Nurse issues urgent warning about keeping washing machine doors open

A nurse has revealed why parents should always keep their washing machine door closed.

Australian pediatric nurse Sarah Hunstead – who set up child safety page CPR Kids – took to Instagram earlier this year to reveal why you should ignore some ‘common advice’ that tells you to leave your ‘front loader washing machine’ open between uses.

The post acknowledges that it is often advised to leave the door of your washing machine open when it is not in use to ‘prevent mould’ from building.

However, if you’re a parent and have little ones at home, this could prove dangerous.

But why?

You’re often told to leave washing machine doors open to prevent mold (Getty Stock Images/ Emilija Manevska)

Well, the post’s caption reads: “We recently saw some (social media) posts circulating in mum groups about keeping front loader washing machines open to prevent mould. It’s common advice.

“But if you have little ones at home, keep them shut.

“It can be a nuisance having to clean the mold or find alternatives in preventing mold build-up, but keeping the machine open can be a hazard.

“Infants have been trapped in front loaders that were left unlocked, resulting in close calls and, sadly, tragedies.”

And it’s not taken long for parents to flood to the post to weigh in on the warning.

The advice has come from an Instagram page called ‘CPR Kids’ (Instagram/ @cprkids)

One parent asked: “At what age should I stop worrying about this?”

To which CPR Kids responded: “There’s no hard and fast rule – either when you are confident your kids understand to never go inside the machine or are too big to do so.”

“Agree and pets too,” another user commented.

A third wrote: “Baby gate @ laundry door & then you can leave the door open for mold.”

“So important! Especially with the larger machines on the market,” a fourth said.

The Instagram post follows on from advice on CPR Kids’ website uploaded back in December 2022.

Never leave your child unattended near a washing machine (Getty Stock Images/ Tang Ming Tung)

The article – titled You’re at home and realize your little one is missing… what do you do first? – urges parents to think in a different way if they do lose their child about the house.

Instead of going with many people’s first instinct which would be to ‘check all of the most likely places that they will be (like under the beds)’, the article instead presses you ‘MUST’ prioritize ‘checking places where there is a danger to the child, and where time is crucial’ instead.

And this includes places such as a bath, pool, bucket and washing machine too.

The advice resolves: “It is better to find them safe under a bed after checking these places, than the other way around.”

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@cprkids/Martin Poole/Getty Images

Topics: Health, Parenting, Home