Just as the fervor over Samsung’s exploding Galaxy Note 7 phones was beginning to fade, the company voluntarily recalled washing machines.
Luckily, this isn’t a case of fire or any connectivity issue. Instead, the problem is water: the washers are liable to lose balance and vibrate their own tops off. It’s especially likely in top-load washers manufactured between March 2011 and current production dates. It’s also more likely to occur when the washer is running on a high-speed spin cycle and loaded with heavy items.
The source of the problem is unbalanced drums, which can detach from the machine and move around freely, causing the imbalance and sometimes damaging other parts of the machine. Injuries reported from the washers include a broken jaw.
Samsung is offering an in-home repair or a rebate toward a new machine, as well as safety stickers to be applied to affected machines. The labels advise that the machine should only be used on a lower spin speed or delicate cycle when washing heavy items such as bedding or waterproof clothing. According to NBC News, nearly 2. 8 million machines are affected. That number spans 34 different models, all of which have mid- or rear-controls.
Samsung has stopped production and sales of the Galaxy Note 7 after many reports of fires due to the battery overheating. In New Zealand, the company has even gone so far as to cut the Note 7 off from mobile network services in order to discourage use of the phone.