Tide detergent sticks a no-no for carry-ons?
 

This evening, I cleared security at Toronto-Pearson (YYZ) headed to the U.S. I fly primarily in the States and take occasional trips north of the border.

For the past month or so, I've been flying with a Tide to Go detergent stick in my carry-on throughout the States and haven't had a single issue with it. This evening in Toronto, however, what I suspect was an overzealous security agent, took my Tide stick.

She opened my laptop bag, pulled it out, and said it was not allowed. I told her I fly with it in my carry-on frequently. She said, "they have different laws than we do" and I clarified that I fly in the U.S. with it in my carry-on frequently. She gave me the option of checking my laptop bag as I'm standing there holding my laptop waiting for me to hand my bag back. (Yeah, right...who's going to check their laptop bag??)

She was also eyeing my laser pointer and wanted me to take it all apart. Never had any issues with that before, either.

In the end, I surrendered the Tide stick; but, of course, kept my laser pointer.

Question: are the Tide personal sticks really not allowed in carry-ons (except in the ziplock bag?) Have I just been really lucky these last several weeks by getting through security without getting it taken away? It's only a couple of bucks really, so it's not a big deal to me in the grand scheme of things. It's just annoying when you feel like you've been had by the Canadian "TSA" and there's nothing you can do.

In case anyone's curious, I looked at the size of the stick's contents before I surrendered it for good and it was something like 0.35 oz -- a third of an ounce! She said detergents were not allowed. I looked at the 3-1-1 website and see all the info about liquids, gels, and aerosols, of course, but I don't see anything that addresses detergents, per se. Maybe the Tide sticks are technically considered a gel?

Any thoughts are appreciated!

Yes, Tide sticks are about on par with stick-type deodorant, so to a Ziplock it goes.

As for the ixnay detergent comment, :mad:. What BS!

Thanks for the heads up. I'll remember to keep a ziplock in my laptop case expressly for this reason from now on...

Yeah, well, at least somebody's clothes in Toronto will be a little bit more stain free from now on. I never did see her throw the stick in the trash. I think she may have handed it to a fellow employee who was standing next to her. Oh well...live and learn...

She needed it more than you did. :p

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I also prefer the Tide stick, but Shout sells a box of individually-wrapped wipes that work the same way. With the TSA, it's probably easier to work around stupidity by throwing a handful of them into the carry-on.

A solid stick deodorant is not subject to the liquid rules (i.e. if it says "solid" on the container). Is the Tide stick closer to a gel-type deodorant or a solid-type?

In Toronto it would have been CATSA, but some of them are even more capricious than their US counterparts. Toronto is notorious; you were actually fortunate she spoke English.

Funny. I just went through YYZ yesterday heading back to the states and no one said anything about my tide to go stick.

I also never put my deoderant in my baggie because it's a solid. Even if i had a different type of deoderant i would probably still keep it separate.

They need to stop punnishing people who want to be presentable.

OK, well, now the consensus seems to be that they're allowed to be outside of the ziplocks. I think I'm going to press my luck and buy another one without putting it in a ziplock. If it happens to me again (outside of Toronto), shame on me. I think she just wanted the stick, personally. After all, I've cleared security four times in Canada in the past two weeks (twice at YUL and twice at YYZ) and only the last time at YYZ was there an issue with it. I've cleared security in the U.S. and Puerto Rico at least 20 times since putting the stick in my carry-on and I never had a single issue. I do get the occasional unopened bottle of water from Hilton that I quickly put in my bag and forgot to drink confiscated, though. ;)

It is a liquid/gel inside. I've put it in my ziplock just to ensure that I don't lose it to an overzealous agent.

Wait, wait..."baglady" -- do you work for the Ziplock folks?? If so, I think your advice might be a little biased. :p

Jeeze, I always carry my Tide-to-Go pen in my purse. Yet another thing to have to cram in the ziplock. It's really geting ridiculous...

BTW, I guess the Shout wipes would work the same way as the Tide stick does, but the stick is great for FOOD mishaps: little spots, those red or greasy spatters, etc. I use the Shout wipes for inside collars and other stains. The Tide is specifically for food stains. I have to stop... before people say this doesn't belong in a Security thread...

I would get names and supervisors if this was done to me.

Back when they were doing "random" gate screenings at YYZ for flights to the US, I got pulled aside once. They rifled through some of my stuff and ended up simply asking me what was in the laundry bag and compartments in my bag.

I contacted CATSA and asked why they are doing these searches when it's based on the honor system. I got a boilerplate response, of course.


Also when they were doing the mandatory "random" open-bag searches in front of the CTX machine, I learned that a couple of those CATSA folks get real bothered when you stare at them and fold your arms while they do their rummaging.

Technically, that's correct. However, after a couple of incidents where I was lectured by overzealous TSA screeners that it MUST go in the baggie, I've taken to just putting it in the baggie.