‘It’s not worth it’: Family warns against running dishwasher overnight

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW/Gray News) – Running your appliances overnight could potentially be dangerous, one family in Topeka found out the hard way.

The Anderson family ran their dishwasher overnight as they were asleep and woke up to a nightmare.

Simone Anderson said she was awoken by smoke detectors going off around 1 a.m. on Aug. 7.

“I woke up and heard the smoke detector, and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’” she said. “I immediately woke my husband up. I’m a light sleeper, he is not.”

As her husband Paul Anderson walked down the stairs into the kitchen to investigate, he saw their dishwasher up in flames.

“It was like waking up into a nightmare, but I turned around and moved up quickly up the stairs to grab our kids and let Simone know this is legit,” Paul Anderson said.

Thankfully, the family made it out safely, and the fire department arrived quickly. But their house suffered a lot of damage.

“… We were just so distraught just watching our house up in flames,” Simone Anderson said.

The family of four didn’t know that starting the dishwasher before going to bed could cause a fire.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office says this assumption is common.

“The recommendation would be to not do that overnight or while you’re away, that way you can constantly keep an eye on it if something does develop,” said Office of the Kansas Fire Marshal Public Information Manager Lance Feyh. “In a dishwasher in particular, you have electricity, water, and heat all in the same generalized area and that does raise the potential for some sort of electrical fire to occur.”

Feyh said it’s important to take a few extra safety measures to make sure your appliances are working properly.

“You want to check your cords regularly to make sure they’re not damaged or frayed,” Feyh said. “Something a lot of people take for granted is when you register your purchase, if you have a new one and you do register it, you will get notifications of recalls or potential dangers with those so you can keep an eye on that.”

Simone Anderson said her family won’t be running any appliances overnight ever again.

“Don’t run your appliances at night: your washer, dryer, or dishwasher. None of it, don’t do it. It’s not worth it,” she said. “Also, if you haven’t had your appliances serviced, maybe do that to make sure they’re running appropriately.”

The Andersons will not be able to live in their home for the next five to six months while the damage is repaired.