Housefires and how to avoid them

I'm not an electrician so can't speak to how this happened nor, as an expert, what to get checked.
But I'd certainly be contacting a qualified electrician to come have a look and give everything a check.

As to the the potential for fire, we see this often, not as many washing machines as we do tumble dryers, but we do get them.

My advice would be what we normally give, unplug appliances that aren't being used and never leave them unattended, fit quality alarms, at a minimum 1 heat alarm in the kitchen, a smoke alarm downstairs in the hallway and one upstairs on the landing.
A Carbon monoxide alarm with the boiler too.

Also, closes all doors before going to bed, the difference even a simple door makes when it comes to fire development is staggering if the worst was to happen.
 
I'm pretty sure an AFDD (Arc Fault Detection Device) in your consumer unit would have protected you and stopped it getting to that state.

On the flip side though the AFDD would have been nuisance tripping until you twigged that it tripped while the machine was on :).
 
Mysterae_ said:
I'm pretty sure an AFDD (Arc Fault Detection Device) in your consumer unit would have protected you and stopped it getting to that state.

On the flip side though the AFDD would have been nuisance tripping until you twigged that it tripped while the machine was on :).
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To add context for folk, while AFDDs are available in the UK, they are not cheap and have only been available for about 5 years. The latest version of the electrical regulations requires them on now installations for sockets in installations in a small number of cases (high rise appartments, HMOS, student digs and care homes) but installations designed before sept. 2022 could be to the previous standard (which basically said AFDDS can be benifietal, you might want to consider this protetcion in your installation, but did not have any specific requirements)

So, its unlikely AFDD protection will be fitted unless its one of those list of high risk places, and is either new build, or has had a board upgrade very recently.


Much more common in north amercian systems where teh concept originated, however it was as a patch to some issues in their electrical installations which we don't suffer from anywhere near as bad over this side of the pond
 
Destination said:
So the washing machine just tripped half the house, on examination I was confronted with an electrical smell of burning, moved machine out had a look at the plug

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So my question is, do I need a chap to look at the machine, or do i need an electrician to come check the plugs?
What's the most likely cause of this fire on the terminal?
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Oof. It does seem washing machines are prone to this I remember my mothers one the double socket had similar burn marks but the live pin. It doesn't help that double sockets are rated 13A but people switch on washing machine + dryer plugged in the other socket which together can exceed the rating of the socket.

Best get a sparky to take a look at it.
 
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In answer to the original question, Its clearly had a poor conductor somewhere on the neutral to cause heating, while this could be an oxidized pin (one would expect both to be in a similar state) or damaged spring contact in the socket, I suggest that its more likely its a badly crimped connection between the core and the pin from the factory. Normally on a plug its the live that burns up, the reason being is you have the two extra spring contacts on the fuse as failure points, plus the fuse gets warm under full load (BS1362 allows 1w dispation at 13A IIRC) which adds a bit of thermal cycliung to kick things off to start with. On isolators its often the neutral that goes, no one is really sure way, other than that some folk might illogically take more care in nipping up the line.

Anyway, You just need a new plug and single socket, Heat damaged cores should be cut away to bright copper (re-terminating onto heat damaged copper means the issue re-occurs quickly -I'm not too hot on Metallurgy but I beleive the copper anneals when it gets hot and the properties are different after) In the socket you should hopefully be alright as the terminals are not right on the contacts, but connected via short busbars that will have some heatsinking effect, the clue is if the PVC insualtion is hard and brittle then the conductor has been heated at that point. In terms of the plug, I'd start by cutting 6 to 8 inches off the flex before stripping it back for a new plug and you you should be alright
 
opened the socket to take a look today
no signs of mould, or cold, or damp, or condensation, opened the machine too, to have a look inside, again no signs of leakage or anything along those lines
socket connections are grand, all solid, nothing loose
the plug is a moulded type connected to the device, so potentially there could be a loose connection within it i guess, but after 10 years?
don't really know how i could check that in factory moulded plug anyway :/

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nothing seems hard from a pvc pov either @Adam_151 and the length of plug itself except for the plug also seems unaffected
i guess it could be condenstation, but odd it would be in behind a washing machine? nowhere else
 
Follow up stripped the plug back 8 inches, and attached a new plug to the washing machine, ran a drain cycle followed by a spin cycle to get the clothes that were in it out, no signs of any issues with the machine, no signs of heating within the plug during the run.
can't run a full cycle as the hose for water fill isn't long enough to reach to the new plugs position.
So will need a longer hose, or wait until the spark has fully replaced the socket etc.
 
I would consider that but it is from a fused isolator socket, and I would like the entire run tested by someone who knows what they are doing, just so i can be reassured that it is safe, don't want any incidents from a socket that is hidden under a worktop and isn't accessible without moving the machine.
 
A poor connection in the socket that has corroded and burnt over time until which has just made it worse over time until it was literally smoking. The fact that no fuses blew clear indication that it wasn't a current fault. There is no damage to the wiring in the socket so no worries. Just replace it. It will be fine. Replace the plug on the machine of course. There really is no reason for worry, it won't happen again.
 
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Destination said:
I would consider that but it is from a fused isolator socket, and I would like the entire run tested by someone who knows what they are doing, just so i can be reassured that it is safe, don't want any incidents from a socket that is hidden under a worktop and isn't accessible without moving the machine.
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It's a spur, you mean. It's fine, really, just replace the socket. Had it been a current fault the fuse in the plug would have blown or the spur fuse. It was a dodgy contact in the socket. There would have been visible degredation of the cable if there was any other fault. There is absolutely no sign of that.
 
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Good news that the machine is ok, one big expense saved. I agree with your paranoia and getting a sparky out just to make sure. Its probably ok, but ......
 
Firestar_3x said:
I'd replace the socket with a Fused Spur imho.

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MK Logic Plus 13A Switched Fused Spur & Flex Outlet White - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 13A. Double pole fused connection unit with flex outlet. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.
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Unless it needs to be a socket because access is tight.
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There is a switched fused spur above the worktop as an isolator switch for the socket that is below the worktop surface, so not sure if a second one down below would be of any help.
 
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