Understanding the Risk: Everyday Products, Serious Consequences
For most families, cleaning products are a routine part of the household. But a new study is a powerful reminder that these common items pose a serious hazard to young children. Read below what our CT pediatricians highlight:
Pediatric researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that more than 240,000 children aged 5 and under were treated in emergency departments across the United States for cleaning product-related injuries between 2007 and 2022.
That’s an average of roughly 15,000 emergency visits per year — and those numbers only reflect hospital emergency departments, not pediatrician offices or urgent care clinics.
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Who Is Most at Risk
The data paints a clear picture of vulnerability. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the most commonly affected age was 1 year old, accounting for 43% of cases, followed by 2-year-olds at 26%. About 59% of patients were male.
As lead author Rebecca J. McAdams, M.A., M.P.H., explained in a press release, the reason young toddlers are so disproportionately affected comes down to development, since young children explore the world by putting things in their mouths — but they cannot read labels or recognize danger.
The Main Culprits: Detergent Packets and Spray Bottles
According to the AAP, two products stood out as the leading sources of harm. Detergent packet injuries from these packets peaked in 2015 and then declined after safety reforms, but they remain a significant risk to this day. Spray bottles were the second major source, responsible for about 28% of injuries, with most of these affecting children’s eyes.
The researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital noted that many spray bottle triggers are easy enough for toddlers to operate on their own.
According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), overall, the most common type of injury was poisoning (64%), and about 59% of injuries occurred through ingestion. The most common product types involved were bleach and detergents. About 7% of children in the study required hospitalization. Of those, 84% had swallowed a product, and nearly half were just 1 year old.
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Where To Source Healthy Cleaning Products For Your Home
Finding green-based cleaning products has never been easier, and knowing where to look can make all the difference — especially when you have young children in the home. The good news is that several trusted, science-backed resources exist to help you evaluate the products you already own, discover safer alternatives, and shop with confidence. Here are the best places to start:
The EWG Guide to Healthy Cleaning — ewg.org
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is one of the most comprehensive starting points for parents wanting to make safer choices. EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning gives you practical solutions to protect yourself and your family from everyday exposures to potentially harmful chemicals. U.S. law allows manufacturers of cleaning products to use almost any ingredient they wish, including known carcinogens and substances that can harm fetal and infant development, and the government doesn’t review the safety of products before they’re sold.
You can use EWG’s free, searchable database at ewg.org/cleaners to look up specific products by name. When a product is EWG VERIFIED®, it means it meets EWG’s strict, scientific standards for transparency and health — a team of toxicologists, chemists, and epidemiologists scrutinizes every product.
EWG also offers a Healthy Living App where you can scan barcodes in-store to check a product’s rating on the spot.
The EPA Safer Choice Program — epa.gov/saferchoice
Another powerful tool is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice program. Safer Choice helps consumers, businesses, and purchasers find products that perform well and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment.
The database includes roughly 2,500 certified products — most in the laundry and cleaning categories — and the website features an intuitive search system to help the public identify safer products available in their communities.
The EPA has identified the following active ingredients as safer: citric acid, hydrogen peroxide, L-lactic acid, ethanol, isopropanol, peroxyacetic acid, and sodium bisulfate.
Green Seal — greenseal.org
Green Seal is an independent nonprofit with over 35 years of ecolabeling experience. When you see the Green Seal mark, you can be confident you’re making a safer, more sustainable choice for your home.
To date, Green Seal has certified over 33,000 products across a wide cross-section of categories that deeply affect people and public health — and school cleaning programs around the country rely on Green Seal to protect their communities.
You can search their certified product directory at greenseal.org and also look for the Green Seal mark on Amazon, where Green Seal-certified products qualify to display verified sustainability features, signifying that products meet meaningful sustainability standards.
What Parents Should Do
The good news is that many of these injuries are preventable. Here is what our Pediatric Associates of CT experts recommend:
- Store all cleaning products and detergents up, away, and out of sight — ideally in a locked cabinet.
- Keep products in their original containers and look for child-resistant packaging.
- Consider using traditional liquid or powder detergents instead of packets until all children in your home are at least 6 years old.
- Never place cleaning products in food or drink containers.
- Safety latches on cabinets can help, but should not be relied upon as the only safeguard.
What To Do If Your Child Is Exposed
If your child comes into contact with a household cleaning product, do not wait for symptoms to appear. Call the national Poison Help Line immediately at 1-800-222-1222, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- For swallowed products: take the item away and have the child spit out any remaining substance. Do not induce vomiting.
- For skin contact: remove clothing and rinse the skin with lukewarm water for at least 15 minutes.
- For eye contact: flush the eye with a steady stream of room-temperature water for 15 minutes.
- If your child is unconscious, not breathing, or having seizures, call 911 immediately.
Take Your Cleaning Products Seriously
Cleaning product injuries are not rare accidents — they are a consistent and preventable public health issue. Keeping products locked away, choosing safer packaging, and knowing what to do in an emergency can make a real difference.
If you have questions about child safety at home or how to handle potential exposures, speak with our CT pediatric providers. A quick conversation could prevent a trip to the emergency room.
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Medical Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice. If you believe your child has been exposed to a harmful product, seek medical attention or contact emergency services immediately.
Sources:
American Academy of Pediatrics. “Study: Cleaning product injuries sent 240,000 young children to EDs from 2007-’22” publications.aap.org. https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/34797/Study-Cleaning-product-injuries-sent-240-000-young
American Academy of Pediatrics. “Poison Prevention & Treatment Tips for Parents.” HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/all-around/Pages/Poison-Prevention.aspx
Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Study Finds Household Cleaning Products Remain a Leading Source of Child Injury” nationwidechildrens.org. https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/newsroom/news-releases/2026/04/cirp-household-cleaners-study
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Cleaning Product–Related Injuries Treated in US Emergency Departments: 2007-2022” cpsc.gov. https://www.cpsc.gov/Research–Statistics/NEISS-Injury-Data