Child Safety Tips: Childproof Your Home HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical Systems 

As a parent, nothing is more essential than ensuring your child’s safety. When your little ones start crawling, it seems like the house looks like one big hazard! The HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems are very concerning. With this guide from the Experts at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing, you can ensure your home’s essential systems are properly babyproofed—giving you one less thing to worry about!

Block Access to Air Vents and Registers

HVAC grills that fit over the air vents throughout your residence often prove to be irresistible targets for small children. Here are tips to keep them safe:

• Fasten registers: If your floor or wall registers fit loosely, screw them in place so they won’t come off.
• Install some vent covers: These use a small grid to prevent small objects from falling inside without restricting airflow throughout your home.

Block Access to the Thermostat

Kids are attracted to buttons and screens, which makes the thermostat a potentially fun and exciting plaything. Follow these tips to help keep curious toddlers from creating temperature control problems in your home:

• Install the thermostat out of reach: The thermostat should be installed at a height for adults. Avoid placing objects near it that could tempt kids to climb up for a closer look.
• Secure the controls: Some thermostats feature safety functions to stop anyone from messing around with the settings. If yours doesn’t have this feature, consider investing in a thermostat cover that prevents curious kids from inadvertently changing the temperature.

Make Your Utility Room Safe

If your HVAC system is located in your home’s basement or utility closet, this is a critically important place for babyproofing. These are no places for [babies|children|infants or toddlers|any child}, so follow these tips to keep them safe:

• Install doorknob covers: If your utility area is enclosed, you have it easy. You can put a childproof cover on the doorknob to prevent your kids from opening the door to the room.
• Add a safety gate: If your heating or air systems are in an open area, put up a safety gate to stop adventurous crawlers from getting too close to your furnace or water heater.
• Inspect your carbon monoxide detectors: Every home should have at least one carbon monoxide detector on every level, especially if you have gas appliances. However, plug-in versions are simple for kids to access. Consider mounting combination CO/smoke detectors on the ceiling for maximum safety.

Protect Your Baby from Burns

In many homes, the threat of burn injuries isn’t limited to the utility room. Here’s how to keep your child from the dangers of hot surfaces:

• Install heat guards: Use a baby gate or specially designed heat guard around heat-producing appliances or equipment, baseboard heaters or fireplaces to form a barrier between young children and potentially dangerous hot surfaces.
• Stop using space heaters: A correctly adjusted and maintained heating system should comfortably heat every room in your home, and there should be no need to add a space heater to endanger curious kids.

Childproof Your Home’s Electrical System

We all need electricity to run today’s appliances, but power also poses safety hazards for little ones. Here’s how to protect your home’s electric system:

• Use outlet covers: Building code requires that new receptacles be tamper resistant. If you have old outlets, you can update them by using outlet covers. Choose sliding covers instead of plug-in styles, because clever children can sometimes yank out the plug-in styles.
• Cover cords: Exposed cords are a tangling risk. Use cord concealers or tape them down along the baseboards. Power strip covers are also useful for preventing small children from reaching the sockets.
• Keep the electrical panel secured: If your electrical panel is somewhat low to the ground, make sure it’s properly closed and locked to stop inquisitive kids from accessing it.

Use Good Plumbing Safety Practices

Babies love playing in water. That’s why it’s so important to take preventive measures to make sure they stay safe around home plumbing fixtures like sinks, tubs and toilets. Try these childproofing tips for plumbing systems:

• Adjust the water temperature: Turn your water heater to 120 degrees F to prevent children from being burned by hot water. Just don’t turn the temperature down any cooler than that, or you risk microbial growth in the tank.
• Use a faucet cover: Has your baby ever hit her or his head on the bathtub faucet? Rubberized covers are a very simple way to stop this kind of injury.
• Install toilet locks: Babies are often very curious about the toilet. A specialized lock keeps little ones from playing in unsanitary water or tossing toys inside, which can cause pipe clogs.

Call Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing for HVAC, Plumbing or Electrical Services in the U.S.

With these childproofing tips, you can confidently create a secure environment in your home. At Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing, we’re honored to help parents protect their families with fast HVAC, plumbing and electrical services in the U.S.. We are proud to follow our motto of making a meaningful difference in the lives of all our customers—even the little ones! Contact Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing at 866-397-3787 today for exceptional workmanship and customer service.