Home Safety: How to Childproof Your Home HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical Systems 

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

Make HVAC Vents and Registers Off Limits

HVAC covers that fit over the air vents in your residence often prove to be irresistible exploration opportunities for small children. Here are tips to make sure they are safe:

• Screw down registers: If your floor or wall registers easily pop out, secure them in place so they won’t come off.
• Install some vent covers: These use a small grid to keep small objects from falling inside without blocking airflow throughout your residence.

No Touching the Thermostat

Kids are fascinated by buttons and screens, which makes the thermostat a potentially inviting plaything. Follow these tips to stop curious toddlers from creating temperature control problems in your home:

• Move 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.
• Lock the controls: Some thermostats feature safety functions to prevent anyone from fiddling with the settings. If yours doesn’t have this feature, consider adding a thermostat cover that prevents curious kids from adjusting the temperature.

Make the Utility Closet Off Limits

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

• Put on doorknob covers: If a home’s utility area is enclosed, you have an easy task. Just put a childproof cover on the doorknob to keep your kids from opening the door to the room.
• Set up a safety gate: If your heating and cooling equipment is in an open area, set up a safety gate to block curious crawlers from getting too close to your furnace or water heater.
• Test your carbon monoxide detectors: Every home should have at least one carbon monoxide detector on each floor, especially if you have gas appliances. However, plug-in versions are simple for kids to reach. Consider placing 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 your home’s utility room. Here’s how to protect your child from the dangers of hot surfaces:

• Use heat guards: Place a simple baby gate or specially designed heat guard around radiators, baseboard heaters or fireplaces to form a barrier between your child and potentially dangerous hot surfaces.
• Avoid space heaters: A correctly adjusted and maintained heating system should heat your entire home, and there should be no requirement to use a space heater to endanger curious kids.

Childproof Your Home’s Electrical System

We all need electricity in our homes, but electricity also poses safety hazards for toddlers. Here’s how to secure your home’s electric system:

• Use outlet covers: Building code requires that new receptacles be tamper resistant. If you have older outlets, you can retrofit them with outlet covers. Choose locking covers instead of plug-in styles, because determined toddlers can sometimes pull off the plug-in styles.
• Hide cords: Exposed cords are a pulling risk. Use cord concealers or fasten them along the baseboards. Power strip covers are also effective for preventing small children from reaching the sockets.
• Keep the electrical panel locked: If your electrical panel is somewhat low to the ground, make sure it’s securely closed and locked to stop inquisitive kids from playing with it.

Increase Plumbing Safety

Babies love water play. That’s why it’s so crucial to ensure they stay safe around home plumbing fixtures like sinks, tubs and toilets. Try these childproofing tips for plumbing systems:

• Set the water temperature: Turn your water heater to 120 degrees F to prevent scalding at the tap. Just don’t turn the temperature down any lower than that, because this could risk microbial growth in the tank.
• Install a faucet cover: Has your baby ever knocked his or her head on the bathtub faucet? Rubberized covers are a quick and easy way to stop this sort of injury.
• Try using toilet locks: Babies are often intrigued by the toilet. A specialized lock prevents little ones from getting covered 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 easily create a protected environment in your home. At Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing, we’re pleased to help parents protect their little ones with reliable HVAC, plumbing and electrical services in the U.S.. We are dedicating to making a meaningful difference in the lives of every family member we serve—even the little ones! Contact Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing at 866-397-3787 today for top-notch workmanship and customer service.