Mum's laundry had vile smell after three washes - then she found stomach-churning reason why

Leah Pickard was left horrified when she discovered a dead mouse at the bottom of her washing machine.

A mum's laundry routine turned into a viral sensation after she discovered the stomach churning reason her washing still had a vile smell after three washes. Leah Pickard, a stay-at-home mum of three, was baffled when her freshly laundered garments retained an unpleasant odour.

The 42 year old, who juggles household chores and goes through several loads of washing every day, noticed the persistent smell a few weeks ago. She shared a social media post, where she detailed the grim discovery, amassed over 4.1 million views.

Speaking to What's The Jam, Leah disclosed the unexpected source of the stench: "It was a mouse," she said. "Never in a million years did I think there would be a dead animal in my washing machine. We've never had a single mouse in our home since we moved here eight years ago."

She added, "So I definitely wasn't expecting that to be the cause of the smell. When I got to the bottom of the load and saw the poor guy, I screamed."

Leah recounted her horror, saying, "My four-year-old ran out of the room gagging and I was standing there wondering... how did that even get in there? I debated burning the laundry room down but opted for picking up the mouse with a plastic bag.", reports the Mirror.

"Then I ran the machine on to sanitize several times, with all the bleach, said a prayer, and posted the video for my friends to appreciate the randomness of my life."

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She is now frightened to even glance at her washing machine following the incident. The footage captures the motionless mouse in the machine’s corner, amidst freshly laundered garments.

Leah humorously proclaims "hmm freshly washed mouse" at the clip's conclusion. In her post, she further wrote: "I washed this load three times and the smell just wouldn't come out. Please excuse me while I burn my laundry room to the ground and pray Bosch gives me a new washer."

The clip has raked in over 70,000 likes and sparked a flurry of comments.

One commenter recounted: "This happened to me, I even dried him, he was half-burnt."

A different user quipped: "Pov: Stuart didn't make it in the washing machine."

Another replied, clearly distressed: "Nah this would've made me cry for days."

Yet another declared: "NOOOOOOO. I think I'd throw the entire washing machine away. And maybe all my laundry. Oh, and the house too."

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