What to do and what not to do in the laundry room

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — September is Baby Safety Month and it's time to air out dirty laundry, especially if a social media influencer has inspired you to update your laundry room with trendy, clear containers for storing liquid detergent pods or other cleaning supplies.

According to a recent survey by the American Cleaning Institute, 36% of respondents believe they can enhance their laundry area with decorative jars or containers, and 26% admit to keeping liquid detergent packages where children can see or reach them.

“The detergent containers, the washcloths, all of these things that we would normally keep out of reach are out in the open,” said Dr. Andrew Carroll, a family physician in Chandler. “Well, kids like these things. They look like candy. They look like toys. And if they get their hands on something soft and it's an interesting color, they're going to want to know what it tastes like. And I think it's important that parents really take the precautions that we always recommend. Keep these things out of reach.”

If your child does come into contact with detergent or another potentially harmful substance, take it away from the child as quickly as possible and then try to find out whether the substance has been ingested.

“Look in the mouth to see if there are any dyes, detergents or soap in the mouth,” Dr. Carroll said. “If they have consumed it or you suspect they have consumed it, you should call poison control immediately.”

The safest place to store liquid detergent capsules is in their original packaging, high up and out of the sight and reach of children.

According to ACI, you can hide the original packaging in decorative containers and baskets if you don't want them to be visible on the shelves.

If you want to incorporate clear containers into your laundry room style, you can do that too. The ACI recommends using them for things like clothespins or dryer balls.

Have you discovered a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a recent news story? Send it here with a short description.

All rights reserved.