Washers and dryers make unsafe hiding places

When we were kids, one of our favorite hide-and-seek hiding places was in the clothes dryer.  As this video shows, we weren't the only ones to find clever hiding spots in the laundry room.

But it's no game; hiding in a washer or dryer can be dangerous.  Earlier this month, a Greenville, PA, family went into a panic when their 2-year-old daughter disappeared while playing hide-and-seek.  The family dog discovered her alsleep in the drawer beneath a clothes dryer. Last February, a 4-year-old Mission Viejo, CA, girl wasn't so lucky.  When she climbed into the family's front-loading washing machine, her 15-month-old-brother managed to turn the machine on.  She died of sustained injuries.

Our own investigation of laundry-room hazards revealed a disturbing number of kids - more than 2,000 each year - get seriously hurt, and a few die, after reaching, climbing, or falling into washers and dryers, or toppling down from them. The now-popular front-loading washer design can be particularly dangerous to hiding kids since the controls are often located on the front panel within easy reach of a young child, and the doors lock when the machine is started.  What makes these easy hiding places is that the doors on these machines are often left open as a strategy to minimize mold growth around the rubber gasket, a common complaint for front-loaders. Plus, laundry machines are now being moved up to the living quarters, where young kids can have unrestricted access.

Manufacturers warn about allowing children to play on or climb in these appliances.  Miele has develop a child-entrapment sensing system to prevent such tragedies.  With any machine, even though the risk is low, it's worth taking precautions to keep little ones away from the washer and dryer, whether you're doing the laundry or just playing hide-and-seek.

- Carolyn Cairns and Don Mays

Comments

[Aluvendale]

If I'm not mistaken, my washer has a locking system to prevent children from opening it. It's a Whirlpool Duet Sport. Of course, it's still up to the parent to lock it. While the washer can mildew, it's easier to wash it with a bleach cleaning cycle every once and a while. . . as compared to losing a child.

The funny thing is, the Duet website shows a little girl reaching into the dryer. Glad Mom is near.

[mommyofthree]

The risk of children climbing into a front loading washing machine is not low, it's terrifyingly high. Because of their propensity to get moldy, the door has to be left open when the washer is not in use. Unless the washer is somewhere lockable, there's really no way to keep children out.