4 sourced reports, with what to check before you buy. Each one links to the page it was reported on.
2 of these reports describe a fire, explosion or shock risk.
Costly or dangerous
Indesit/Hotpoint tumble dryer recall (2004–2015): fluff contacting heating element fire risk
Safety risk
This is the official UK OPSS recall notice for Indesit (and Hotpoint, Creda, Swan, Proline) tumble dryers. It is the central documented fire defect for the brand: the recall window ends 30 September 2015, so post-2015 models are outside it. The fire risk is fluff coming into contact with the heating element.
What to check. For a post-2015 Indesit dryer this recall does not apply, but it establishes the brand's documented fire history and the exact mechanism (fluff on heating element). Anyone buying a used Indesit dryer should confirm its manufacture date and whether it was modified, since unmodified pre-2015 units carry the fire risk.
News: recall affected units manufactured April 2004–October 2015; post-2015 dryer outside recall
A news report of a real Indesit dryer fire (model IDC85UK). It records the manufacturer's own statement that the recall affected units manufactured April 2004–October 2015, and that a dryer made after that date was not affected — directly relevant to the post-2015 subject.
What to check. Establishes the recall boundary: post-2015 Indesit dryers are outside the documented recall. Note the report also shows a model (IDC85UK) flagged as affected on the manufacturer's website, so buyers of used units should verify by model number.
WSWS: 5.3M Indesit/Hotpoint dryers sold in UK 2004–2015 also sold across Europe; 2018 Indesit dryer fire
Safety risk
Confirms the affected dryers were sold across Europe (not just UK), relevant to the EU market in this pack. Also records a December 2018 incident where an Indesit dryer burst into flames.
What to check. Shows the fire defect affected units sold across Europe, not just the UK. For the EU/TR market this is the relevant documented history; post-2015 units are outside the 2004–2015 window.
iFixit: lint accumulating around rear drum seal (felt) falls into heating element housing and ignites
Identifies the concrete part involved — the felt rear drum seal — and the mechanism by which lint reaches the heating element. Confirms Whirlpool implemented the modification into the manufacturing process, which is why post-2015 units are outside the recall.
What to check. The concrete part to check on any older Indesit dryer is the rear drum seal and heating element housing. Post-2015 models should have the modification from manufacture, but the mechanism explains why filter cleaning matters.
These reports come from the pages linked under each item: owner forums, repair guides and workshops. They are not a diagnosis of any one unit, and a careful check of the one you are buying still applies.
Text from the Kriko Tumble dryers catalog, version 0.1.1, under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 license.
