Do You Need It? Lysol Laundry Sanitizer Effects Are Unnecessary with Hot, Warm Water, Class Action Says

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Lysol-brand laundry sanitizer does not kill “99.9% of bacteria” as advertised since the hot or warm water most people use to wash clothes already does the job, a proposed class action claims.

According to the 10-page suit out of New York, “no credible and accepted studies” on domestic laundry practices indicate that the spread of bacteria and/or infection from laundry poses a risk of bacteria transmission. Moreover, the hot temperature at which “most Americans” wash clothes “inactivates microorganisms, accelerates the activation of detergents and facilitates the mechanical removal of soil and other particulates,” the lawsuit states.

Despite this, the front label of the Lysol laundry sanitizer fails to inform consumers that standard washing machine use at hot or warm temperatures is all it takes to achieve a reduction in nearly all bacteria, the complaint says.

“This information is only indirectly disclosed on the back label, through the statements, ‘Works in Cold Water,’ and ‘When you wash your clothes in cold water, bacteria can survive,’” the suit reads.

Per the case, the “cold water” disclaimer is a tacit acknowledgment by defendant Reckitt Benckiser that, for most consumers who use hot or warm water, the Lysol laundry sanitizer “provides no benefits beyond what they already receive from their water temperature and standard detergent.” These disclaimers themselves are “misleading,” the suit claims, in that washing in cold water with detergent, followed by a normal drying cycle, also reduces and minimizes the risk of bacteria survival “to a negligible level.” 

Overall, the value of the Lysol laundry sanitizer is “materially less” than represented by Reckitt Benckiser, and the company sold more of the product, and at higher prices, due to the foregoing misrepresentations, the case alleges. 

The lawsuit looks to cover consumers in New York, New Mexico, West Virginia, Iowa, Arkansas, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho and Alaska who bought Lysol laundry sanitizer within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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