Posted by katherine.owen
Tuesday, 5 Apr 2011
We rely on our kitchen appliances day in, day out, but we rarely stop to think what would happen should something go wrong. Fortunately white goods manufacturers have a whole host of safety features to prevent accidents. Here are the top five...
- The child lock – little fingers get everywhere they shouldn’t so to stop them ruining your washer settings, or burning themselves opening hot ovens an appliance with a child lock is a must for families with kids. Child locks are available on most appliance types from cookers to fridges and washing machines.
- Heat reflective glass on cookers and ovens – when you’re cooking in the oven the glass can get hot enough to burn. Heat reflective glass and double or triple glazing prevent glass getting too hot. Once again, this is a great feature for households with children.
- Induction hobs – less a safety feature, more of a whole appliance, induction hobs heat your food with electromagnets so the hob itself doesn’t get hot. That means if you accidentally touch the hob during cooking you won’t get burnt!
- Flame safety device on gas hobs – cuts off the gas supply when the flame is extinguished, preventing dangerous leaks. This feature is now demanded by law.
- Flood detection on washing machines and dishwashers –should your appliance spring a leak it automatically cuts off supply to the water, preventing flooding in your kitchen.