Your guide to safely tackling the daily laundry with kids in tow.
There is just no getting around it. We all have laundry. Some of us have two separate piles. One is clean (and continuously gets thrown into the dryer time and again for a re-fluff) with all good intentions of folding and putting away (or is that just me?). The other? Well the other seems like a permanent mountain of socks, underwear, t-shirts, and grass/food stained kid clothes. On constant refill.
So, if you’re household is anything like mine, you are probably in your laundry room at least once a day. And if you have little kids, they are likely right behind you wanting to “help mommy” and echoing this constant refrain “I do it”.
Am I right?
Despite all of this, it’s always important to take the time to evaluate the safety of your own laundry room and routine.
It doesn’t take long and making simple and effective safety upgrades today may just save you and your family from potentially serious accidents. Aim to stay one step ahead by going through this laundry room checklist:
Cleaning Products:
- Do not store them on top of your washer or dryer. I know it’s tempting and I know we all probably do it. But the reality is that little kids are curious and they will attempt an inspection. Remove that temptation.
- Instead, store all laundry and cleaning products high and out of reach. Install safety latches if needed. Particularly important if you have a “climber” on your hands and if your kids have easy access to the laundry room.
- Be particularly careful about spray bottles. Kids love those things and they will attempt to spray one. My own kids ask all the time if they can be the “sprayer” when I’m pretreating their clothes with stain remover. Make sure it’s age appropriate if you do and only under close supervision. Never put any detergent/cleaner in an unmarked spray bottle. This could put kids and adults alike at risk for injury if they assume it’s just water.
- Never mix any cleaning products together. Particularly if they contain bleach or ammonia. This could release toxic fumes that could be harmful to lungs/eyes/noses.
- Clean up any spills immediately.
- Consider a safety latch for your laundry room door if you have little ones at home.
The laundry room:
- Never leave standing water unattended. If you’re soaking something in the sink or in a bucket, know this is a hazard to little ones. Toddlers can drown in just inches of water. It’s not a myth. They are top heavy and simply don’t have the strength to right themselves up should they tip head first into a small amount of water.
- Sweep floor daily and pay particular attention to small choking hazards like buttons or those sharp needles that seem to accompany every single dress shirt that my husband brings home from the store. Do they really need so many?!
- Use safety latches generously. Latch lower cabinets for sure, consider latching higher ones too, and maybe even one for the door leading to the laundry room.
Washers and Dryers:
- Front loaders need special attention. Use child safety locks to keep little children and pets out. They have been known to climb in unbeknownst to parents and/or caregivers. Don’t risk it. Lock it.
- Clean your lint tray every time. Every single time. I never really took this recommendation seriously until I learned that lint trapping is the number one cause of a dryer catching on fire. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 1 in 22 home fires are due to a washer or dryer catching on fire first.
- Do not allow children to hang on or play on top of washer or dryers. Don’t want one of those heavy machines tipping over on your child!
- Never set your washer or dryer to run when your family is sleeping or no one is home. I admit I am guilty of this. But no more. You will be more equipped to handle a machine malfunction and/or emergency if you are awake, alert, and home. You just could save your home from burning down, your family being injured, or your home being damaged by flood if you follow this rule.
Now let’s not forget about the rest of the home. No doubt doing laundry leaves you traipsing about the house, going from room to room collecting the garments in need of washing.
Here are some extra safe home tips. Ones you can do today:
- Make sure you have smoke alarms in every room and floor in your home. Keep them in working condition by checking the batteries monthly. Hint: kids LOVE helping with this chore. While we’re talking fire prevention; it’s always a good idea to keep working fire extinguishers nearby. Just in case.
- Don’t forget the carbon monoxide detectors either. A definite must!!
- If you have stairs and children less than 4 then stair gates are a must. Both the top and bottom need to be gated. We kept our top gate around for quite some time. I just never wanted one of the kids rolling down in the middle of the night (lucky for us though, looks like we don’t have any sleepwalkers in this house.)
- Just as you would in the laundry room, make sure all household cleaners and chemicals are kept high and out of reach of young children. Kitchen cabinets (especially the low ones and ones under the sink) must be latched. Same goes for the bathrooms.
- Talk to your children starting from a very young age about why it’s important to follow all of these rules. Teach them about chemicals and detergents. From the time my kids were toddlers, I stressed to them the importance of not touching or putting any “chemicals” in their mouths. They get it. And it will add an extra layer of protection just in case they do get their hands on a potentially toxic product.
- Keep the number for Poison Control hand and visible at all times. Don’t ever hesitate to call.
1-800-222-1222
Chores are a fact of life. And keeping our families safe in our homes while we play, work, and attend to our daily chores is a must. Staying one step ahead of them when it comes to safety is essential before tackling that never ending pile of dirty clothes.
For more tips on keeping your home safe for your children, visit P&G’s Safe Home page and watch this important (it’s brief) safety video. I’m proud to be working with both the AAP and P&G as they collaborate to get important safety messages out regarding home safety and children.
Any tips or safety experiences you have to share when it comes to kids, laundry, and home safety?
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