By Patrick Avenell
Following a unflattering story on TV’s Today Tonight, an Electrolux spokesperson has told Current.com.au that the manufacturer is not as concerned with negative publicity as it is with locating around 4,000 potentially dangerous dishwashers.
After the NSW Minister for Fair Trading, Virginia Judge, reissued a warning on “dangerous” Electrolux dishwashers this Tuesday past, Today Tonight’s Helen Wellings presented a story on the program about the dangers of having an Electrolux dishwasher.
Entitled Kitchen Nightmares: Faulty dishwashers still causing fires, the story detailed how Electrolux recalled around 26,000 dishwashers, but is still struggling to locate the final 4,000. Wellings described the fault thus: “An electrical fault in a number of big name electrical appliances causes them to suddenly ignite and burn down kitchens, sometimes destroying whole houses.”
Current.com.au understands that no houses have been destroyed as a direct result of a faulty Electrolux dishwasher.
When asked for a response to this story, an Electrolux media spokesperson said the company was primarily concerned with finding the faulty dishwashers, and was not bothered by the Today Tonight story.
“The primary concern of Electrolux is customer safety and that we capture as many of the affected dishwashers as possible. So if the Today Tonight story…assists Electrolux [in doing] this, then that will have achieved its purpose,” said the spokesperson.
The following is taken from Minister Judge’s reissued warning statement:
“The potentially dangerous dishwashers have serial numbers ranging from 70700000 – 72400000 on the following models:
-Electrolux brand – models EX401ISB and ESL6163
-Electrolux Dishlex brand – models DX303SK and DX303WK
-Westinghouse brand – models SB908WK, SB908SK, SB916WK, SB916SK, SB926WK, and SB926SK.”
A transcript of the Today Tonight story can be found here.
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