Killer Maytag Dishwasher (really!)

[drhardee]

Toddler dies in auto-starting dishwasher
The Associated Press

ROMANCE, Ark. --An 18-month-old boy died inside a dishwasher that began running automatically when its door closed, the sheriff's office said Thursday.

Authorities are still investigating but said the boy's death Wednesday afternoon appeared to be accidental. No signs of prior injury were found, and the cause of death likely was heat exposure, investigators said.

His 13-year-old brother found the boy inside the appliance, and he died before paramedics arrived.

"The baby's blanket was lying in front of the dishwasher, so (the brother) opened it," said Chief Deputy Jeremy Clark of the White County Sheriff's Office.

"What we have found out so far would suggest that this is a tragic accident; however, the case is still open and we're still looking," Clark said.

The dishwasher was empty when the child got inside, police said. Investigators said it was a Maytag model that automatically started when the door closed.

"The death of any child is tragic," said Monica Teague, a spokeswoman for Whirlpool Corp., which makes Maytag dishwashers.

Whirlpool's appliances are certified for child safety through an independent product testing corporation, Teague said.

"All our appliances go through rigorous testing," Teague said.
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This really is a tragic, freak occurence. Let the lawsuits begin!

 

[toggleswitch]

Oh that is SO sad.

I feel for the teenager. UGH UGH UGH!

I forsee "swing" style latches [think D&M & GE] coming back and soon!

NOW HEAR THIS. IMHO electronically controlled devices and appliances should have a good-old fashioned HARD-POWER-DOWN switch to avoid just such eventualites. Won't hurt in the prevention of "phantom" power use either.
110v one pole (the single hot)
220v two-pole (both hots)
It's probably <$5 in material, labor and applied overhead.

Should that not catch-on, Methinks it's time to have outlets (power-points) controlled by wall-switches!

Oh and another thing.....
Ovens/stoves. Why is there not a switch to manually engage the electric (self-cleaning or other) latch while cooking to prevent very young childred from opening the oven door? It's all already in place; just need a switch to control it. Yoo-hoo there is a patent ready to be had.............I'll just take $1 for every such unit sold/used. TYVM.

 

[danemodsandy]

And...

While I'm not holding the parents responsible in any way (children can get up to something in an instant when one's back is turned), I do remember when we kids were taught not to touch appliances, PERIOD. No matter how many safety devices are in place, that still seems like a good idea- children are very good at doing the one thing you never dreamt they'd do.

 

[andrewinorlando]

How the hell did an empty dishwasher start itself up when the door closed??? Unless the machine was in the middle of a cycle, wouldn't someone have had to press a button to begin a cycle from scratch? And if it was in the middle of a cycle, why was it empty?? This doesn't make sense. I know with the GE I have to press the start button to start any cycle. Only when the machine is in the middle of a cycle will it re-start by just closing the door. And not for nothing, but those doors are hard enough to latch from the outside....how the hell did an 18 month old manage to close and latch the door from inside the machine?? What did he grab onto to be able to pull that door all the way closed?

 

[brettsomers]

im gonna take a wild stab and say someone put that child in there DELIBERATELY. the dishes where prolly unloaded during the heat dry cycle and thats why it was empty and started when closed. i have a 90s Maytag dishwsher and you have to closed the door with a certain degree of intention for the latch to catch. it wont catch if you just kinda bump the door, the spring isnt that tight, it will just fall open.

 

[exploder3211]

Good Heavens..

I am going to try and keep an eye on this one as it has me baffled too... How does this work.. Oh BTW my BOL hotpoint stll has the usual swing out latchs.. Then again it seems just about every ge dishwasher has such a tendancy to catch fire and explode

 

[andrewinorlando]

Even the new Maytag dishwashers need quite a push to lock the door. They certainly don't latch with ease. My '97 Maytag took quite a shove to get the door to lock. I just can't see how an 18 month old could possibly pull that door closed and latch it from inside the machine. I think the brother did it.

 

[gansky1]

Something ain't right...

An 18 month crawls into a dishwasher, presumably onto a rack of long, pointy tines? Certainly Bam Bam has displayed his dangerous curiosity prior to this, where the hell was Mom? Maytag has had single-button door latches for quite some time, but to have a cycle start when the door is randomly opened and closed speaks of some coincidence of fate, that's for sure. Even if the stars of fate all lined up perfectly to create this tragedy, where the hell was mom for this kid to be inside a dishwasher LONG ENOUGH to be killed and not heard screaming inside the machine? I think it's quite unlikely that death was instantaneous - it sprays water, not electricity. For the jury(s) to decide!
^insert organ music here^

 

[compactc9]

I am going to have to blame the parents, or whoever was supposed to be looking after the child. It would look to me as if someone had to put the baby in there, I can't see how it could happen any other way.

 

[tolivac]

Sounds very strange to me as well!Maybe the teenager and the parents need to be questioned on this one!Someone had to have removed the dishes and put the toddler in the machine and started it.

 

[alr2903]

I will take tragic accident for $200. Alex

Im thinking maybe the toddlers goal was to CLIMB on the d/w door to get ON the countertop, to get something of curiosity out of his reach. Bouncy Dishwasher door (think) diving board. the d/w could of been unloaded before the dry cycle completed, the kid climbs gets the door bouncing climbing UP, slips into the machine, the door bounces shut, drying time left on the d/w timer, the d/w was unloaded before the last dry cycle completed. the story says the kid died from heat exposure not scalding injury. The thirteen year old is a thirteen year old either on the phone or playing a video game,maybe homework. Mom has worked all day, but has a 5 minute errand. "can you watch your brother for 5 minutes". Is it possible? I too have a "bad" feeling about this story,butI am hoping it was an accident.

 

[toggleswitch]

There are better ways to clean the diaper area

Oh Gawd. My gut said it was not an accident. Interesting to see so many in agreement on that.

 

[carlstock]

Poor little man. :-(

Whatever the circumstances, it is tragic of course. :-(

C

 

[mixedup]

The news this morning reported that the 18 month old crawled inside and the older brother, fascinated with the machine closed the door. The machine was in mid cycle so it restarted. Now, I do not know if they are talking about the same 13 year old brother. I sure hope not because that is old enough to know better. On the news they were talking about dishwashers & their lack of safety features. My nearly 2 year old TOL dishwasher is the type with the hidden controls on the top edge of the door. It has a child lockout feature. Also if the door is opened during the cycle you must push start before closing it or it will not restart. I do think parental supervision is a key factor. The Mom was at work & Dad was sleeping. Kids should be taught that appliances are not toys. I remember helping my mom with laundry, she warned me if I stuck my hand in there while it was running it would yank my arm off.

Virginia