OHIO LAWYER FOR DEFECTIVE LAUNDRY DETERGENT PODS

Laundry Detergent Pods Are More Dangerous Than They Appear

Injuries caused by laundry detergent pods first came to national prominence due to a viral “Tide Pod Challenge” in 2018. While laundry detergent pods were an ingenious invention that many consumers appreciated, they also posed a potential safety hazard and a significant risk for misuse. This was due in part to their candy-like appearance.

It wasn’t just teenager on social media who were jokingly biting into laundry detergent pods. The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) recorded 606 instances of children under the age of five ingesting detergent from these detergent pods in 2018.

Despite the risks these pods pose, they’ve only grown in popularity. Nearly every laundry detergent company now sells detergent pods. These include:

• Tide PODS
• OXI Mighty Pacs
• Grab Green 3-in-1 Laundry Detergent Pods
• All Free Clear 4-in-1 MightyPacks Laundry Detergent Pods
• Free & Clear Laundry Detergent Packs
• Arm & Hammer Plus OxiClean Odor Blasters 5-In-1 Power Paks

Some companies did take steps to prevent the misuses of laundry detergent pods. Procter & Gamble made their pods opaque, so they looked less like candy, and they added agents to make them taste bitter. Companies also made the pods tougher so they couldn’t be as easily bitten into and reduce the chance of the pods bursting when pressure was applied.

However, injuries can (and still do) occur. Although the frequency of calls to poison centers for laundry detergent pod injuries have declined, they are still disturbingly high.