Mum's life-saving advice after boy dies inside washing machine

The death of a seven-year-old boy inside a washing machine has sparked one mum to issue a tip she hopes “nobody ever needs".

Troy Khoeler’s body was discovered inside a top-loader in the garage of his family’s Houston home in Texas on Thursday morning.

The devastating find came just hours after his adoptive parents raised the alarm for their missing son.

While police aren’t yet sure if the boy was killed by the washing machine or killed and placed inside, his tragic death has sparked an outcry online.

Everyone should know the dangers

Emergency medical doctor and TikToker Dr Joe MD said Troy’s tragic death should send a warning to all parents that washing machines can be very dangerous.

“The problem is the lid will lock into place when a cycle is activated thereby preventing somebody on the inside from getting out,” he said online.

“And sometimes what can happen is children will play with the buttons, get in close the door and therefore activate a cycle.

“And even if the tub does not fill with water, they can become deprived of oxygen and also their yells for help will be muffled inside the machine.

He’s urging parents to learn how to use the child lock feature on their washing machine to ensure that lids lock when not in use.

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Ignore instinct and look in the most dangerous places first

In responding to Dr Joe MD’s video, mother-of-three Jessica Martini shared her own advice on what to do if a child ever “God forbid” goes missing in your own home.

“Remember these things happen to the very best parents,” she told her followers.

“What our instinct tells us to do is to find our children fast so we look in the places that we think they most likely are.

“But what we want to do instead is we want to look in the places that if our child was there their life would be in danger.”

She goes on to explain that places like a pool should be checked first along with washers, dryers, pumps, car boots and anywhere with water.

Parents should also search any bins or toy boxes that are airtight.

“Don’t ever think, ‘my child would never, they know better,’ because every kid can get curious," she said.

“And it is so much better to spend five minutes looking around those life threatening places and realise that they were under a bed than the other way around."

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