Since 2012 there have been eight reported deaths in the U.S. associated with laundry pac exposure.
Two were young children, but six of those fatalities were adults with dementia. In 2015, poison control centers logged more than 13,000 calls related to liquid laundry pac exposures.
That same year, Consumer Reports also pushed for laundry pac safety, including new packaging that’s now available to consumers. New voluntary standards, including provisions that make these pods taste bitter have been enacted since January 2017. Consumer Reports hopes that this will help alleviate the thousands of calls that poison control centers receive every year regarding these pods.
The American Cleaning Institute, an industry trade group, says, “manufacturers are fully committed to reducing accidental access to” laundry detergent packets.
Laundry detergent pacs remain off of Consumer Reports’ recommended lists. Its new advice: Do not use liquid laundry pacs if there's a child under age 6 or anyone who is cognitively impaired in your household.
Laundry packs or pods can cause anything from eye irritations to vomiting, lethargy, delirium, and trouble breathing.
If you think someone in your home may have ingested a laundry pod, call a poison control center at 800-222-1222 or 9-1-1 and seek immediate medical attention.
