The Problem with Detergent Pods
As laundry detergent pods or capsules become more popular, a new danger has been introduced into the household. These highly concentrated, candy-colored detergent packents have quickly rocketed their way to the top of household dangers, at least in cases where there are children under 5 years old and adults with dementia. The brightly colored, sweet smelling pods are easy to mistake for something edible. However, the ingestion of the concentrated chemicals in the packet, plus inhalation following the intense burst of the pressurized polyvinyl packaging have already caused tens of thousands of hospitalizations since the the introduction of these products in the U.S. in 2012.
Exposure to these pods is on the rise. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), there were 16,738 laundry packet exposures (in children 5 and under) reported to Poison Centers between 2012-2013 combined. Over the first 7 months of 2014, there were 9,935 reported cases of children 5 and under being exposed to the single-load laundry packets.
