Dishwasher Safety

We build safety into every layer of our dishwashers.

Each of our dishwashers includes multiple layers of safety features to reduce the likelihood of overheating electrical components. These features also help to protect consumers and their property in the unlikely event that an electrical component overheats.

Below you can explore some examples of the safety components that may be found in your dishwasher. If you have question about the dishwasher class action settlement, please visit DishwasherSettlement.com, or call the settlement administrator at 1-888-730-9962.

Control Board Housing

A flame-retardant plastic housing isolates and protects the control board from contamination and contains overheating components.

At Whirlpool Corporation, we have a long-standing track-record of designing products that put people first — providing relevant solutions that help them in ways they’ve never imagined. We take our relationship with consumers seriously and work every day to exceed their expectations — giving them more time to focus on the things that matter most.

Whirlpool values our consumers and recognizes that our products play an important role in their daily lives. We focus on building safe and reliable appliances that consumers and their families can rely on.

Safety record: no serious injury due to an overheated control board

We first began manufacturing dishwashers with fully electronic controls in 1989, and our brands, including KitchenAid, Whirlpool, Jenn-Air, Amana and Gladiator, have sold more than 24 million of those dishwashers. All were designed with layers of built-in safety features, with each new generation of product more innovative than the last. We also test our dishwashers to contain a rare event – like an overheated control board – inside the appliance.

The number of reports of electronic control boards overheating is extremely small when compared with the 24 million dishwashers with fully electronic controls we have manufactured over the past two decades. Because the cause of a problem with a dishwasher is frequently not immediately apparent, we evaluate every incident that is reported to us.

No serious injury has been caused by a Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana or Gladiator control board. That is an exemplary safety record.

Ensuring product safety

Whirlpool Corporation dishwashers are safe and reliable because of our award-winning safety processes. Our rigorous, self-imposed safety standards are among the highest in the industry, and represent Whirlpool’s commitment to our consumers.

It is Whirlpool Corporation’s robust product designs, dedicated employees and award-winning safety processes that ensure our dishwashers are safe and reliable. Our safety process begins with the design of a product and continues throughout the life of that product in consumers’ homes.

Every new Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana and Gladiator dishwasher includes multiple layers of safety features to reduce the risk of overheating electrical components and to help ensure consumers and their property will be protected, even if an electrical part fails.

Design: safety built in

Our dishwashers are safe and reliable because they are designed and built with state-of-the-art safety features and tested to contain rare cases of overheating electronic control boards, ensuring that any damage that might occur would be limited to within the unit itself. For electronic control boards, these safety features include:

• Self-extinguishing flame-retardant materials that comply with UL codes
• Restricted air-flow compartments surrounding the control panel to prevent fire
• Designs that shut off power to the PC board in a rare overheating event, such as a thermal cut-off fuse

Rigorous testing

Each dishwasher platform is put through our “forced failure testing,” which simulates unlikely events like the overheating of a control board to ensure that the safety features contain heat damage inside the unit and to reduce risk of any personal harm or property damage.

Quality manufacturing

Whirlpool Corporation dishwashers are proudly built in the United States at our assembly plant in Findlay, Ohio. We manufacture products with the guiding principles of lean manufacturing and operational excellence to ensure continuous improvement of processes and to produce products that meet our industry-leading standards.

Quality Control checks

Before leaving the factory, each unit receives a final quality control test to ensure that it is working properly.

Early-alert field monitoring

We actively monitor the safety performance of our dishwashers in consumers’ homes over the lifetime of the products through an early-alert field monitoring system. Whirlpool’s safety team monitors all consumer incident reports – including those reported in the media or in online forums – for indications of problems with any of our products.

This process enables Whirlpool Corporation to detect potential safety issues and to take prompt, voluntary action to address any actual safety issue that is identified. That’s why for the past several decades, any previous recall of a Whirlpool Corporation-made appliance was initiated by Whirlpool. Consumers can help us with this post-sale monitoring by contacting us directly (see below) if they have a concern about their dishwasher.

Investigation of reported incidents

Whirlpool Corporation has an established review process and evaluates every report of a problem that is brought to our attention. Any report of fire is quickly directed to an experienced safety team for further evaluation. If appropriate, we will dispatch a Whirlpool-approved technician to examine the appliance, and in some cases, ask the consumer if we can take the unit back to our laboratory for engineering inspection and analysis. However, we can only investigate incidents that are brought to our attention, and we encourage any consumer with concerns to contact us directly (see below).

Cooperation with regulatory agencies

We are committed to working collaboratively with regulatory agencies. We have shared the results of our dishwasher control board investigation with the appropriate government safety agencies, including the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Help us to continually improve the performance and experience with our product:

Register your product

Our North America product registries help us keep track of product inquiries and enable us to offer better service when you call. By registering your product, you also help us contact you in the event of a product recall.

• Whirlpool
• Maytag
• KitchenAid
• JennAir
• Amana
• Gladiator

Install with an authorized installer

Many product issues arise from improper product installation. Ensure your dishwasher is properly installed by selecting an authorized installer.

Adhere to all product safety directions

Before you first use any new appliance, carefully read the safety warnings on the appliance and in the literature that comes with it. Follow all safety directions and user instructions to help to ensure your product is safe for years to come. If you have any questions, please contact us directly (see below).

Always use a Whirlpool-Corporation-Factory Authorized Service Provider for repair service

Whirlpool Corporation factory authorized service providers receive up-to-date training and repair instructions to help ensure that Whirlpool products continue to operate in a safe and reliable manner after they have been serviced. Improper repairs or machine modifications may interfere with or disable the appliance’s built-in safety features.

Do not tamper, alter, or by-pass any safety feature on a product

Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana and Gladiator products are designed with multiple layers of safety features. Tampering, by-passing or disabling one or more of these features can reduce the effectiveness of these features.

Stay aware of product recalls

Periodically check with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to obtain recall information relevant to the products you own.

Government Resources for Consumers

• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
  The U.S. CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable personal injury from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction.
• Ontario Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)
  The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) was established in 1999 with the mandate to enhance public electrical safety in Ontario.
• Health Canada
  Health Canada monitors health and safety risks related to the sale and use of drugs, food, chemicals, pesticides, medical devices and certain consumer products across Canada and around the world.