Today marks the start of Register My Appliance Week (17 – 21 January), so as part of the Fire Kills Campaign, Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) is reminding households to look around their homes and register the more than 100 million older appliances that have helped sustain and often entertain them through lockdown and other difficulties.
We all rely hugely on our fridges, washing machines and microwaves for keeping our busy lives on track, but would your appliance manufacturer know which machines you have and where to find you if a fault came to light with your model?
The answer is ‘no’ for some 100 million appliances, according to recent research. But this could all be remedied by people taking a few minutes to register them.
HWFRS is therefore urging the public to register their many treasured appliances that, unlike our cars, are still off the radar if a free safety repair is ever needed. People can quickly and easily make their homes safer by registering machines at registermyappliance.org.uk .
While the recent increase in online purchasing (reportedly soaring to 70%[1]) and the advent of
smart appliances will all help improve traceability, according to government estimates we are now running more than 212 million[2]
essential appliances to cook, wash clothes and dishes, clean floors and store our food.
Yet official research[3]
also found that 49% of us have never registered a product, potentially leaving some 100 million large and mid-sized older machines untraceable.
Register My Appliance is a web portal developed by AMDEA (the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances) to improve ownership data by making it quicker and easier for householders to register old and new appliances.
Offering access to over 60 of the nation’s leading brands, most manufacturers on the site welcome registration of products up to 12 years old or even older. Handy tips guide the user on how to find the important model details, meaning all the user needs to supply is their name and address. This data then goes directly to the manufacturer for use exclusively in case of a recall.
A recent AMDEA survey of appliance users nationwide, in both rental and owned properties, revealed that most (83%) respondents did not know or think they could register an older appliance that they had not purchased themselves.
The main reasons for not thinking this possible were not knowing the dates of purchase (59%) or not having the receipts (48%) – neither of which applies to registration as a safety precaution.
To increase safety and the life of appliances, the Register My Appliance portal also offers:
- A listing of appliance safety repairs and recalls
- Hints and tips on household safety
- Recommendations for appliance care
HWFRS Head of Prevention, Emma Roberts, said:
“As we all aim to keep our appliances running efficiently for many years, maintenance and registration of machines becomes increasingly important. Whether we found the appliances in our homes when we moved in, inherited them from family or simply installed and forgot about them.
“Although restrictions are easing, many people are still spending much of their time at home for various reasons, not least homeworking, so this is a great opportunity to remember to register all the indispensable appliances – particularly older ones – that have kept us going throughout the pandemic.
“These items should never be taken for granted – nor should the safety of your household. It is also vital that appliances are installed and used according to the instructions, and advice on safe usage is also available on the Register My Appliance portal.”
[1] Euromonitor, January 2021, Consumer Appliances
[2] BEIS, ECUK September 2021, Table A2
[3] BEIS September 2020, Consumer attitudes to product safety, page 22