Laundry Room Safety Tips

You may not think that your laundry room is a dangerous place, but just last month, a front loading washing machine took the life of a small child. Front-load machines are accessible to toddlers who don’t know the dangers of crawling in or falling trying to reach the top. Aside from the machines themselves posing a threat, laundry detergent and other cleaning agents can also be deadly.

Washer and Dryer Dangers

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there have been at least three deaths caused by washing machines since 2014. In each of these cases, the children were five or younger. There have also been an estimated 3,000 emergency-room visits due to washing machine accidents as well – mainly for injuries related to falls.

It is important that you keep children away from appliances and keep a close eye on them. Children are extremely curious and they love to find out how things work and explore. The latest death was caused when a three-year-old child climbed into a front-loading machine. It is believed that the door became shut after the child crawled in and the child suffocated due to lack of oxygen in the machine.

Many accidents are caused simply by children trying to climb on the machines. Front-loading machines are especially dangerous as small children can try to use the opening to climb towards the top of the machine. Here are some tips on how to prevent accidents in the laundry room and keep your children safe.

Doors to both the washing machine and dryer should be closed at all times. You should also keep the laundry room locked when possible to prevent access to the machines and chemicals. Many washing machines have child-lock features which can be activated by holding a combination of buttons or a button. Engage this lock if your machine has it and invest in childproof safety locks for both machines to prevent children from opening them.

Keep all laundry pods, and chemicals in a safe location away from children. Simply putting the chemicals on top of the machine is not safe. The contents of pods and cleaners can cause serious injury or death in children. Lock these items in a cabinet that is out of reach of children.

Grace Wells

Grace Wells grew up in the kind of town where no one locked their doors and parents felt safe letting their kids wander. Things have changed a lot since then. As a mother today, Grace has to worry about so much more than skinned knees and hurt feelings.

Grace believes the best way to keep kids safe is to stay informed. She hopes that her work at Kids Safety 101 makes a difference in children’s lives so that they can grow up as carefree as she did.

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