Ariel Gel 'burns'

[rolls_rapide]

Found this on www.UKWhitegoods.co.uk:

Baby "Burned" By Ariel Gel.

The Scottish Daily Record has reported that a baby has been badly burned by Ariel washing detergent.

Taylor Mills, who is 17 months old, was hurt by Ariel Excel gel that failed to dissolve on a newly washed vest. The tot was in tears but parents Ryan and Gillian put it down to teething. And only when Taylor was undressed were his burns discovered.

Ryan, 27, said yesterday: "We were shocked when we saw the state of his armpit and down his right side.

"There was a smell of detergent from the wound and a patch of gel on his vest. It looked like an acid burn - it began to blister and weep."

Gillian, 23, said: "We're horrified something like this can happen."

Doctors are hopeful Taylor will have no lasting damage. But the family, of Cumnock, Ayrshire, are demanding some answers from Ariel makers Procter & Gamble.

Yesterday, the company said they were "sorry" to hear about Taylor and insisted such incidents were "extremely rare".

A spokeswoman added: "All our products are extensively researched and are safe to use as directed."

 

[toggleswitch2]

~Taylor Mills, who is 17 months old, was hurt by Ariel Excel gel that failed to dissolve on a newly washed vest.

Did the parents or caretakers not see the spot.......

1- when the garment was removed from the washer to be dried?
2- when it was folded and put away?
3- when it was unfolded and readied to be put on the child?

At least the formulation appears to have been ok. The ex and I bought some of what was supposed to be ordinary bath soap that was formulated incorrently. Our naughty bits were ON FIRE! Each wondered if the other brought home jock itch or crabs or who-knows-what. Took us a few days to figure it out.

 

[yogitunes]

Toggles is right....

does the responsibility only fall on the detergent?

did they use too much?

was the washer packed?

3/4 rinses and it was still there?

I don't care what anybody has to say...there's always more to the story than what is really being told...something is being covered up, all these variables, and it stayed there full potent power, we as experts know better, and I know what many of people may think, but your gonna have a hard time convincing me...like I spilled a cup off coffee on myself at home and my cup didn't tell me it was HOT!...should I sue myself, the cup, the coffeemaker, how about the manufacturer, or better yet the electic company....someone needs to be accountable because I can't hold a simple cup of coffee with out spilling it....oh..I know maybe my mother.....and know I just tripped over a paperclip, damn steel industry!...lol

 

[thomasortega]

If i'm not wrong...

That's exactly why P&G (and some other manufacturers) always uses highlight colors on it's products.

Not sure about the european Ariel, but in South America the Ariel liquid detergents are "lettuce juice green" and "punched eye purple".

Ace (our poor version of Tide regular, with 100000000000% more suds) is "scandalous-screaming-electric-metalic-sparkling blue".

In paraguay (maybe Argentina too, not so sure), there's also a "barbie pink" soap. Is you miss a rinse, it will let some electric pink stains FOREVER!

If they didn't notice the residues 1) they are daltonic; 2) they are blind; 3)they are stupid.

But wait, there's more!

Ariel for baby clothes? wierd, isn't it? Shouldn't be used an special detergent or, as a solution because those baby products are usually expensive, a baby soap bar AND hand wash?

What kind of father or mother doesn't love his/her baby enough to carefully hand wash those cute tiny clothes with a huge smile on his/her face?
I'm proud for having 4 lovely nephews that used 100% cotton diapers and I did it thousands of times because i didn't want them to wear those awful disposable diapers. None of my sisters or my sister in law had to wash a single diaper and they NEVER used disposable. I always did everything with a pleasure that's impossible to describe. Also, during the winters i used to put the diapers and the clothes in the microwave for 10 or 15 seconds just to let them a little warm.

 

[launderess]

Speaking For Myself

And I am unanimous in this, handwashing all but the most delicate infant items went out with modern washing machines, especially front loaders and or those with good gentle/delicate cycles and or "mini-baskets". What's next? Boiling nappies on the range?

Most mothers and quite a few fathers are quite busy not only taking care of their infants,but trying in some cases to also earn a living so the child will have a roof over it's head and food in it's belly. To wag one's finger at a mother (or father) because they do not hand wash their infants clothing sounds like something out of a Victorian housekeeping manual.

Given the sheer volume of laundry an infant produces, one would have one's hands in hot water a good part of the day keeping up.

 

[maytagbear]

That may be so, dear Laundress,

but it still does not excuse the parents from checking the vest before putting it on the poor infant.

I too, am not a parent, but when I washed my nieces' clothes, I measured the detergent very carefully, and did at least two deep rinses...... (They are well into their 20s, and do their own wash. The elder also washes {sometimes} for her husband.)

The detergent could have been overmeasured, or the washer (very likely) overloaded, or not enough rinses selected....there's just something very suspicious about technique here.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[whirlcool]

My take on this:

I think what happened is that Mama overloaded the washer and then instead of using the detergent drawer, she just squirted the Ariel directly onto the clothing in the drum. If the clothes don't get sufficiently wet the Ariel will be distributed around the clothes in the washer. She probably hung the clothes out to dry.

 

[earthling177]

I don't know if I should laugh or cry.

Yes, maybe someone should have checked when the clothes went to the washer to the dryer/line, then again before getting the baby dressed up, if not a few more times in between, like when folding etc.

But there could be other things going on -- what if it was an insect? Just because there's goo that smells like detergent, are they sure it's detergent or just that the scent is overwhelming?

What ticks me off, though, is that they go straight from "O! My! God! Blisters and weeping!" to "burn" and "acid burn". Even though the detergent would be more likely to be neutral or basic pH instead of acidic (so technically, it should have been an alkaline burn).

Here's news flash for them: it's probably an allergic reaction -- millions of people have allergic reactions to detergents, even "mild" ones like the ones engineered to be used for dishwashing by hand, or shampoos. An allergic reaction is more common, more likely and produces exactly the same symptoms they describe and, unless the docs can confirm it's a chemical burn, it's insane that they report it the way they did.

Me, I'm way more cynical -- me thinks right now that it's a smear campaign, it's not the first time it's happened, and it won't be the last either. Detergent is a multi-billion dollars industry, and I doubt very much that they are a clean business, if you know what I mean. And I'd be happy to be proven wrong if they find out more about this case, but right now I think it's just people trying to get a leg up on their competitors.

 

[alr2903]

Well i pray that she just has poor laundry habits and it was a freak accident. Poor Baby. The other possibility is just to cruel to consider.

 

[sudsmaster]

I think the washing machine and the method used to operate may be the major factors in this.

I find it very difficult to believe that a properly functioning washing machine will not dissolve a GEL added to the wash in the correct manner.

I suspect the following might be among the causes:

1) Parent forgot to turn on the water for the wash - and the washer had no intelligence to stop and demand water.

2) Water fill screens were clogged with dirt/rust, and insufficient water entered the washer. Again, washer didn't warn about insufficient fill.

3) Parent grossly overloaded washer, resulting in incomplete wetting of detergent.

4) Washer malfunctioned and wash was removed after soap section of program was completed but with no rinses or final spin.

ALL regular laundry detergents are harsh on the skin. I wonder if the parents ever used a laundry power - which is more difficult to dissolve, yet many millions of families wash their clothes successfully with powders without damaging their babies.

 

[panthera]

I feel deeply for the poor child

And wonder about the parents.

Having changed more babies than I care to remember - know that you are always at least one hand short of enough to do the job...but still, I think you'd notice the smell or at least the color or...

Well, guess not.

In any case, it's a lesson I'm sure they've well learned.

As for the hand washing, etc...no. Sorry. Nappies are either disposable or get hygienically washed (and if that means boiling them in hi-phosphate detergent, enzymes and chlorine bleach, so be it). They get rinsed, thoroughly, then dried in the sun or the clothes dryer and put away. One baby goes through a washer load of clothes every single day when you are using cloth nappies. Nothing wrong with that, but giving a baby or toddler delicate clothing requiring hand washing is not something I would even consider. Been there, done that, am in love with automatic washers. And dryers.

 

[yogitunes]

I spent last night after this thread in my laundry room, pouring strips of detergent and sprays of everything I had, and nothing happened, now some people may have an allergic reaction to some detergents, I laid a wet wash cloth over top, only the ones with baking soda got warm, even mixed a few together, but nothing other than that, one did leave a purple ring on my arm, I don't get it, maybe it's me?

hey, maybe for halloween I could pour the one over my entire body, and be a PURPLE PEOPLE EATER, HAHAHAHAHA!

 

[spoodles]

Or... they left the bottle lying around and the child picked it up and got some on itself.
Cue the parents looking for compensation.

It sounds a bit fishy that it "didn't dissolve". It's only a thick liquid, and when used properly there isn't a trace left.

 

[deeprinser]

Ariel Gel-- bottles in 666 mls !
Why 666 mls ?
Why not 750 mls ?
Hmmmm !

 

[spoodles]

They've changed them now - it's 667ml instead! LOL!

 

[hoovermatic]

COMPO!!!!!!!

Sounds like a compensation claim in the offing here - why earn money when you can make it by making spurious assumptions about who is responsible for this accident and filing a lawsuit. That is all it is, an accident, mixed with a too liberal measure of care. It is my understanding that all detergents would cause irritation if applied directly to the skin, particularly once one starts to perspire. A baby's skin is ultra sensitive and although I have no children, my mother spent 48 years in paediatric nursing. Many times I heard her say that when it comes to things like baby clothes and their care, you can never be too careful.

In a similar verin, it kind of makes me think of all the Mums I see around the towns and cities pushing babies in buggies fully exposed to the summer sun in an attempt to 'give the baby some colour'. I have heard horror stories about babies whos mothers have tried to tan them - it would turn your stomouch.

 

[mrboilwash]

My German bottle is only 592 ml for 16 washloads.
They screw us all the time except for those rare occasions when the same sized P&G bottle reads now X% more for free.

Liquitabs have been criticised for bad solubility under certain circumstances like low temeratures combined with short cycles and full loads. Unfortunately they did not sell fast and dissapeared from our shelves soon after they had been introduced.
Have to say the Ariel gel does in deed linger for a long time in the dosing cap when the load is really full. As soon as the water gets warm the cap is usually clean.
Poor baby, but I think its not the detergent to blame if its used by stupid people.

 

[newwave1]

Oooooookay. Something i have experience in Both fields! Ariel excel gel and babies!

I love this detergent, it is excellent when used properly. And we have a 6month old baby boy. I use ariel on his clothes and i'm very picky about rinsing. very.

So when i read this i was surprized but not surprized. I should imagine the situation was this....

The machine was rammed full..probably too much excel gel used, and a poor rinsing machine was the culprit. Cue your bosches and indesits from early 2000....If the gel doesn't get evenly ditributed around the load early on (i found this in my old hotpoint) that there can be small amounts still stuck on the dispensing device.

So P & G i'm sure your not too worried and have probably thought the same thing as me already.

Theres always to sides to everystory. And i will continue to use bio ariel products on my sons clothes as i know exactly what and how to get the best results with it and with my brand new zanussi i need not worry at all.

Darren

 

[rolls_rapide]

Indeed

The probable cause of the consternation is an overloaded machine and/or wrong programme selected.

I wonder if the parents used an ultra quick speedwash for a fully loaded drum?