If you follow the news at all, you’ve likely heard about Samsung’s troubles. First, it was the cellphones; consumers reported experienced alarming trouble with their smartphones, some overheating, smoking, catching fire and even exploding. Things got so bad that the phones were banned entirely from commercial airplanes. It now looks like things are only going to get worse for the Korean technology company after it announced this week that it will recall nearly 3 million washing machines. What’s the trouble? Concerns about exploding washers.
Samsung’s troubles began months ago when reports started trickling in that the new Galaxy Note 7 was overheating. Since the first reports of problems, dozens of people have come forward saying the lithium-ion batteries in their phones can overheat, leading to fires and explosions. The crisis is bad enough that Samsung recalled millions of the phones and, after several scary incidents, airlines banned passengers from bringing them onboard.
The issue with the washing machines impacts a wide range of products across 34 models of top-loading washers. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the concern is that the top of the washing machine can unexpectedly detach from the base, posing a risk to consumers of injury from impact.