Due to the fact that detergent pods look like candy to children, they can put them in danger because the concentrated chemicals in the pods could easily lead to severe intoxication.
As more and more gizmos and novelty items get included into our day to day lives, we are faced with more and more new situations every day. When detergent pods came out, they were regarded as an accessible and comfortable solution to both liquid and powder detergents. They just need to be thrown into the washing machine along with the dirty clothes and the work is done.
They even come with fabric softener, that is released as procedure calls, at the end of the washing cycle. The pod’s outer layer that covers the detergent is made out of a special material that dissolves in water. Much like a pill that can have a specialized exterior that dictates when and where the active substance is released, a detergent pod’s exterior layer can be dissolved gradually so that certain parts of its contents get released at specific moments of the washing cycle.
Detergent pods look colorful and joyous, because they are meant to inspire good clean fun. They are quite small in size and they usually feature an uncolored transparent exterior, though which the brightly colored detergent could be clearly seen. Those that include fabric softener look even better because they include the transparent detergent and the milky fabric softener.
And while these small adorable pods could be quite decorative around the house, they are actually extremely dangerous to small children, precisely because they look like candy. And in this particular situation, there is an entirely different standpoint that the detergent pods need to be considered from.
Because they look like sugary edibles, the children pick them up and attempt to open them exactly like they do actual candy. Unfortunately, this means that they put them in their mouths and start biting and pulling at the packaging. Since the detergent pods’ outer layer is rather sensitive and easy to rip open, the kids usually end up swallowing quite a large mouthful of detergent.
This could even be life threatening, considering that the small pods include very concentrated substances. This makes such occurrences even more dangerous than ingesting regular liquid detergent, or even the old fashioned powdered one.
The situation can get very grim very fast if the parents do not act swiftly in these situations. They should call for an ambulance as soon as they see any signs of chemical ingestion. Even if they are unsure of the exact series of event, they should not hesitate to call, because the children are in dire need of medical attention in these chemical poisoning situations.
Due to an enormous amount of detergent pad related incidents, Consumer Reports has eliminated these types of products from its list of recommended products. While everybody should pay attention when handling detergent pods, parents of children under 6 should take extraordinary measures to prevent the children from gaining access to the pods or even better, stop buying these products altogether until their children are old enough to understand the whole extent of the danger that they pose.
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