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Suavitel fabric treatment products

8 reports to CPSC, the latest made May 22, 2017. A report isn’t a recall.

Watch it to hear when CPSC publishes new reports about it. CPSC’s own search, on saferproducts.gov

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At a glance

From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.

  • 8reports to CPSC
  • May 22, 2017the latest report was made
  • Jun 15, 2011the earliest
  • 0with the company’s comments
Brand
Suavitel
Maker
COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.Makers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
Product
Fabric treatment productsCPSC’s product type: Fabric Treatment Products (code 952), in Home Maintenance and Structures: Household Chemicals, Paint, & Cleaning Products
Other ways the reports write the brand (2)

“Suavital” and “Suavitel Fast Dry”

By month

3 reports from June 2016 to May 2017; the most in May 2017, 1. 5 earlier reports, since June 2011, are in the table.
The numbers, as a table
Reports to CPSC by the month each was made, newest first
MonthReports
May 20171
February 20171
December 20161
January 20161
April 20141
April 20131
September 20111
June 20111

How badly anyone was hurt

  • Seen by a doctor or nurse 5 CPSC: Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
  • Hurt, no treatment 3 CPSC: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received

As each report says it, in short words; CPSC’s own words are under each.

The reports, as CPSC published them

Reports people made to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC publishes each one after sending it to the company named, and doesn’t guarantee they’re accurate. A report isn’t a recall.

Each report is the words of the person who made it, as CPSC published them. The company’s comments, where CPSC published any, are set apart as the company’s own.

Source:

CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.

  1. Hurt, no treatment

    Made May 22, 2017, sent to the company Jun 28, 2017, published by CPSC Jul 20, 2017

    The product, in the report: Suavitel fabric softener

    My daughter had been doing her laundry at. My house for several weeks. I had become I’ll every time she did this. She used a free and clear type detergent, but she was using suavitel fabric softener. I would get a.migraine headache, nausea, vomiting, each time she did her laundry. I have used various brands of softener before, but this made me physics!!y I’ll!. I felt like I was smothering until the fragrance dissipated. I have asthma, so I have to be careful about these these things. The symptoms get worse each episode.

    Thank you

    Bought from
    Wall mart, West Virginia
    Bought
    Mar 17, 2017
    Where
    Fairda!e, West Virginia: Home/Apartment/Condominium
    Who was involved
    Age 50, Female
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Self
    As this report names them
    Brand Suavitel, made or sold by COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
  2. Hurt, no treatment

    Made Feb 21, 2017, sent to the company Mar 17, 2017, published by CPSC Apr 7, 2017

    The product, in the report: Suavitel Fabric Softener that comes in blue, yellow, and purple plastic bottles in a few different sizes (ounces).

    I tried this product and it gave me a rash all over and contact dermatitis sores that took two weeks to heal. Now every time I am around people who use the product or do laundry in my neighborhood I have trouble breathing and I get itchy and begin to get bumps. If I am around anyone who has clothes on that used Suavitel Softener I have to go home and shower right away or I get sores all over me. I cant breath when my neighbors (on both side they use the softener Suavitel) dry their clothes its like a vapor cloud that I can’t escape. I believe this product is dangerous not just to me but the dryer exhaust polluting the air/environment and people. My life is confined because so many people in my area use the product. I immediately have reactions every time I am near it.

    Bought from
    Winco, California
    Bought
    Aug 8, 2016, about then
    Where
    Moreno Valley, California: Home/Apartment/Condominium
    Who was involved
    Age 53, Female
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Self
    As this report names them
    Brand Suavitel, made or sold by COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
  3. Seen by a doctor or nurse

    Made Dec 12, 2016, sent to the company Dec 20, 2016, published by CPSC Jan 5, 2017

    The product, in the report: Fabric Softener

    Fabric softener is literally killing me. I was exposed to a product called Suavital last year that as being used by a co-worker. Breathing in the toxic fumes. I am now on temp state disability. Yesterday I had a cable installer come to my house. He had fabric softener in his clothes. It eventually rendered me unconscious. I passed out for 12 hours and when I tried to get up I could not open my eyes because they were so painful. I have a mortgage to pay and a family to support. I cannot work. I am about to lose everything I have worked my entire life for. I am so sick that I cannot even tell you all the physical symptoms I have or have had since this all started.

    Where
    Hemet, California: Other
    Who was involved
    Age 56, Female
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Self
    As this report names them
    Brand Suavital, made or sold by COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
  4. Seen by a doctor or nurse

    Made Jan 2, 2016, sent to the company Jan 11, 2016, published by CPSC Feb 4, 2016

    The product, in the report: Suavitel a cheap fabric softener. Gives off unbelievably noxious fumes.

    A coworker of mine at Albertsons uses a fabric softener called Suateval. I have been having symptoms, which are getting worse, including but not limited to, dizziness, rapid heart rate, migranes, what feels like brain swelling, sore throat, runny nose, irritated eyes, problems breathing, forgetfulness, can not concentrate.. The severity of these symptoms has been ongoing for about 6 weeks. This person has been using this product ever since being transferred to this store about 7 months ago so exposure has been ongoing. Less severe symptoms had been occurring prior to Nov.

    Where
    Hemet, California: Other Public Property/Office
    Who was involved
    Age 56, Female
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Self
    As this report names them
    Brand Suavitel, made or sold by COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
  5. Seen by a doctor or nurse

    Made Apr 4, 2014, sent to the company Apr 14, 2014, published by CPSC Apr 28, 2014

    The product, in the report: Suavitel Fast Dry Fabric Softner

    I just purchased the New Fast-Dry Suavitel Fabric Softner and my Husband which is allergic to NOTHING has been hit with severe hives almost to the point of going into a Steven’s Johnson type reaction. He has been placed on medication and nothing seems to be stopping it. It appears to be systematically attacking him from head to toe. We will be starting steriods immediately and hope this will help. Everything in the home that was washed with this product has been rewashed. I have searched the web and have found others this has happened to and they have had to literally throw away everything that touched this product. My husband is a pretty tough guy that works constantly on motors so he is not sensitive to anything he has ever used in the garage but this product has knocked him down. Everyday he is waking up with more and mover hives and it is now all over his head neck and throat. He is feeling very sick also with chills. This is really concerning that people may not be aware this product can be so damaging. I realize everyone can be allergic to one thing or another but this is extreme.

    Model
    Suavitel Fast Dry
    UPC
    3500039011
    Bought from
    Walmart, Texas
    Bought
    Mar 28, 2014
    Where
    Midlothian, Texas: Home/Apartment/Condominium
    Who was involved
    Age 49, Male
    The reporter’s relation to them
    My Spouse
    As this report names them
    Brand Suavitel Fast Dry, made or sold by COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
  6. Hurt, no treatment

    Made Apr 8, 2013, sent to the company Apr 16, 2013, published by CPSC Apr 30, 2013

    The product, in the report: Suavitel is a line of fabric softeners, both liquid and dryer sheets.

    Suavitel, a fragranced laundry product, is putting serious restrictions on my quality of life. I can’t go anywhere near the laundry aisle of grocery stores, I can’t be around someone who has used these fragranced laundry products, and worst of all--I am often locked inside a closed house because of my neighbors using these fragranced laundry products.

    What happens to me when I breathe these intolerably strong-smelling products for even a short time is the following: pain in the nose and sore throat; sinus pain; headache; difficulty breathing; nausea; swollen tongue, throat, and fingers; and finally confusion.

    I am a normal, healthy person. I don’t have multiple chemical sensitivities.

    When my neighbors are doing laundry I have to hold my breath to take out the garbage, to pick up my mail, to get to my car. The substances fill up my garage and then leak into my house. I can not enjoy my yard or open my windows. The times I am able to breathe fresh air are rare and unpredictable.

    I have recently found out through surfing the Internet that only perhaps 1 in 25 of these fragrance users will respond positively to a neighbor who tells them what the fragrances do to them. The rest simply continue to use the products: commercials have convinced them they will smell bad if they don’t. I have also discovered that this is now a national problem: people are suffering from these odors all across America.

    There are no laws or ordinances anywhere against the use of these substances, though there are laws against the same types of odors and chemicals coming from industrial facilities.

    Please investigate this problem. The industry is busily claiming that there is no “scientific evidence” that these products are harmful. Don’t you think it’s strange that so many people are made sick by them? The industry would like you to believe that all of us (and we represent a good chunk of the population) are merely hysterical, hypochondriac, or misled. I assure you, that is not the case.

    These laundry fragrances need to be regulated, and only you can do it.

    Please do something to protect the many Americans from physical harm who are either using these products, ignorant of their effects, or being harmed by their neighbors’ use of them.

    Where
    Santa Fe, New Mexico: Home/Apartment/Condominium
    Who was involved
    Age 56, Female
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Self
    As this report names them
    Brand Suavitel, made or sold by COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
  7. Seen by a doctor or nurse

    Made Sep 20, 2011, sent to the company Sep 28, 2011, published by CPSC Oct 20, 2011

    The product, in the report: Suavitel fabric softener

    I have been exposed to what I recently found out is a fabric softening called “Suavitel”, and it is giving me many medical problems.

    But first, the smell from this product is overwhelming and obnoxious - everybody I know with the exception of the people who use it, call it a “STENCH” rather than a “smell”. The people at work who use this product can be smelled from at least 20 feet away. When I am driving my car down the street past a laundrymat, I can smell this smell inside my car with the windows rolled up.

    Some of the various ailments that I have had since being exposed to this toxic stench, are severe headaches, bronchial airway closing, and inability to think.

    Honestly, I can’t believe people haven’t sued P&G regarding this product yet.

    Where
    Hoffman Estates, Illinois: Street or Highway
    Who was involved
    Age 50, Female
    The reporter’s relation to them
    Self
    As this report names them
    Brand Suavitel, made or sold by COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
  8. Seen by a doctor or nurse

    Made Jun 15, 2011, published by CPSC Jul 8, 2011

    The product, in the report: Suavitel brand Fabric Softener, imported from Mexico.

    For the last few years my 2 year old son and I have had what at first seemed to be random allergic reactions that would result in hive breakouts. For the longest time I wasn’t sure what could be causing it. My husband would regularly do laundry at his mothers house when he took the kids to visit and so I thought it may be her detergent. I gave him hypoallergenic detergent to use for all our clothes, but of course his mother still used her own.

    My son would still break out sometimes. A few weeks ago he had a hive outbreak that was the worst we had ever seen. I got more persistent in asking what she uses. Well one day my husband brought my son home wrapped in one of my mother in laws blankets because he forgot his jacket that day. The blanket remained at my house for a few days and during that time, without thinking about it, I used it while sitting on my couch watching TV. The next morning i woke up covered in hives, the worst outbreak I have ever had in my life, for the first time in over a year. It got the point that I swelled up and had difficulty breathing. As I write this I am taking [REDACTED] and the swelling and hives have calmed down but are still present.

    After this my husband took the issue more seriously and discovered in talking to his mom that she uses this Suavital fabric softener occasionally on the blankets at her home. I say occasionally because the blankets are not washed as often as clothes and she only uses it on the blankets. This made sense to me because when my son was at her house he would nap and use her blankets, which is why his outbreaks persisted when mine seemed to stop, but did not occur as often as they would have had his clothes been washed with the Suavital as well.

    I immediately did a web search and found that others had serious complaints about this product as well. I would like to see it removed so that those of us who are sensitive to low quality ingredients don’t become victims in this way to this product again.

    Where
    Unspecified: Home/Apartment/Condominium
    Who was involved
    Age 2, Male
    The reporter’s relation to them
    My Child
    As this report names them
    Brand Suavitel, made or sold by COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO.
    How badly, in CPSC’s words
    Injury, Seen by Medical Professional

CPSC’s disclaimer

Disclaimer: CPSC does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.

Source:

Word for word, from the disclaimer in CPSC’s export.

Sources

Sources
  • U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, SaferProducts.gov public database export.

    Released Oct 25, 2026 and checked Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.

Source:

Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.

Back to Fabric treatment products

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Source:

CMS, State and US Averages and Health Deficiencies. Released Oct 8, 2026. Updated monthly.

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