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Old 2nd Feb 2023, 1:50 pm   #1
Xantulle
Diode
 
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: Overijssel, Netherlands
Posts: 4
Question Did Braun (German company) use Asbestos in this 70's vintage hairdryer?

Hello all,

I've only recently found out that old hairdryers used to contain asbestos, mainly in the 70's, for heat isolation. The larger American companies stopped using asbestos in 1979, but dangerous vintage hairdryers are still collected/used nowadays unfortunately. There is information about specific brands/models for the USA market (see: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/1979/cp...ryer-companies), but I can hardly find anything about hairdryers for Europe / UK markets.

In 1972, Braun released the Braun HLD 5 (product number 4402 or 4406), in Dieter Ram design, created by Reinhold Weiss and Jürgen Greubel, see attachments.

My story: my parents have bought this Braun HLD 5 hairdryer somewhere in the 70's/80's, probably secondhand on a fair or they might have inherited it from an older person. They of course didn't know it might have been dangerous and have used it ever since. I was born in 1988 and I've used it a lot at home too until I moved out, and I can remember they still had it until I was about 20 years or older. It just never broke down, so my parents loved it for the 'real german vintage quality'.

My worry now of course is that it contained asbestos . A hairdryer this old would probably leave any asbestos inside in a friable condition, making it even more dangerous. I probably even directed it straight to my mouth to make funny faces in the mirror as a kid.

There isn't much to be found online if this model contained asbestos or not, not even a single Braun hairdryer asbestos result.. Almost all search results speak of USA hairdryers. Can anyone help me out for peace of mind?

--

According to the USA article I do know that Gillette used asbestos in hairdryers, for example in the "Gillette Vintage Max THD-2" which uses a roughly similar design. Gillette acquired Braun in 1967. Gillette says they stopped using asbestos in hairdryers since 1975, but this one is from 1972.

I do know that the Braun HDL 5 was manufactured in West Germany, so hopefully Asbestos wasn't used by Germany. Perhaps they even manufactured it in the same design for some years after 1972-1975, so it could be a newer type?

Replies are much appreciated! I've also attached some photos of the heater element I could find online.
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