Tide Pod Recall 2024: Millions of Laundry Detergent Pods Pose Serious Injury Risk

More than eight million laundry detergent pod packets are being recalled across the United States and Canada due to a defect. 

According to a recall notice published April 5 on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website, manufacturer Procter & Gamble has issued a recall of some of the most well-known laundry pods, including from Tide, Gain, Ace and Aril brands.

Procter & Gamble said the outer packaging of the pods, meant to prevent access to the contents, can split open near the zipper track.

This poses a risk of “serious injury” to children and other vulnerable populations if the contents of the laundry detergent packets are ingested, the recall states. It also poses a risk of skin or eye injuries.

“Ingestion of a large quantity of any surfactant-containing household cleaning products can cause death among individuals with underlying health issues,” the recall states. 

2024 Tide Pod Recall: Can I Get a Refund and a Free Replacement Bag?

Yes. Consumers should check to see if their bag is part of the recall by checking the lot code on their bag. About 8.2 million of the defective bags were manufactured between September 2023 and February 2024 and sold in the United States and about 56,741 were sold in Canada.

The recall applies to Tide Pods, Gain Flings, Ace Pods and Ariel Pods liquid laundry detergent packets packaged in flexible film bags, and the affected lot codes are available here. 

Consumers should immediately secure the recalled bags out of sight and reach of children and contact Procter & Gamble for a full refund and a free replacement child-resistant bag to store the product. Consumers with recalled bags can submit a photo of the recalled product, showing the lot code, to participate in the recall.

Have There Been Reports of Injuries from Recalled Tide Laundry Pods?

Procter & Gamble says the firm has so far received four reports of children in the United States accessing the liquid laundry packets, three of which reported ingestion during the time period that the recalled lots were sold. The company says it doesn’t know if those laundry packets came from recalled bags.

In 2015, Procter & Gamble faced a class action lawsuit alleging children had suffered serious physical injuries after ingesting Tide Pods laundry packets. 

According to the lawsuit, the small and brightly packaged laundry pods “look like candy” to children and children could therefore accidentally play with them, including swallowing or inhaling the contents.

2024 Tide Laundry Pod Recall: The defective Tide laundry pods were sold at Big Lots, CVS, Family Dollar, Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Target, Walmart, and other major stores nationwide and online from September 2023 for between $5 and $30.