‘Are the kids OK?’: Family says washing machine shook so violently, ended up in pieces

A family in Ballantyne is expressing their concerns after they say their washing machine shook so violently, it ended up in shambles.

“I was just sitting in my office, kind of working, and doing quiet work, and, suddenly, I can’t even explain to you how loud the sound was,” Jennifer Kasmer said. “It was very, very scary. I’ve never heard anything like it before.”

Kasmer said she looked in her laundry room and saw her LG washing machine in the middle of the room, the top off, the drum detached, and parts scattered.

“It was so loud and so big that my first instinct was, ‘Are the kids OK?’” she said.

People have sued LG, not over this exact issue but claiming other problems with its washers.

But Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke did come across a recall involving the problem Kasmer says she had. In 2012, LG acknowledged it had received “at least 343 reports of washing machines vibrating excessively.” It said “at least 187 involved minor property damage” and “one minor injury.”

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But that recall didn’t apply to Kasmer because her washer came out years later. She said she called LG anyway—multiple times—and eventually got something. “My husband got a text message, and they offered him a refund, like 400 and some dollars,” she said. She says the appliance cost more than $800 new.

But what she really wants is another recall. “I couldn’t imagine if our kids, our animals, or any of us would have been in there ... I don’t want to think about what would have happened,” she said.

LG told Stoogenke it doesn’t usually comment on customer service issues.

If this happens to you with any brand or appliance:

• If it’s still under warranty, file a claim.
• If not, maybe you have a home warranty. See if that’ll cover the problem.
• Otherwise, at least report it to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. That can trigger a recall .

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