Millions of Americans load up their dishwasher after dinner to run a cycle as they sleep — but one woman says you do so at your own peril.
Simone Anderson says her Kansas home started going up in flames as she slept earlier this month after she started her dishwasher before turning in for the night.
Anderson, 29, told Kennedy News that she carried out the seemingly safe routine every evening, loading up the machine with dirty dishes that had piled up between herself, her husband, Paul, and their two kids, Nola, 4, and Ansel, 1, during the day.
But on Aug.7, the unexpected happened: The dishwasher caught on fire.
Within an hour of drifting to sleep, she was startled awake by her home’s smoke detectors, prompting her Paul to rush downstairs only to find their kitchen was “glowing orange” with flames.
“He said it was very surreal and the kitchen was glowing orange,” Anderson recalled, noting that her husband had gone to bed before her that fateful evening. “He said there were flames coming out from below and beside the dishwasher. It was completely engulfed in flames.”
He rushed back upstairs to grab Anderson and their two kids so that they could evacuate the house, which filled with smoke within mere minutes.
“It was way too big of a fire for him to put out himself, it was coming into the hallway,” Anderson said.
The Topeka-based family called the fire department, who, after investigating the incident, told the Andersons that there had been a “malfunction deep within the dishwasher,” which caused the massive blaze and left their entire house “covered in soot.”
“The whole house is completely unliveable,” Anderson said. “The kitchen will have to be torn out. Every square inch of our whole house has soot all over it.”
Despite now searching for an Airbnb to live in until they can return to their home, they were lucky to escape the inferno when they did as they “could’ve easily died that day.”
She told Newsweek they will likely be without their home for at least six months or more.
“As hard as it is to lose all our belongings — especially for my daughter as it was her birthday that day and she lost all her birthday goods — but the alternative would’ve been us not surviving,” Anderson told Kennedy News.
“If we hadn’t heard the smoke alarms, we would’ve all just slept through it,” she continued. “I keep thinking about that, my nose was burning for days after that because of the smoke.”
After researching and talking to firefighters, she learned that devastating appliance fires such as this are “much more common than you think.”
Now, she’s educating others to not use their household appliances at night, explaining that it would be more difficult to stop the fire as quickly as you could if you were awake.
Anderson even took to TikTok to share footage of the wreckage after the flames were extinguished, writing, “We are devastated.”
Ryan Gregor, the head electrician at RCG Electrical, told Newsweek that he’s “seen firsthand the potential hazards that can lurk in our homes.”
“Factors such as the appliance’s age, condition, and the overall electrical system can contribute to these risks,” he said.
“Remember, dishwashers, like any appliance, have a life span. Regular checks and maintenance are essential. I recommend regular appliance inspections, proper ventilation, and avoiding overloading electrical circuits.”
Smoke detectors, he advised, “are a must” in case of emergency.
According to the US Fire Administration, electrical malfunction is the leading cause of residential fires every year, with the most deaths occurring between midnight and 8 a.m., when people are likely to be asleep.
The agency recommends plugging major appliances directly into the wall socket — not a power strip or extension cord — as well as maintaining household clothing dryers, replacing cords or appliances that have worn cords and keeping flammable fabrics away from light bulbs, fixtures and lamps.
“I was in disbelief that this had happened. I say to others don’t run appliances while you’re sleeping or not at home because fires can happen,” Anderson told Kennedy News.
“It’s easy to think, ‘This won’t happen to me, I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.’ I’m just thankful that we’re here and we’re safe.”
