The most important thing you can do is to regularly check if your appliances have been recalled. You can check the Government's product recall site, the manufacturer's website or Electrical Safety First's recall register.
  4. Keep your escape routes clear.  Don't put fridges or freezers in hallways. If there is a fire in your home, you need to get out quickly.
  5. Fit smoke and heat alarms. Put an alarm in every room where a fire could start, and test them regularly. Find out more about smoke and heat alarms. 
  6. Support safer standards. Help us make lasting change by supporting our campaign.

Worried about your white goods?

You can check the Government's Office of Product Safety recall website.

Product Safety Alerts, Reports and Recalls

What we're calling for

We want to make white goods safer for everyone, so we are calling on manufacturers to improve product safety.

Add international recalls to the UK register

When a product, such as white goods, is recalled anywhere in the world, it's not automatically added to the UK recall register. We want that to change.

There have been a number of cases where manufacturers have recalled dangerous products but haven't recalled the same products in the UK. 

Make recalls clearer

When a safety notice or recall is made public, the manufacturers often use vague language like "may overheat" or "risk of thermal event", but what they really mean is "may cause fire". 

It can be confusing at best and dangerous at worst. We want clear guidelines on how much publicity product recalls require, as well as the level of detail they must provide and the words they use.

Publish risk assessments

When manufacturers find an issue with one of their products, they don't  have to explain why they're doing a recall.

Publishing risk assessments would make it easier for you to make a decision about the products you buy and own. With a more transparent system, you have all the facts, and it would help us find out more about the causes of fires.

Better rules for the sale of secondhand appliances

People buying secondhand goods may not know if there are recalls on the products they're buying.

Our fire investigators have visited secondhand shops across London and found dangerous white goods that have been recalled on sale.

We want to make it easier for you to understand what white goods are dangerous when buying them secondhand.

Change the ways fridges and freezers are constructed

The insulation used in most fridges and freezers can catch fire easily, and, when it burns, it creates dangerous gases and thick toxic smoke. 

We want new rules so parts are fire-resistant and better protected to stop fires from spreading.

Clearly mark all appliances

After a fire, it can be impossible to identify white goods.

Without knowing what product caused the fire, it is impossible for us to warn people of the danger. It also makes it harder for us to determine where the issue might be.

The more we know, the more we can help.

Include sleeping risk as a factor in risk assessments

Fridges and freezers are left on when people are sleeping, which is when fires are most dangerous. 

We want this to be factored into the risk assessments performed by manufacturers.