Samsung washing machines are exploding now too

Samsung, maker of the troubled Galaxy Note 7 smart phone, has another problem on its hands.

U.S. regulators on Wednesday warned owners of certain top-loading Samsung washing machines of “safety issues” following reports that some have exploded. The warning, from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, covered machines made between March 2011 and April 2016. It did not specify a model.

The commission suggested people use only the delicate cycle to wash bedding and water-resistant and bulky items because the lower spin speed “lessens the risk of impact injuries or property damage due to the washing machine becoming dislodged.” The agency said it is working with Samsung on a remedy.

The warning comes more than a month after Samsung was hit with a federal class-action lawsuit by customers who said their machines had exploded during use.
Customers in Texas, Georgia and Indiana all said they were washing clothes when they heard a violent boom.
A washer belonging to a McAllen, Texas, woman “exploded with such ferocity that it penetrated the interior wall of her garage,” according to court filings. A woman in Dallas, Georgia, said it felt and sounded as if “a bomb went off.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, references similar reports collected by local news and filed online with regulators. It also claims Samsung “has moved aggressively to collect and destroy all evidence of the defective machines” after they exploded.

 “In rare cases, affected units may experience abnormal vibrations that could pose a risk of personal injury or property damage when washing bedding, bulky or water-resistant items,” the statement says.
Samsung also said its customers “have completed hundreds of millions of loads without incident since 2011.”
A call to the law firm that filed the complaint was not immediately returned.
Samsung (SSNLF) earlier this month said it would replace 2.5 million of its Galaxy Note 7 smart phones after reports of battery fires.