Turning on the dishwasher before bed may be a regular part of your routine—but should the worst happen, you might wake up with more than just clean dishes.
In a video posted to TikTok, content creator Simone Patrice (@simonepatrice_ on TikTok) says she did just that, but woke up in the middle of the night to a house fire started by her malfunctioning dishwasher.
“This is your sign not to run your dishwasher at night,” the text overlay reads. “Also check your smoke detectors. Make sure they work. Like right now, go check.”
She writes that her dishwasher malfunctioned and caused a house fire.
“Smoke alarm went off at 1:25 a.m. and by 1:27 a.m. our entire house was filled with smoke,” she wrote. “Had I not woke up when I did, we would not have made it out.”
The video shows the creator walking through her smoke-damaged home, as she elaborates through the text overlay that much of the home is covered in soot, and her house has become unlivable by the effects of the fire.
“The smoke was too thick. We had no time to grab anything but our kids and get out. Our smoke detectors saved our lives,” she said. “The series of events that have unfolded at our home in the last month have been insane. We have endured a lifetime of trauma in a matter of weeks.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Simone via email regarding the video.
@simonepatrice_ We are devastated. Please pray for my family. Check your smoke detectors. Don’t run appliances at night. It’s not worth the risk. If you could just watch this video all the way through it is so helpful to me and if you feel led to help in any way my venmo is in my bio🤍 #firesafety #smokedetector #housefire ♬ house song – searows
How common is it?
Among household appliances known for causing fires—cooking ranges, dryers that have not had their lint traps cleaned, slow cookers—dishwashers are actually the second most common source of a kitchen fire started by non-cooking appliances, nationwide.
Some ways regular users of dishwashers can prevent home fires include ensuring they are not overloaded, making sure the grease filter is not dirty, and regularly checking electrical wiring around the appliance itself.
Several viewers shared that Simone’s video was a wake-up call for them to inspect their own dishwashers. Not to mention also check their smoke detectors and potentially change their own dishwashing machine habits.
“Thanks to your video I finally replaced my smoke detector batteries, which I was procrastinating for a few days. So: thank you,” one commenter wrote.
“I’m SO sorry Simone. I run my dishwasher every single night and never will again,” another said. “Sending your family SO much love & prayers.”
“This breaks my heart and also makes me so anxious,” another commented. “Left my dishwasher going right before I left for work and my fur baby in her kennel. Will never do that again. I’m so sorry.”
Others shared that they specifically do not leave their home with any appliances running, or leave them running while sleeping, because of the potential that this exact situation could happen.
“Same with dryers,” one commenter wrote. “I have two puppies. We have a house rule to never run the dryer when we aren’t home.”
“My mom always told me to never leave the house or go to sleep with an appliance running!” another said. “Thank you for sharing and i’m so sorry for your loss. hopefully it can help one person.”
“My mom drilled it into my head as a kid to never leave the house when the dryer was running and now same with a dishwasher,” yet another echoed. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
