Children and Laundry Products

Children get into all kinds of home laundry products: detergent, bleach, stain remover, fabric softener, pre-treatments, dry cleaning kits, rust removers, and so on.  Some of these products can burn the mouth, eyes, or skin. Many can cause irritation. Individual laundry pods have even been associated with fatality. Whether a child will have problems depends on the exact product and what the child did with it.  Here is a run-down of common laundry products - and why they should be stored up high, out of children's reach.

• Rust remover is the least common but most dangerous laundry product. Rust removers often contain strong acids that can cause eye, skin, and mouth burns on contact. A few rust removers contain hydrofluoric acid, an especially harmful poison. It can be absorbed through the skin and cause severe pain, tissue damage, and even death!
• Other types of stain removers and pre-treatment agents contain a variety of ingredients. Some can cause a bit of irritation, while others can cause more serious irritation or a painful rash. Often, the packaging limits the amount a child can get at one time. 
• Detergents can cause mouth, skin, or eye irritation. This is true for liquid and dry detergents. Serious injuries are not common from liquid and dry detergents but can occur. Laundry detergent pods are different: biting into one can cause serious injury or even death.  
• Fabric softeners contain some of the same chemicals as detergents. Mouth, skin, or eye irritation is possible if a child swallows or splashes fabric softener.   
• Bleach has a bad reputation that is not entirely deserved. Swallowing small amounts of bleach might cause mouth irritation and vomiting. More serious problems are unlikely unless someone swallows a large amount of bleach; children usually don't do that. Splashing bleach might cause minor skin irritation. A serious rash could occur with long skin contact, for example, a child sitting in a puddle of bleach. Newer types of high-strength bleach can cause serious burns. 
• Home dry cleaning kits contain a pre-treatment chemical, similar to laundry pre-treatment/stain remover products. The packaging will determine how likely it is for a child to swallow the product. Other chemicals in home dry cleaning kits are embedded in solid objects and so wouldn't be swallowed by a child.

Prevent poisonings by storing laundry products out of sight and reach of children. Also, keep products in their original containers. Countless children (and adults!) have swallowed bleach from a cup, thinking it was water. Pouring bleach into a cup, then leaving it on the counter or washing machine, is an invitation to poisoning.

If a child gets into a laundry product, here's what to do:

• If the product is in the eyes or on the skin, flush with running water for at least 15 minutes, then use the webPOISONCONTROL^® online tool for guidance or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Both of these options (calling or using the online tool) will tell you exactly what to do. Most of the time, the incident can be managed at home if you contact Poison Control right away.
• If the product is swallowed, give a small amount of water or milk. Then use the webPOISONCONTROL online tool for guidance or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Both resources can help with common scenarios like:
  • My child drank bleach (like Clorox). What should I do? Is it poisonous?
  • My child bit a laundry pod (such as TidePods, Allmighty pacs, Purex UltraPacks, Gain flings). Is it dangerous? Should I take him to the emergency room?
  • My child ate a fabric softener sheet or a dryer sheet (such as Bounce or Snuggle).
  • My child drank a fabric softener (such as Downy, Snuggle, Gain, Final Touch, Purex).
  • My child swallowed laundry detergent (for example, All, Tide, Purex, Arm & Hammer, Wisk, Sun, Oxi, Persil, Xtra, Cheer).

Take-Home Messages:

• Children get into all kinds of home laundry products. Some cause mild irritation, but a few can cause burns or even death.
• Rust removers containing hydrofluoric acid is extremely dangerous, whether swallowed or splashed.
• Laundry pods can cause serious injury and have been associated with fatal effects. 
• Bleach generally causes mild effects except for the newer, concentrated bleach products. These can cause more serious injury.
• A number of products can cause irritation, ranging from mild to painful: stain removers and pre-treatment agents, liquid and powder detergents, and fabric softeners.

Rose Ann Gould Soloway, RN, BSN, MSEd, DABAT emerita
Clinical Toxicologist