# Front Load Washer Safety Reminder - Sad Story **Child Death***



## KatWrangler (Mar 21, 2005)

I heard this on the news this morning. We lived up the street from this apartment complex. So sad.









http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/lo...g-Machine.html

Watch the video.


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## Sheal (Apr 19, 2007)

This is why my front loaders can be locked by a push of a button and unlocked in the same manner. It also auto locks when the loads are going. No accidents waiting to happen with my front loaders.

Poor sweetheart, what a tragic loss.


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## KatWrangler (Mar 21, 2005)

I am still trying to figure out how this happened. I have an LG front load washer and dryer.


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## hipumpkins (Jul 25, 2003)

Oh my god! That is so scary. I don't have front loader but wow that is one scary story. that poor kid!!


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## Mama Mko (Jul 26, 2007)

That's horrible.


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## KatWrangler (Mar 21, 2005)

When my older brother was a toddler he fell in the washing machine (over 40 years ago). Thats when the top loaded machines didn't stop when the lid opened. He apparently climbed up on a chair (with the help of my oldest brother) and fell in with the dang thing running.









My Mom and Dad ended up in the ER with him. My poor Mom aparently had been getting ready for church and went to the ER in just her housecoat and slip.

We laugh now. But I think my Mom probably went grey at that time.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

My front loader doesn't lock unless it is running. But it is also harder to start (you have to pull out the knob and even my 4 yo can't do that). But I will talk to him today about how dangerous it is to climb in things like that.


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## ChetMC (Aug 27, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KatWrangler* 
I am still trying to figure out how this happened. I have an LG front load washer and dryer.

I'm also really confused. You have to slam the door on our washer super hard for it to close. We have an LG front loader right now, but we also had a Miele and you actually had to slam the door on the Miele so hard we called the service people the first time we used it because we thought it was broken.

With either machine, a child could never close it from the inside, and a 15 month old could never close it from the outside.


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## Sheal (Apr 19, 2007)

Not mine, they don't need to be slammed at all. I went and measured from floor to buttons and it is indeed about the same as the mother's level for floor to button height.

Mine has a front door that takes up the whole of the front of the unit save for the buttons area. I only need a finger to close the door. Lucky for me my machines are in the basement with a door that has a lock on it that locks with keys and I have one of two keys, my BIL has the other.

On top of that there is the basement door at the top of the stairs into the main floor that locks in the same manner. My machines are sound proofed and insulated in a small laundry room. You can barely hear them let alone hearing a child that may have been trapped in a full front door loading washer.


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## Skippy918 (Jul 15, 2008)

I have the Whirlpool Duets. The buttons on mine are the same height as a door knob. You do have to press the control on button first and then hold down the start button. I don't know how young one would have to be to figure that out. That is scary though.


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## Smylingeyz (Dec 2, 2007)

That's so sad... horrible.


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## skolbut (Feb 18, 2008)

How horrible! We're in transition between homes right now and I'm really ocd about always putting the child locks on mom's machines... she forgets all the time and it drives me crazy... my 2yo would totally climb in those and it's a simple button push to turn it on...

That being said, my dad got a new front loader set about 4 years ago and it had a release feature on the inside if anything heavy bumped it (as in a child). We tried to wash a pair of shoes and the door would pop open and shoes came flying out!!! I imagine it would pop open similarly if a child or child part hit it from the inside. It would be great if all those machines had that.


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## KatWrangler (Mar 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skolbut* 
How horrible! We're in transition between homes right now and I'm really ocd about always putting the child locks on mom's machines... she forgets all the time and it drives me crazy... my 2yo would totally climb in those and it's a simple button push to turn it on...

That being said, my dad got a new front loader set about 4 years ago and it had a release feature on the inside if anything heavy bumped it (as in a child). We tried to wash a pair of shoes and the door would pop open and shoes came flying out!!! I imagine it would pop open similarly if a child or child part hit it from the inside. It would be great if all those machines had that.

Now that I think about it, mine does too. There have been heavy things that opened the door. Hmmm or was that the dryer?


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## Sheal (Apr 19, 2007)

In my manual (and yes I pulled it out to go over it with a fine tooth comb after reading this) it says apparently that my set has this feature too! PITA for cleaning shoes that can go in the washer but I'll take shoes flying out over hurt baby any day, I can do shoes by hand for the added bonus of a release mechanism on my front loaders and peace of mind (not that I'd stop locking the two doors with keys just because of it though).

Mine are Frigidaire matching set or were they LG's? I can't remember *lol* because with EH (rental to own place) they were one type of set and the new rent to own place (that treat me better than EH ever did) was different from the other ones...just can't remember which ones was from where *lol*


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## riversong (Aug 11, 2005)

How awful. It gave me chills to hear them say the mom tried to open the door, but she couldn't before it filled up with water. She must've been totally panicked.

If we get a front loader someday I now know to be sure to look for safety features on it.


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## TwinsTwicePlusTwo (Dec 7, 2008)

This doesn't really surprise me. I have front loaders in an upstairs laundry room. My 4yos can opperate them (I keep an eye on them when they do, but they love doing the laundry). You have to set the wash cycle, close the door tightly (takes some strength) and push the start button to turn the washer on, though. If it's not laundry time, the laundry room doors are locked with a combo lock. Front loaders are a pretty obvious hazard, IMO.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Wow... I'm glad the controls to our machine are on TOP (at the front, but still, my four-year-old has to stand on a chair to reach them). And of course, it takes force to close the door. Plus, the machines are both on pedestals.

And then our machine stops within a second or two by hitting the "Start/Pause" button. It also doesn't "fill up" with water... it's an HE model, and just gets the clothes soaking wet.


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## veganone (May 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ChetMC* 
I'm also really confused. You have to slam the door on our washer super hard for it to close. We have an LG front loader right now, but we also had a Miele and you actually had to slam the door on the Miele so hard we called the service people the first time we used it because we thought it was broken.

With either machine, a child could never close it from the inside, and a 15 month old could never close it from the outside.

I have a Bosch and can totally see this happening. But I never would have imagined it. A child could climb inside, my 16 month old is very capable of pushing the door shut and does when she "helps" me do laundry almost daily. If the 15 month old hit "start" it would automatically lock the 4 year old in. The door locks the minute you hit "start" and stays that way until you either tell it to drain or when the cycle is over.

How absolutely heartbreaking...







Poor little girl and poor mama.


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## veganone (May 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *riversong* 
How awful. It gave me chills to hear them say the mom tried to open the door, but she couldn't before it filled up with water. She must've been totally panicked.

I missed that part - on mine you just push the "drain" button and it stops and drains and unlocks when the water is out. It also doesn't "fill up", but I don't think you could breathe being spun around with water and bouncing off the sides.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *veganone* 
I have a Bosch and can totally see this happening. But I never would have imagined it. A child could climb inside, my 16 month old is very capable of pushing the door shut and does when she "helps" me do laundry almost daily. If the 15 month old hit "start" it would automatically lock the 4 year old in. The door locks the minute you hit "start" and stays that way until you either tell it to drain or when the cycle is over.

How absolutely heartbreaking...







Poor little girl and poor mama.

I also have a Bosch (Nexxt 500), but it has a Pause feature, so you can stop and open the washer at any time.


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## PassionateWriter (Feb 27, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *riversong* 
How awful. It gave me chills to hear them say the mom tried to open the door, but she couldn't before it filled up with water. She must've been totally panicked.

If we get a front loader someday I now know to be sure to look for safety features on it.

thats pretty insane. a good reason to keep some type of device to break the front of it by the laundry area.

i cant even imagine the horror this family is/will go through.

the comments after that article (many of them) were just heartless. i hope the family doesnt read them. the paper should remove such comments...after experiencing such grief, to see that you (the mom) are blamed. no one can be everywhere all the time. i would like to think this wouldnt happen to me...but there are no guarantees in life. accidents do happen.


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## paquerette (Oct 16, 2004)

I just hope that poor baby never has to find out what happened.


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## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *paquerette* 
I just hope that poor baby never has to find out what happened.









Oh God. I never even thought about that part of it. That's horrible!!


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