Washing Machine Glass Door Suddenly 'Pop'... Company Says "Replacement with New Product"

Suspected 'Japha Phenomenon' Breaking Without External Impact

An accident occurred where the glass door of a washing machine purchased about a month ago shattered on its own.

The washing machine with broken tempered glass inside the door [Photo by Yonhap News]

According to Yonhap News on the 24th, on the 19th, the tempered glass inside the door of a washing machine at the home of Mr. A, who lives in Busan, shattered with a 'pop' sound.

Mr. A explained, "I never thought the glass door of a washing machine that wasn't even operating could shatter into pieces like this," adding, "If someone had been nearby at the time, they could have been injured."

The product with the shattered tempered glass is LG Electronics' 'WashTower,' which integrates a dryer on top of the washing machine.

LG Electronics Service Center visited Mr. A's home to inspect the washing machine and decided to replace it with a new product.

The company stated, "Metal materials like zippers can hit the glass door causing scratches, and if heat or impact accumulates on these scratches, tempered glass can occasionally shatter on its own," estimating the cause of the accident as 'spontaneous breakage.' Spontaneous breakage refers to the phenomenon where tempered glass shatters by itself without external impact.

Experts explained that spontaneous breakage can occur due to impurities entering during the manufacturing process of tempered glass or cracks caused by tiny scratches.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics swept first place in each category in JD Power's '2023 Home Appliance Satisfaction Survey' in the U.S. market.

JD Power announced on the 20th (local time) that this survey ranked satisfaction in 12 categories across 11 product groups based on evaluations from about 20,000 customers who purchased home appliances in the past year. One category was for appliance retailers rather than products, with Menard taking first place.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics dominated first place in nine major home appliance items. Samsung Electronics ranked first in eight categories including drum washing machines, top-loader washing machines, and dryers.

LG Electronics took first place in the French-door refrigerator and hood-integrated microwave (tied for first) categories. It also ranked second in other categories such as freestanding ranges, French-door refrigerators, standard refrigerators, and top-loader washing machines, placing high in all other categories.

Founded in 1968, JD Power is a U.S. marketing company with global authority in consumer satisfaction surveys for automobiles, kitchen and laundry appliances, healthcare, and more.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.