How to Store Laundry Pods and Cleaners Safely Around Kids

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says liquid laundry packets should be kept sealed in their original packaging, locked up, and out of a child's sight and reach. Poison Help, the national poison control line supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), gives the same advice for cleaners and other household products. The sections below apply both to a laundry room and under-sink setup.

1. Where poisonings happen

Poison Help says that more than 90 percent of the time, poisonings happen in people's homes, and most of those occur in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Those three rooms are where a storage audit pays off.

2. Why laundry pods get special attention

CPSC has issued a dedicated safety alert on single-load liquid laundry packets. Its explanation of the risk:

• They look like something else. CPSC says the packets are soft and colorful and resemble familiar items such as candy, toys, and teething products, which makes them attractive to children as play items.
• They release concentrated chemicals fast. The packets dissolve quickly and release highly concentrated, toxic chemicals on contact with water, wet hands, or saliva.
• The injuries can be serious. CPSC reports children have been hospitalized after swallowing the product, with loss of consciousness, excessive vomiting, drowsiness, throat swelling, and breathing difficulty requiring intubation. Eye contact with detergent from ruptured packets has caused severe irritation and temporary vision loss from burns.

CPSC also urges adults to handle packets carefully and with dry hands.

3. CPSC's three rules

CPSC boils its advice down to three steps:

1. Do not let children handle laundry packets.
2. Keep packets sealed in their original packaging, locked up, and out of a child's sight and reach.
3. If a packet is swallowed or gets in the eyes, immediately call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

Note the wording in rule 2: sight as well as reach. A clear canister of brightly colored pods on an open shelf is the opposite of what CPSC describes, even if it is up high.

4. Setting up the laundry area

Turning CPSC's rules into a layout:

• Use a cabinet with a latch or lock, not an open shelf. Poison Help's tip for laundry products is the same: keep them locked up, high, and out of reach of children.
• Close the original container after every load. Do not leave the tub or pouch open on top of the machine.
• Take out one packet at a time with dry hands, and put the container away before you turn around to load the machine.
• Wipe up any packet that splits, and wash your hands afterward.

5. Under the kitchen and bathroom sinks

Poison Help's household product tips apply to every cleaner, not only pods:

• Keep all household cleaners and other potentially poisonous substances in locked cabinets or out of children's reach.
• Follow label instructions for safe and effective use. Poison Help notes that household cleaners and disinfectants can make you sick when not used properly.
• Do not use bleach on food products, and do not use household cleaners or disinfectants on hands or skin in ways the label does not direct.

Under-sink cabinets sit at toddler height, so a latch or lock matters most there.

6. The bedroom and bathroom shelf

Poison Help's list reaches beyond cleaning products. Its tips for medicines are the same as for cleaners: keep them in locked cabinets or out of reach, and keep them in their original, labeled containers. Its household product FAQ also flags mouthwash and other personal care products that contain alcohol, warning that even a small amount of alcohol can be deadly to a young child. That makes the bathroom counter and the nightstand part of the same audit.

7. Make the number easy to find

Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 connects you to your local poison center. Save it in every adult's phone under a clear name, and write it inside the laundry and under-sink cabinet doors so a babysitter can find it too.

8. A quick storage audit

1. Walk the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry area, and bedrooms at a toddler's eye level.
2. Pull every cleaner, pod container, medicine, and alcohol-containing personal care product within reach.
3. Move them into a latched or locked cabinet, or up and out of sight.
4. Check that every product is in its original, labeled container and closed.
5. Post 1-800-222-1222 inside the cabinet doors.

9. Key takeaways

• Poison Help says more than 90 percent of poisonings happen at home, mostly in kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms.
• Laundry pods look like candy or toys to children and release concentrated chemicals on contact with saliva or wet hands.
• CPSC's rules: no handling by children, keep pods sealed in original packaging, locked up and out of sight and reach.
• Store all cleaners and medicines in locked cabinets or out of reach, and follow label directions.
• Save Poison Help, 1-800-222-1222, and call immediately if a packet is swallowed or gets in the eyes.