Mom's Warning To Parents After Girl, 3, Gets Stuck In Washer

CONIFER, CO – A Colorado couple woke up to what can only be described as a parent's worst nightmare.

The couple's 3-year-old daughter, Kloe, had become trapped in the family's new washer that was tumbling and had begun filling up with water.

The girl's mother, Lindsay McIver, of Conifer, shared the terrifying ordeal in a Facebook post. McIver wrote that she was hesitant to share the story at first, for fear of being shamed online and because it was hard to live through the incident again. The post has since been shared over 300,000 times.

McIver wrote that her husband purchased the new front-loading washer after their old washer broke down. After installing it, they told their three kids that they were not to touch it.

But last Tuesday morning, their 4-year-old son woke them up. He was crying so hard that he could barely talk, McIver wrote. Her husband "flew out of bed and down the stairs" before McIver realized what her son was trying to say: "Kloe. Inside. Washer."

McIver says her daughter was locked in the airtight washer that was tumbling and filling with water.

"She was screaming but you couldn't hear," she wrote.

They were able to stop the washer in time and pull Kloe out. Her clothes were wet and the only injuries she suffered were a few bumps on her head.

In an interview with NBC News, McIver said her husband doesn't remember what button he pushed to get the washer to stop. She told the news channel he likely pushed pause and then the power button to get the door to open.

In her Facebook post, McIver said she wants to encourage anyone with a front-loading washer who also has small children to lock the door with a child safety lock and always keep the child lock setting on. McIver wrote that they have since secured their machine door with a child safety lock, and have also found a child lock feature in the settings that does not allow the machine to start as long as it is engaged. She said she wrote her post because she did not realize the danger of the machine.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers issued a statement after McIver's story was the subject of a number of news reports.

"Parents should feel comfortable talking with their children about safe and proper use of appliances in the home," AHAM said in a series of tweets. "U.S. safety standards address child entrapment, requiring that a latched door will open with 15 lbs. of force from the inside.

"However, once a clothes washer is activated, the door will lock and cannot be opened from the inside. Parents may also decide whether a third party latch on the outside of the washer is appropriate for their situation, depending on the age of the children in the home," AHAM said. "We are heartened by the positive response to Ms. McIver’s Facebook post & encourage parents to be fully aware of the proper & safe use of their home appliances. It’s critically important to read the use and care manual to learn about available safety features & warnings."

"We applaud Ms. McIver for telling her story and share in her efforts to make sure that consumers are aware of the child safety lock feature available on every LG washing machine and dryer nationwide," LG Electronics, the brand of the washer that McIver's daughter became trapped in, said in a statement. "We encourage people to use this important safety setting and to contact our customer support team if they need any assistance. LG customer support can be reached at 1 (800) 243-0000."

At the conclusion of her post, McIver called for an honest conversation about mistakes parents make and how to help one another keep their kids safe.

"I realize that there are ways we could’ve prevented this from happening," McIver wrote.

"This is the season for swimming pool accidents and kids being left in hot cars and all sorts of other horrible accidents. And that’s what most of them are. Accidents. Shaming the mom doesn’t do anyone any good. We need to be open and honest about our mistakes to help one another keep our kids safe. And trust me, that mom is already beating herself up enough."

You can read McIver's full post below:

Photo via Shutterstock

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