Whirlpool Dishwasher Fire

This post isn't really any fun to write - my dishwasher had a small electrical fire. Apparently, Whirlpool dishwashers are prone to catching fire, though mine burned up in a rather unusual place. For most people, the control panel is the source of the flames, but for me it was where the power cord connects to the dishwasher.

For 3 wash cycles I was smelling burning/melting plastic. The first time I smelled it, I had accidentally melted some plastic, so I figured that was it.

The next time I ran the dishwasher, I smelled it again. I justified it as being from the last time the dishwasher had run and I moved on with my life.

The 3rd time I smelled it, it was stronger than the last 2 times. Now I was getting suspicious. I had thoroughly removed all melted plastic after it happened, so it didn't seem like that should continue being an issue. I opened the door to the dishwasher and realized the smell was not coming from inside the dishwasher. Well hell.

After some Googling, I came to discover that apparently Whirlpool dishwashers are catching fire left and right. That completely figures. In a panic, I asked my husband to pull it out so we could look for something that was melted or obviously not right. Of course he was like sure, in a minute... in 30 minutes... I'll do it tomorrow... so I did what any other woman would do - shot him a snotty look, sighed dramatically and went on the hunt for a screwdriver. I found one, unscrewed the clips at the top and pulled the dishwasher out myself. That's about the time the hubby felt like a jerk and came into the kitchen to help his pregnant wife look for the source of a burning smell.

We found it - it was the power cord where it attaches to the dishwasher. The plastic wing nut that goes around it was all melted and burned. So that was the source of the fire. We clipped the wires and put a new nut on. The husband thinks a dust-bunny got in there or something. I noticed the end of the wire was frayed, though I don't know how it would have lasted for 2 years without burning before now. So, fingers crossed for the best and no more mystery fires.