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Laundry pods: More cleaning power and more danger to children

Published  April 24, 2017 9:49am EDT
FOX 2 Detroit

(WJBK) - According to Safe Kids Worldwide, liquid laundry packets contain concentrated detergent and pose a poisoning threat to children. In 2016, there were 11,528 calls to poison centers related to laundry packet incidents involving young children.

That's why the Kohl's Injury Prevention Program and Children's Hospital of Michigan would like to advise parents to beware of the dangers of laundry pods. 

Through the "eyes of a child" those brightly colored packets look like candy or a toy, but in the "eyes of child" those pretty pods can cause serious problems. 

While laundry pods are more convenient than traditional detergent, they are also more heavily concentrated than traditional detergent and account for a quarter of chemical-related eye injuries in kids aged 3-4. Therefore, the safest option for a child under age five is for parent's to stick with traditional laundry detergent. But, if your preference is laundry pods make sure you:

  • Keep liquid laundry packets up, out of children's reach and sight.
  • Keep packets in their original container and keep the container closed.
  • If a child gets into liquid laundry packets, call the Michigan Regional Poison Control Center Help Line immediately at 1-800-222-1222