Clothespins
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Furnishings & Fixtures · CPSC Code 669
Up 10% over 5 years
The verdict
Clothespins carry a danger score of 36/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 128 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 10% over the last five years.
- 36/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 128
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 18.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 669 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 36/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for clothespins - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume128 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)18.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+10%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Clothespins (CPSC product code 669, in the Home Furnishings & Fixtures category) generate an estimated 128 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 2,425 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 36/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are rising by about 10% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (308 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2023 (8 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for clothespins is ingestion to the internal, accounting for approximately 661 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the eyeball (413 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 730 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 18.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how clothespins fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 466 | 264 | |
| 5-14 | 304 | 136 | |
| 15-24 | 53 | 142 | |
| 25-34 | 70 | 92 | |
| 35-44 | 79 | 98 | |
| 45-54 | 0 | 144 | |
| 55-64 | 0 | 201 | |
| 65-74 | 0 | 176 | |
| 75+ | 70 | 133 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | Ingestion | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Foot | Puncture | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Internal | Aspiration | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Finger | Other | |
| Foot | Foreign Body | |
| Finger | Dislocation | |
| Toe | Puncture | |
| Wrist | Fracture | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Toe | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Arm | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
3 YOM C/O PUNCTURE WOUND OF FOOT S/P STEPPED ON A CLOTHESPIN. DX: PUNCTURE WOUND OF FOOT
17YOM PRESENTS WITH SUSPECTED INFECTION TO THE RIGHT INDEX FINGER. PT WAS PUTTING ON A PATCH WITH A PUSH PIN STYLE BACKING, ACCIDENTALLY POKED THE TIP OF HIS INDEX FINGER 2 DAYS AGO. A BLISTER HAS NOW FORMED AT THE TIP OF HIS FINGER. DX: CELLULITIS OF FINGER.
60YOF C/O PUNCTURE WOUND OF FOOT S/P PT STATES SHE WAS WALKING WHEN A LONG CLOTHES PIN WENT THROUGH HER SHOE CAUSING A PUNCTURE WOUND TO HER LEFT FOOT. SON STATES HE REMOVED THE PIN. DX: PUNCTURE WOUND OF FOOT
14 MOM PRESENTS WITH FOREIGN BODY IN OROPHARYNX. WAS PLAYING WITH A SORT OF PLASTIC CLIP USED TO CLOSE CHIP BAGS WHICH HAS A METALLIC SPRING INVOLVED TO ALLOW THE CLIP TO CLOSE. SOMEHOW THE PATIENT GOT THE METALLIC SPRING INTO THEIR MOUTH. DX: AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION DUE TO FOREIGN BODY
44YOF PAIN AND SWELLING TO RIGHT INDEX FINGER, ENDORSES POKING SELF WITH CLOTHING PIN, FINGER TIGHT AND WARM TO TOUCH. DX: PARONCHYA OF FINGER OF RT HAND, PAIN OF RT HAND
5YOF CUT HER FINGER FROM PLAYING W/ SOME CLOTHESPINS ABOUT 1 WEEK AGO WHILE AT HOME. NOW LOOKS INFECTED. DX: INFECTION TO WOUND OF R INDEX FINGER
14YOF PRESENTING AFTER SWALLOWING A SHARP CLOTHES PIN NEEDLE YESTERDAY. DX: SWALLOWED F.B.; ADMIT
16YOF REPORTS SHE WAS WALKING ON THE STREET WHEN SHE STEPPED ON A CLOTHESPIN. DX PUNCTURE WOUND TO FOOT
54YOF GOT FINGER CAUGHT IN A CLOTHES PIN/ RACK AND CUT FINGER. DX FINGER LAC
2YOF PATIENT'S MOTHER STATES THE CHILD SWALLOWED THE METAL PART OF A CLOTHESPINS DX: SWALLOWED FOREING BODY
2YOF SWALLOWED THE METAL PART OF CLOTHESPIN DX: FOREIGN BODY IN ESOPHAGUS
15MOM PRESENTING W SUSPECTED FOREIGN BODY INGESTION MOM SAW PT PUT A METAL CLIP OFF OF A CLOTHESPIN INTO MOUTH AND UNSURE IF HE SWALLOWED IT DX SUSPECTED FOREIGN BODY INGESTION BY INFANT NOT FOUND AFTER EVALUATION
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to clothespins on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are clothespins?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, clothespins have a danger score of 36/100 (low risk). An estimated 128 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from clothespins?
The most common injury is ingestion to the internal, accounting for approximately 661 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from clothespins increasing or decreasing?
Up 10% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for clothespins injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 730 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by clothespins?
Of all ER visits involving clothespins, approximately 18.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (81.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with clothespins?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Furnishings & Fixtures
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 36/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
