Packaged for convenience, but looking like teething toys and candy with their swirled bright colors; laundry detergent pods are poisoning babies and children in growing numbers. Senator Charles Schumer from NY held a press conference yesterday, September 9th where he stated that since April, 40 local children in the city have mistakenly downed the colorful laundry packs such as Tide Pods, leading to numerous hospitalizations, some emergency intestinal surgery, and pangs of hunger. “The incidents are skyrocketing,” Schumer said Sunday joined by several medical professionals. “These pods were supposed to make household chores easier, not tempt our children to swallow harmful chemicals. I saw one on my staffer’s desk and I wanted to eat it.”
Sen. Charles Schumer shows off the dangerous detergent pods at a news conference Sunday.
Schumer said 200 cases had been reported to poison control centers nationwide as of May, but that figure jumped to 1,210 by the end of June. In one case, a 15-month-old who bit into a packet and breathed the contents began vomiting and had to be put on a ventilator. The one-time use clothing cleaners are designed to reduce spills and bulky bottles but they are more dangerous because the brightly colored pods are highly concentrated, Schumer said. Medical experts cautioned that the colorful plastic packaging is especially tempting because it looks like a teething toy.
“They look yummy and like candy,” said Dr. Tamara Kuittinen, director of medical education in the department of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital. She warned parents to keep the pods and colorful dishwashing packets in high and locked storage spaces.
In May, Proctor and Gamble announced that it would be implementing a new double-latch lid for the Tide Pod containers, a safety move Schumer is hoping others will voluntarily follow. Arm and Hammer and other makers have not followed suit. The pods have caused serious injuries in Europe where they have been on the market for several years, Schumer said. But there are no plans to ban the new product, he said. “We don’t want to throw out the baby with the detergent water,” he said. “I don’t know why they make them look so delicious.”
Stories like this make me glad that I have convenience and safety in my laundry detergent, which does not need safety caps, is safe and free of harmful, toxic chemicals. Best yet my detergent works better than these chemical, carcinogen full toxic detergents. Why take chances using these products, why put your family at risk? Besides poisoning children, the toxic chemicals in these detergents stay on the clothes and are absorbed through the skin. That is some scary stuff. Why choose products cleaning products that must have safety caps and lids? It is totally unnecessary when there are alternatives that work better and are natural, best of all they don’t need safety caps. Isn’t it time for a change?
Which detergent do you use? I am trying to find a natural detergent or a homeade one that works and gets the stains out, but I haven’t yet. I’d love a recommendation!
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Unfortunately, parents need to be more vigilant about keeping this kind of stuff away from kids, whether or not the product looks appealing to kids. I keep all chemicals, detergents, etc. up on shelves, out of reach, locked up, etc. On the flip side, I use only natural products, and I would never use ones that are full of dyes and fragrances, so I wouldn’t even have this in my house. Sad situation.