It's not a danger _unless_ there's a failure somewhere that allows a
hot conductor to make contact w/ the frame -- that's the purpose of
the ground.


Leakage from the windings to the frames of electric motors in large
appliances is quiet common and the reason why there are such strict
grounding rules. Air conditioners are notorious for this, but it can
also occur in washing machines and dryers. You don't really want to
claim that an ungrounded washing machine can somehow be considered
"safe".

In the 1960's, the manufactures of washing machines included an extra
ground wire and a strap for the cold water pipe to insure grounding
although it was later determined that this violated the single point
ground doctrine if the device was already grounded through the plug.

I read somewhere that this might still be a code requirement in
Canada. ??? Perhaps someone can clarify...