CONIFER, Colo. — A Colorado mom posted a warning to parents after her 3-year-old daughter got locked inside a front-loading washing machine.
“She was screaming but you couldn’t hear her,” McIver wrote.
Ultimately, she decided it was more important for others to learn from the McIvers’ near-tragedy, writing:
“On Monday my husband went to Lowe’s and purchased this new front load washing machine. We thought it was the ‘new and cool’ type of washing machine and didn’t think anything of it. We spent that evening installing it with the kids underfoot. We told them several times that they were not to touch it. They all replied ‘OK.’”
But it all changed on Wednesday morning when McIver and her husband were woken up by their 4-year-old son who was crying so hard he could barely talk.
“As I was trying to understand what he was saying, my husband flew out of bed and down the stairs. It was then that the realization hit. He had said: ‘Kloe. Inside. Washer,’” she wrote.
McIver said that when they got to the laundry room they found their 3-year-old daughter Kloe locked inside the washing machine while it was tumbling and filling up with water.
“She was screaming but you couldn’t hear her,” McIver wrote.
Luckily, they were able to get Kloe out safely.
“We were able to quickly stop it and unlock the door and get her out. Aside from a couple of small bumps on her head and wet clothes, she was fine. After going through all the ‘what if‘s’ and ‘could have’s’ we know we are very blessed and God had mercy on our sweet daughter,” she wrote.
McIver said that she posted the story because she wanted to warn other parents and caretakers about keeping children safe from front-load washers and dryers. The couple has since installed a child safety lock on their washing machine.
In a statement to NBC’s TODAY Show, the maker of the machine, LG, issued a statement on the incident:
“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 LG washing machines and dryers. We encourage people to use this important safety setting and to contact our customer support team if they need any assistance.”
McIver tells TODAY that the kids are “still traumatized” by the incident and that “they are still scared about what happened” and “don’t want to be in trouble.”