You've heard the warnings about liquid laundry detergent packs or pods and kids. Now there's a new safety alert from Consumer Reports. Those same laundry pods can be just as dangerous - sometimes even deadly - when adults with dementia accidentally ingest them. Here's the information you need to keep your loved ones safe.
For years, Consumer Reports has warned about the dangers of liquid laundry detergent pacs and children. The pacs can look like candy and kids can bite into them.
But after looking into the reported deaths from laundry pac exposure, Consumer Reports is changing that advice to include some adult populations.
Since 2012 there have been 8 reported deaths in the US associated with laundry pac exposure. Two were young children but 6 of those fatalities were adults with dementia.
In 2015 poison control centers logged more than 13-thousand 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.
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.
