My 13 year old does his own laundry and I am absolutely thrilled about that. I have decided however, not to push my daughter who is 7, into helping me with laundry until she’s a few years older, despite her desire to help. I am a believer that parents should not put their kids at risk just to learn something that they can just as easily learn when they are older and more capable of remembering the proper techniques. You wouldn’t teach a 1-year-old to ride a bike or an 11-year-old to drive would you? My personal belief is that you should consider waiting until your child is about 10 years old before you teach him how to do laundry and hand over laundry responsibilities to him or her.

It is important to make everyone aware of the need for safety when using, storing, and handling the new, concentrated packs of single-load liquid laundry packets. Single-load liquid laundry packets, when handled, used, and stored properly are a convenient, easy-to-use product to help get your laundry done more efficiently and effectively.

The convenience of these products is a boon to adults but it’s important to remember these packets contain highly concentrated detergent and need to be treated like any other household cleaning product, stored safely up and away – out of sight and reach According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), in 2012, poison centers received reports of 6,229 unintended exposures to highly-concentrated packets of laundry detergent by children 5 and younger..Thanks to ACI (American Cleaning Institute) there is now a safety education program aimed to equip consumers with the proper education and awareness on how to properly use, handle and store singleload liquid laundry packets. The name of this consumer program is the KEY Pledge Laundry Safety Campaign.

Parents should take the American Cleaning Institute’s KEY Pledge keypledge.com, because we all play a KEY role in laundry safety. Parents, caregivers and adults can all BE THE KEY to a safe laundry room and routine; we should all be aware of the simple, safety steps when it comes to properly using, storing and handling the new single-load liquid laundry packets to ensure our family’s safety.

And by taking the KEY Pledge, you will have access to the following:

• Track KEY pledges and follow pledge progress across the nation and in your home on a heat map. Check out how your area is doing!
• Enter a sweepstakes** for a chance to win a $2,500 grand prize to help makeover your laundry room

Single-load Liquid Laundry Packets Safety Tips

• Do not let children handle laundry packets
• Do not puncture or pull packets apart
• Store out of child’s sight and reach
• Keep the packet’s package closed and in a dry place
• Packets quickly dissolve upon contact with water, wet hands, or saliva so it is necessary to keep them dry

Here are a few additional safety tips to keep in mind when you have single-load liquid laundry packets in your household with children:

1. If there is a reason to believe a child may have been exposed to the contents of a single-load liquid laundry packet call the Poison Help Line immediately. The # is 1-800-222-1222.

2. Store these packets in the same safe manner as you would store any other household cleaning product such as drain cleaners, toilet bowl products and bleach.

3. You know that a child should wear a safety belt when riding in a car. Parents are also aware that they should teach children safety measures when they are crossing a street. Treat the handling and use of single-load liquid laundry packets with this same degree of concern and caution.

4. Take the time to carefully read the warning statement on laundry products. Even if you have been using one of these cleaning products for months (or years).

Be safe. Be careful. Be responsible. Education is the KEY to your family’s laundry safety.

All children are different; even your own children. You might think that because your first child didn’t try to get into the laundry detergent or other cleaning supplies, that your youngest will be the same and so you store cleaning supplies in a less safe place than you might if your first child did have issues with getting into things.

Don’t think that way. Just because your first child always looks twice before crossing a busy street, doesn’t mean that your second child will think the same way, right? You get what I’m saying.

Keep your home safe for you and your children. Visit keypledge.com and pledge to be the KEY to a safe laundry room and routine.