CONIFER, CO (RNN) – It seemed like a nightmare and it was.
Lindsey and Alan McIver awoke last week to the sounds of their 4-year-old sobbing. He was crying so hard they could barely make out what he was trying to tell them.
“As I was trying to understand what he was saying, my husband flew out of bed and down the stairs,” Lindsey McIver said on Facebook. “It was then that the realization hit. He had said: Kloe. Inside. Washer.”
The McIvers had just gotten a new LG washing machine the night before. They hadn’t even used it yet.
“By the time we reached the laundry room in the basement, my three-year-old daughter Kloe was LOCKED inside the airtight washing machine,” the mother of three said. “It was tumbling and filling with water. She was screaming but you couldn’t hear her.”
They were able to quickly get the front-loading machine shut off and the door opened.
“Aside from a couple of small bumps on her head and wet clothes, she was fine,” McIver said.
The family said it’s sharing the horrifying experience to help others from going through it themselves.
"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," LG's Taryn Brucia 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."
These types of washing machines have a child safety-lock feature to prevent kids from getting inside. As long as it’s engaged, the washer can’t start. But the McIvers hadn't fully read the owner's manual yet.
After their experience, McIver also recommends a safety lock on the outside to prevent kids from climbing inside.
Her online warning has struck a chord on social media. The Facebook post has been shared more than 250,000 times.
McIver said, in the end, parents have to help each other out.
“We are continually surprised at the new, inventive ways our kids come up with to try and die.”
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