‘Like a bomb went off:’ Saanich couple’s washing machine explodes

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WATCH: LG says the Saanich couple’s washing machine model was subject to a recall in 2012 but they say they were never notified. April Lawrence reports.

John and Mary-Ann Rados’s washing machine isn’t much more than a twisted scrap of metal after it exploded Tuesday evening.

“I’m sitting in the office doing paperwork and watching a movie all of a sudden I heard krunk, krunk then kaboom,” he said.

Rados says it sounded like a bomb went off and the entire house shook.

“It blew the [cupboard] door right off, I mean that’s 3/4″ particle board,” Rados said.

Mary-Ann Rados had been out shopping but when she returned she couldn’t believe the damage that was done and her first thought was for her young granddaughters.

“I have two grandchildren who play down in this area their playroom is next door and I’m terrified,” she said.

She says the only thing in the washing machine at the time was a mattress pad. They started making calls to LG but quickly grew frustrated.

“They don’t seem to care and it’s a dangerous, dangerous issue,” said Rados.

A quick internet search and the Rados’ realized they weren’t alone with several other videos of exploded washing machines posted to YouTube.

LG says the Rados’s model was actually subject to a recall in 2012. The company had a handful of reports at the time of unbalanced loads in the spin cycle causing a bracket to break and the drum to come loose, particularly when waterproof items like mattress pads were being washed. The fix was a software update that would cause the spin cycle to stop if the load was unbalanced.

The issue only affects LG top-loading washers sold between May 2010 and December 2012 with model numbers WT5001CW and WT5101HV.

The Rados’s bought their machine from Future Shop which has since closed, and say they never received a recall notice.

LG says it will replace their machine and pay for any damage as a result of the explosion.

April LawrenceApril Lawrence

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