Proper storage of all cleaning products is a daily practice that can help prevent accidents in the home. In particular, liquid laundry packets need to be used and stored as directed and kept out of reach of children.
As liquid laundry packets came onto the market, sales greatly increased due to the ease and convenience of use. In 2015, a multi-stakeholder group gathered to develop a safety standard for these products. Safety measures include:
- Label features such as safety icons and warning information
- Package features like zips that require greater dexterity to open or caps that necessitate force greater than a child is capable of generating to open
- Packet features that include delayed dissolution and bitter-tasting film
In addition to these changes put in place by manufacturers, there is an ongoing campaign to increased awareness of safe use of liquid laundry packs, called Packets Up! All of these efforts combined have made a significant impact. Based on the greater availability of liquid laundry packets, there has been a sustained downward trend in the rate of unintended exposures – a 53% decrease from 2012 to 2017. Further, nearly one-in-five of the accidental exposures result in no symptom classification, and when accidents do happen, the health impact is significantly decreased.
The American Cleaning Institute and detergent manufacturers are encouraged by the positive trend and we will continue our efforts to ensure safe product use and to reduce the rate of exposures associated with liquid laundry packets even further.
