A Missouri mom is warning people to heed warning labels on products after an aerosol can of dry shampoo exploded in her daughter’s car, shot through the sunroof and torpedoed through the air, landing 50 feet away.
Christine Debrecht wrote on Facebook on Thursday that no one was in the Honda Civic when the can of Equate Tea Tree Dry Shampoo combusted in hot weather, blew the hinges off the closed center console of the car, where her daughter kept it, and shot straight through the sunroof. Photos she posted show debris in the car and an almost completely glass-free hole where the sunroof used to be.
Debrecht said the can landed 50 feet away from the car.
“I just want to remind you (and your kids) to heed those warnings on products you may be using. Please don’t leave aerosol cans (and especially dry shampoo, as this seems to be an issue with some brands) in your car! I am so grateful that no one was hurt,” Debrecht wrote.
She told NBC affiliate KSDK in St. Louis that the damage was so bad, she and her daughter couldn’t immediately figure out what caused it. “We thought something fell down from the sky, but the glass was going out so we know that wasn’t the case,” she said.
Walmart, which owns Equate, said in a statement, “Equate Dry Shampoo includes a specific warning, like most aerosol products, that it may explode if heated and not stored as directed.” The warning, printed on the front of the can, says: “DANGER. Extremely flammable. Container may explode if heated.”