Episode 7 Watchdog Test House

Take a look around your home.

Can you be sure that every appliance is safe?

Is everything a company tells you about a product true?

And are you getting the best value for your money?

With the help of the country's top experts, we're going to see

what it takes to test the household products we use every day.

We'll discover how they're pushed to their limits...

We'll put the makers' claims on trial...

..and show you how to make your money go further.

You'll find these products in any ordinary house.

But THIS is no ordinary house. And no ordinary street.

This is the Watchdog Test House.

Hello, we're deep inside one of

Britain's leading science centres.

Here at the Building Research Establishment,

some of the products and materials that we use every day

are put to the test

to make sure that they're safe,

environmentally friendly and that they don't fall apart.

Coming up on today's programme,

could YOUR electric blanket go up in flames?

Our whole life seems to have been wiped clean

from the day of the fire.

Better get it checked.

Instant tanning products - essential for any good bodybuilder.

But just how well do they live up to their streak-free promises?

-We've been finding out.

-Generally it does look quite even, there's

not too many streaks in there, it does look pretty good, actually.

And how effective is the product recall system?

There's nearly a million products

that are still unaccounted for,

are potentially dangerous, and will still be in people's homes today.

Are companies doing enough to warn owners of the risks?

The electric blanket. Millions of us have one.

For decades, they've been the winter warmer of choice.

But do you actually know how old your electric blanket is,

and have you ever had it tested?

You might want to after seeing this.

Meet Clive Macdonald.

Doctor Blanket!

He's been testing electric blankets for more than 20 years.

What you find is that it's laid on the bed,

it's been there for years maybe,

and we've seen them where they've

brought it in for testing

and they're completely threadbare,

all the wires are hanging out and,

well - it's just so unsafe.

At this event in Halifax, Clive is helping Age UK

to protect the local community.

In previous years, we've had blankets that have come in scorched,

they've come in with wires that have

been frayed, extremely unsafe.

We're going to screen as many blankets as we can

and if they are faulty,

we'll replace them for something that's safe.

I've come to have my electric blanket tested

because I don't think people always realise

how dangerous they can be.

Sidney Warden and his wife Teresa certainly do.

Two years ago, they found out the hard way.

About an hour before we went to bed

I put the electric blanket on,

and then I switched it off

before I got into bed.

And the bed was nice and warm.

But at 3am, Sidney was woken up by the smell of smoke.

The electric blanket was on fire.

I jumped out of bed and I saw flames

shooting out from the middle of underneath the bed,

and just as I got out on to the floor,

the curtains caught fire

and flames were shooting up to the ceiling.

It was only as a result of Sidney's quick thinking that they

managed to get out of the house safely.

We were really very grateful to get out alive.

The Fire Brigade arrived within ten minutes,

but, as the flames had spread quickly,

the damage had already been done.

We've lost of course everything of sentimental value -

photograph alums,

mementos of places we've been to,

our whole life

seems to have been wiped clean

from the day of the fire.

Sidney and Teresa were taken in by their daughter Ann who

they lived with for more than year until their house could be re-built.

It's not entirely clear what caused the fault with Sidney

and Teresa's blanket because it was completely destroyed in the fire,

but the reason for most fires is wear and tear -

something Clive Macdonald is testing for at the Age UK event in Halifax.

Have you been using this this winter?

-No.

-No, not yet?

-Not cold enough yet.

So the first real thing is to do a complete visual inspection,

make sure that the element rooting is all nice and even.

Check the cable, make sure there's no breaks or any damage

to the controller...

So then we do some power checks,

just to make sure the controller is working correctly.

Clive's final check is to fire 15,000 volts through

the blanket to find out if there are any breaks in the circuit.

All seems well with this inspection.

Good. That blanket is in good order.

But things soon go downhill.

Right, what's happening there, there's a break in the insulation

covering the metal element.

Possibly you could get an electric shock from it.

Later we'll be finding out just how many blankets fail the testing.

Unfortunately, it has absolutely no safety features whatsoever

and it is quite dangerous.

And we head to this testing laboratory in Leatherhead

to find out how older blankets stand up to modern-day testing.

Eventually, it could well have caused an electric shock.

It could even cause a fire.

The fake tan. Ever had one?

You certainly don't want to be left looking streaky,

or let's face it, just a little bit orange.

So you may well decide to turn to one the many instant tanning

products on the market,

which promise to leave you with a natural and flawless-looking tan,

fragrance-free, which won't rub off on your clothes.

But how good are they?

Well, Sophie, we're going to look at some of the instant tanning

products on the market to find out.

So let's start with the basics.

What exactly are they, Dr Laura?

The main ingredients

are what you'd find in a simple

moisturising solution.

And if you add some kind of a brown colour,

what you get is an instant tanning product.

And there's two different ways that companies go about this.

So the first way they do it

is they add a brown powder called iron oxide.

Now, iron oxide is more commonly known as rust.

The other way that companies go about making it,

rather than adding iron oxide in there, we add colorants.

These can be simple colorants, just like you'd find in food colouring.

But whatever way a company goes about making this instant tan

product, there's certain characteristics that

people are always looking for.

They want it to be streak-free, they want an even tone to their skin,

they want it not to rub off on their clothes.

They'd like it to be a little bit waterproof just in case you get

caught out in a shower.

That's what we want, so time to find out if that's what we can get.

For the purposes of our tests, we've chosen a range of products

making the biggest claims that we could find at a range of prices.

The most expensive

is the Makebelieve Instant Tan Wash Off Bronzer at £15 a bottle.

It claims to be streak free, transfer resistant,

and give a natural looking tan.

The mid-range product is St Tropez Instant Tan Lotion.

At £10 a bottle, it claims to be streak free and water

and transfer resistant with its "Rainmac Technology".

Finally, the cheapest product we could find is the £4.49

Solait Instant Bronzer Wash Off Tan.

It claims to provide an immediate, flawless, natural looking tan

and is - you guessed it - transfer resistant.

All we need now are some people to try them out on.

Preferably some people that know a thing or two about fake tanning.

Yes, we've called in the big guns -

literally.

Meet Sam,

James

and Austin.

They're each going to test one of the fake tans.

I'm pretty much a fake tan pro.

I've been using it for 30 years.

It does get addictive so generally now I try not to leave the house without it!

James gets the most expensive Makebelieve.

Austin gets the mid-range St Tropez.

Sam gets the cheaper Solait product

and lucky Dr Laura gets to be our independent adjudicator.

Although this isn't a rigorous scientific test, they all apply

the fake tan in a similar method according to the instructions.

First of all - the streaky test.

And our most expensive product, the Makebelieve.

So you've applied your instant tan products now. It does look

quite even, actually - it has gone on nicely. I can't see many streaks.

Next up, the mid-range St Tropez product.

Generally it does look quite even, there's not too many streaks

in there, it does look pretty good, actually.

And finally our cheapest product, the Solait.

So there's a streakiness there, it doesn't look very even,

and I must admit of the three of them, yours is the most streaky.

It was quite hard to apply.

But I would say this one's clearly the winner on this test.

So round one and the most expensive product Makebelieve is in the lead.

On to round two. How even are their tans?

For this, we need a technological aid.

This machine measures the colour of your skin

and displays it as a number.

We're looking at the number on the left - which measures brownness.

Laura's measuring two different parts of each body builder's skin

to see how even their tans are.

The closer the two numbers - the more even the tans.

For Austin and Sam, what we've seen is there's

not that much difference between the two different spots on your body.

So it's quite an even tone you've got across your body there.

Whereas I'm afraid for you, James, there was a substantial

difference between your arm and your elbow.

So that would imply that there's different parts of you that will

come out darker than others and it's not quite such an even tone.

So after our second test, the St Tropez

and the Solait products are starting to catch up.

But these body builders aren't just concerned about streaks

and even-ness. They want to know their fake tans won't

rub off on their clothes.

-And they won't run off in the rain.

-That's pretty cold!

Find out the results of THOSE tests, later.

Now, it's fair to say that

most manufacturers go to great lengths to test the household

products we use every day and make sure that they're safe.

So you'd think that if something does go wrong

and a dangerous product gets onto the market,

they'd go to the SAME lengths to let you know about it.

But do they? Here's Lynn Faulds Wood.

Welcome to Watchdog.

On tonight's programme,

all these people have written to us.

'It was 1991 and I'd been working on Watchdog for six years.

'You'd helped the programme to uncover plenty of potentially

'dangerous products - but something was bothering me.

'Why weren't companies doing more to warn the public about faulty goods?'

I've long thought the recall system in the UK is pretty appalling.

For a start, there's no real system.

These were potentially fatal faults.

We think there's an urgent need for a better recall system here

before someone is killed.

'We hoped that appeal would prompt quick and dramatic change.'

But it didn't.

In fact, of all the campaigns Watchdog was involved in,

THIS is the one that I think still needs most work.

Fast forward a few decades and yes,

recalls do SOMETIMES make the headlines.

-'Be it cars...'

-The world's largest car manufacturer,

Toyota, is now having to recall

more than 8.5 million of its vehicles worldwide.

-'Or toys...'

-Nearly a quarter of a million Fisher Price toys

and high chairs are being recalled in the UK and it comes after safety

concerns were raised following a number of injuries to children.

But what about the other 400-odd products recalled every year?

How many of THOSE do you hear about?

The reality is that only 10-20%

of recalled products are actually returned.

And that's because so few of us

ever hear that something in our home could be dangerous.

Why? Well, the laws surrounding how recalls should be done

are certainly vague, to say the least.

The law says that

a manufacturer must communicate with

the owners of the product if it's

practical to do so, but they don't say what "practical to do so" means.

Therefore it's up to each manufacturer to make their own

decision about what that phrase means to them.

But not only is the law open to interpretation,

it doesn't really address the key problem - contacting customers.

Vehicle safety recalls are one of the most effective

types of recall in the UK

because when we buy a car, we have to hand over our contact information.

Manufacturers can also get our information from the DVLA.

But with nearly every other product, that ISN'T the case.

Unfortunately, most manufacturers don't know who owns their products.

If you imagine when you buy a hairdryer,

toaster or a washing machine - most people don't supply

the manufacturers any contact details.

Which means manufacturers have to hope

they get your attention another way.

Like notices in newspapers.

What they have to do is hope that people with the affected products

will see those notifications and take action.

Not always effective, according to Nicola Millar.

Watchdog reported how her Hotpoint dishwasher blew up

as a result of a faulty component.

A faulty component the company was already fully aware of

as the product HAD been recalled a month earlier.

I had no clue, absolutely no clue

that there was even any sort of

fire hazard with these dishwashers.

We could have actually died in the fire,

I could have lost my whole family.

Nicola hadn't seen any of the notices that were published

in national papers.

Here it is in The Mirror, in black and white.

Not exactly eye-catching, is it?

Hotpoint should have

gone out of their way to make sure that this was common knowledge.

Hotpoint said safety was their main priority

and they were continuing to find the outstanding affected products.

And in fact, the company has done all that they were required

to do under law -

a law that's so ineffective that millions of recalled products

are still unaccounted for.

Among them there's Bosch, Neff

and Siemens dishwashers

This Beko fridge-freezer.

And this other model of Hotpoint dishwasher, the DWF.

Undoubtedly, because of the age of some of these products,

some of those will have been scrapped by now.

But what is without doubt is that these three recalls alone,

there's nearly a million products that are still unaccounted for,

are potentially dangerous, and will still be in peoples' homes today.

I'm still worried about the recall system -

but there are things you can do

to make sure you have a better chance of hearing about recalls.

For example, if you buy a domestic appliance - big or small -

it's a good idea to register your details with the company.

That way if there is a recall, they'll be able to find you.

You can also check

if things in your home have been recalled on websites like

The Trading Standards Institute,

Electrical Safety Council

and Recall UK,

which provides information about most recalled products.

And maybe, just maybe, the changes I called for back in the 1990s

might finally be coming our way.

We've had a number of retailers

and major manufactures have come to us and talked to us about what

they can do improve their recall effectiveness.

And some of them have even suggested that maybe

they could take a leadership role within their industry to show

how recalls can be made more effective.

Printer ink.

Believe or not, it's one of the most expensive liquids in the world.

So choosing the right printer -

and therefore the correct ink - is crucial.

Here to help us understand it all is Richard Headland from Which.

These things, they're not big, but they cost a fortune. Why?

They do. We worked out actually that you spend more on ink

per millilitre

than you would on vintage champagne.

So this stuff really is phenomenally expensive.

And, you know, obviously it has to

be made to certain specifications

so it's not going to damage your printer, but beyond that

we really can't see why it's so expensive.

Does it make a difference what kind of printer you buy?

It does. For example, cheaper printers,

and you can find some for as little as £30,

will have a combined colour cartridge and a black cartridge.

Now, a combined colour cartridge,

as soon as one of the colours in there runs out, like your

magenta, for example, then you've got to replace the whole thing.

And that gets really costly over time.

Beyond that, there's also a big difference between

whether you go for a laser printer or an inkjet printer.

Now, inkjet printers are much better for printing photos, which is

what most people want them for these days.

But the thing to be aware of there is they do use a lot of ink

every time you turn them on and off, so they have to clean

the print heads and that wastes ink every time you do that.

-Does the amount your print make a difference?

-It does, yeah.

If you're maybe printing for business use in your home office,

for example, then you're better off with a laser printer

because it's much more economical in terms of the running costs.

The printer is more expensive to buy in the first place,

but it will cost you less in the long run.

For most people wanting to print photos,

then you are going to have to buy an inkjet printer.

There are all kinds of ink cartridges on the market -

does it make a difference what kind of cartridge you buy,

whether it's a brand or non-brand?

If you want to be safe, you can stick with the branded cartridges -

indeed, while your printer's under warranty, you may want to do that.

However, outside of the warranty period,

absolutely no reason not to use non-branded cartridges.

We do find the results can be variable,

but you will find some that are as good as the manufacturer cartridges.

And they cost you a lot, lot less to buy.

-Richard, thank you.

-Thank you.

Back now to those instant tanning products.

Earlier, we saw how some can leave you looking streaky,

despite those claims of a natural and even-looking tan.

So what happens when they come into contact with a snug-fitting

white T-shirt?

Now that's another question.

I can tell you're loving this one, Sophie.

Well, you'll be pleased to hear it's time for that white T-shirt test.

James is wearing the most expensive instant tanning product

in our test, the Makebelieve at £15.

Austin has the mid-range St Tropez at £10.

And Sam, the £4.49 Solait product.

They each put on these rather large white T-shirts...

have a quick wriggle around for a minute...

and then take them off again.

Let's see if any fake tan has come off.

Right, so I can see some instant tan has transferred onto

all three of your T-shirts there.

Those two products have performed about the same.

I'm afraid to say this one is clearly the loser.

When you were putting the T-shirts on,

did you get any on the outside of the T-shirts?

Now for your one, yes, we can see there was some on the outside there.

For yours... Quite a lot has come off of yours.

I'd say of the three, yours has transferred the least,

yours has transferred a little more...

and I'm afraid to say yours

has transferred an awful lot.

Very disappointing!

Although this is just a snapshot, on our test, NONE of the products

have actually lived up to their claims of being transfer resistant!

But the most expensive product -

the Makebelieve - has done slightly better than the other two,

with the mid-range product St Tropez coming a close second.

So to our final test - rain.

Or at least, our version of rain.

The mid-range product - St Tropez - makes big claims about being

water resistant with its "Rainmac Technology".

So will that one do much better than the other products,

which make no such claims? Time to find out.

SHE LAUGHS

HE GASPS

Now, we can instantly see that quite a lot has come off there.

I'll give you towel, so you can dab yourself.

That was pretty cold!

We ask our guys to dab themselves with a towel to see

if any comes off.

First, the most expensive - Makebelieve.

Oh, wow - look at that! An awful lot of this product has come off on here

and it's streaking as well.

Next, it's Austin's turn with the mid-range St Tropez.

Now, your product claims to be water resistant,

so this will be interesting to see how it does. So, are you ready?

-OK, let's go.

-Good.

So what we're looking to see is how much comes off onto the towel.

How much gets transferred.

Let's have a look.

Wow!

Quite a lot has come off, there!

And finally, as Austin goes to dry off, it's Sam and the cheapest

product, the Solait's turn to face the watering can.

Yeah.

Quite a lot has come off, I'm afraid to say

and what it's left behind is really streaking.

I think it's fair to say you might not get the best results

if you wear ANY of these instant tanning products in the rain.

St Tropez told us while consumers expect their product to

withstand light rain, spilt liquids and physical exertion,

they understand that it will wash away after showering.

They say their products undergo robust extensive scientific testing

and user trials to validate ALL claims.

And add there are many factors that go into the pricing of the product,

but the cost of the product to consumers is ultimately decided

by the retailers.

Makebelieve say their product is not marketed as water resistant.

They add that evenness is something that the whole industry struggles

with and further information is available on their website.

As for Solait,

they told us their own independent trials gave excellent feedback.

So overall, the product which has come out on top in our one-off test

is the most expensive - the Makebelieve.

But at £15 a bottle, remember that's a whole £5 more than

the mid-priced product

and more than three times the price of the cheapest one.

We'll leave you to judge whether overall,

it gave three times the performance.

Back now to electric blankets and that testing event in Halifax.

They've been checking for signs of wear and tear

and blankets that could be dangerous.

So what did they find?

By far the biggest problem with electric blankets is age,

as the safety features can deteriorate over time.

In fact, it's the ones that are more than ten years old that

cause 99% of blanket fires.

The blanket I brought in today, it's very old, I've had it donkey's years.

I haven't seen one of these

for quite a while.

A heated mattress.

I estimate that it's nearly 50 years old.

But unfortunately it's got absolutely no safety features

whatsoever, so if a fault occurred on the blanket,

it wouldn't switch off the electric

and it is quite dangerous.

The blanket fails the test - which means it now needs to be destroyed.

But for every blanket that's seized, Age UK provide a replacement -

which comes as a relief to owners like Kathleen.

I know that I'm quite safe and that I can use it any time

and not be frightened.

There are still,

we estimate, millions of blankets that are still over 40 years old.

People just do not throw them away.

And sadly, they quite often never get them tested.

And that's certainly true for many of those

bringing their blankets here today.

In total, out of almost 100 blankets tested at this one event,

a staggering 70% failed -

either due to their age or condition.

And if you're still not convinced about the need to get YOUR

electric blanket checked, wait until you see this...

We've brought this 45-year-old blanket...

to this testing lab in Leatherhead.

They're going to show us some of the tests electric blankets go

through to ensure they conform to British Safety Standards.

How will it stand up to modern-day testing?

First up - the flexing test,

seen here being carried out on a modern blanket.

Brace yourself, it's about to get technical.

With the flexing test,

what we're looking for is

the integrity of the mechanical

connection of the cord to the unit.

The metal strands inside the cable can break

and eventually you could end up with an open circuit inside the wire

which can then overheat the cable and catch fire.

For this test, the blanket's control panel is normally

attached to the flexing machine

and the cable is bent to a 90-degree angle 10,000 times.

The cable is then inspected for broken strands inside the wire.

This test takes five hours, but our old blanket fails

even before Ray's attached it to the machine!

That won't take long before that insulation breaks through.

If somebody touched that when that was in operation,

you could get an electric shock.

Next - the electrical strength test.

The standard requires the insulation around the cables to be able

to withstand 3,000 volts for 60 seconds -

more than ten times the voltage of your average British plug socket.

A surge like that might happen if your house is struck by lightning.

Going to wind it up very slowly...

1,000 volts...

But if the insulation is doing its job, the blanket

should remain operational despite the extra voltage.

-2,500...

-MACHINE BEEPS

That beep means the insulation broke down at just 2,500 volts -

500 volts short of the 3,000 target.

Eventually, it could well have caused an electric shock,

it could even cause a fire.

In other words, it's another fail for our old blanket.

How will it perform in what Ray calls the five-fold test?

Ray attaches a thermometer to the surface of the blanket to

monitor how hot it gets if it becomes folded whilst in use.

At the moment, this blanket does seem to be as if

it would pass without any problems and the temperature

is well within the requirements of the specification,

so for a very old blanket, it's passed a very modern test.

But don't get too excited, because when we compared our old

blanket with a modern one, a key safety feature was missing.

Here you can see what's called a melt layer that's

found inside the wiring of modern blankets.

Our old blanket didn't have one,

and yet they're an essential safety feature.

If anything happens and the blanket overheats,

that layer will melt and the protection system in the blanket

will pick that up and operate and the blanket either doesn't cause

a fire, doesn't electrocute anybody and switches off in a safe position.

If you want more information on the safety of products in your home,

you can go to our website...

That's all for today. Thanks for watching.