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Q&a
Q. Is it safe to leave a house or apartment while appliances like dishwashers or washing machines are running, or to run them overnight?
A. “We advise consumers not to run appliances like a dishwasher overnight, and to be cautious about others, even recharging a cellphone overnight,” said Scott Wolfson, of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.
“Many appliances have fail-safe technology, like cutoff switches that are supposed to power down a dishwasher when it overheats,” Mr. Wolfson said. “But there have been incidents that cause concern in which consumers may need to take direct action themselves, like directly unplugging the appliance because of the experience of seeing smoke.”
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There was a recent fatality involving a dishwasher left running overnight, he said, and it is not just heat-producing appliances that pose a threat. “There have been cases of cellphones sparking while left charging overnight,” he said.
The agency recommends operating appliances in the daytime, with supervision. Nighttime use, when energy demand is lower, “is fine, as long as someone is awake,” Mr. Wolfson said.
The commission’s Web site has information on recalls of appliances that may have malfunctioned in a dangerous way, he said.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section
D
, Page
6
of the New York edition
with the headline:
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