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

As a parent, nothing is more important in life than ensuring your child’s safety. As soon as your little ones start crawling, it seems like your entire home is one big hazard! The HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems are particularly concerning. With this guide from the Experts at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing, you can make sure your home’s essential systems are thoroughly babyproofed—giving you one less thing to worry about!

Make HVAC Vents and Registers Off Limits

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

• Secure registers: If your floor or wall registers easily pop out, screw them in place so they won’t come off.
• Install babyproof vent covers: These use a thin screen to stop small objects from falling inside without restricting airflow throughout your home.

Block Access to the Thermostat

Kids are fascinated by buttons and screens, which makes the thermostat a potentially inviting plaything. Follow these tips to help keep little family members from creating temperature control problems in your home:

• Place the thermostat away from children: The thermostat should be installed at a level high enough where kids can’t easily reach it. Avoid placing furniture near it that could invite kids to climb up for a closer look.
• Lock down the controls: Some thermostats feature child-lock functions to stop anyone from fiddling with the settings. If yours doesn’t have this feature, consider investing in a thermostat cover that stops curious kids from inadvertently changing the temperature.

Block Access to HVAC and Mechanical Room Equipment

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

• Install doorknob covers: If your utility area is enclosed, you are in luck. Just put a childproof cover on the doorknob to keep your kids from opening the door to get inside.
• Install a safety gate: If your HVAC is in an open area, put up a safety gate to block adventurous crawlers from getting too close to your furnace or water heater.
• Check your carbon monoxide detectors: Every residence should have at least one carbon monoxide detector on each floor, especially if you have gas appliances. Unfortunately, plug-in versions are simple for kids to access. Consider placing combination CO/smoke detectors on the ceiling for better safety.

Follow These Tips to Prevent Burn Injuries

In many homes, the threat of burn injuries isn’t limited to your home’s utility room. Here are other ways to shield your child from the dangers of hot surfaces:

• Place heat guards: Place a simple baby gate or specially designed heat guard around heat-producing appliances or equipment, baseboard heaters or fireplaces to form a barrier between babies and potentially dangerous hot surfaces.
• Stop using space heaters: A properly adjusted and serviced heating system should comfortably heat every room in your home, and there should be no reason for a space heater to endanger curious kids.

How to Childproof Your Electric System

We all need electricity in our homes, but it also poses safety hazards for kids. Here’s how to protect your home’s electrical system:

• Add outlet covers: Building code mandates that new receptacles be tamper resistant. If you have old outlets, you can increase safety by adding outlet covers. Choose sliding covers instead of plug-in styles, because determined toddlers can sometimes remove the plug-in styles.
• Cover cords: Exposed cords are a hazardous risk. Use cord concealers or fasten them along the baseboards. Power strip covers are also helpful for preventing small children from reaching the sockets.
• Keep the electrical panel secured: If your electrical panel is within reach, make sure it’s securely closed and locked to stop inquisitive kids from accessing it.

Safeguard Your Plumbing

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

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

Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing: Your Trusted Partner for the U.S. HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical Services

With these childproofing tips, you can easily create a child-friendly environment in your home. At Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing, we’re proud to help parents protect their families with fast HVAC, plumbing and electrical services in the U.S.. We strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of every customer 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.