LAUNDRY DETERGENT WARNING -Tide Pods Look Like Candy!

It’s no secret that we should keep cleaning products and detergents out of our children’s reach. Lets face it though…kids can be curious and they often find a way to get into things they shouldn’t, even when we think we’ve hidden them away.  Packaging has a lot to do with it. If a product looks especially interesting or appealing to a child…they’re going to find a way to get their hands on it.

Here’s the latest culprit…

…Tide Pods Detergent.  It’s detergent, stain remover and brightener all in one little dissolving package.  Pop one in the washing machine…

 
…and you’re good to go!  According to ABC News, the problem is kids have been popping them into their mouths, too.  Turns out they think these little dissolving laundry packets look just like candy.

The Tide Pods container, below left, even looks like a candy jar!

The American Association of Poison Control Centers is reporting a surge in calls about these bite-size detergent packets and the kids that are becoming violently ill after eating them.  Tide Pods hit store shelves this February.  According to the poison control centers, 180 calls have come in about the Pods in just the last 20 days…57 of those calls were in Texas.

While other detergents, when ingested, cause only minor stomach problems or no symptoms at all, the Pods are quickly causing severe symptoms.  Kids are experiencing vomiting and wheezing and are gasping for air within minutes of biting into one of the Tide Pods.

According to ABC news, Tide says plans are in the works for new child proof containers that should be out this summer.  The detergent company, Dropps, says “[Our] laundry detergent products are all enzyme-free and approved by the EPA for their Design for the Environment program which recognizes safer chemistry,” Dropps said in a statement. “We encourage consumers to keep the products out of the reach of children as with any household chemical.”

Well, if you ask me,  it doesn’t seem like keeping them “out of the reach of children” is good enough.  I have a hard enough time keeping my kids from sneaking candy from the real candy bowl, that I thought they couldn’t possibly reach. I don’t want to worry about them sampling “candy,” from the laundry room, that could land them in the hospital…or possibly even worse! I’d suggest locking them up in a cabinet…or perhaps not buying them at all.