Citing health hazard, ‘Consumer Reports’ no longer recommends laundry pods

Consumer Reports’ issued a statement on Friday, sharing their decision to no longer recommend laundry pods due to the health hazard to children.

Laundry pods, which can be a convenient, often effective way to do the laundry, have been on the market since early 2012. In their report, ‘Consumer Reports’ cited the American Association of Poison Control Centers data that, in the first six months of 2015, poison-control centers nationwide received 6,046 reports of children age 5 and younger ingesting or inhaling pods, or getting pod contents on their skin or in their eyes.

The magazine has called on manufacturers to improve pod safety, and while some made positive changes, such as using opaque plastic containers instead of clear, but too many kids are still gaining access to them, it said.

Laundry pods will no longer be on their list of recommended laundry detergents, but their new position does not apply to pod products that contain powder, because associated injuries are less frequent and less severe.

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