Make It Safe: Babyproofing Your Home HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical Systems 

As a parent, nothing is more critical than protecting your baby’s safety. As soon as your little ones start crawling, it seems like your entire home feels like 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 properly babyproofed—which gives you one less thing to worry about!

Hands Off Your HVAC Vents and Registers

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

• Secure registers: If your floor or wall registers easily detach, secure them in place so you can be sure they aren’t going anywhere.
• Install babyproof vent covers: These use a thin screen to keep small objects from falling inside without blocking airflow throughout your home.

No Touching the Thermostat

Kids tend to zero right in on buttons and screens, which makes the thermostat a potentially inviting plaything. Follow these tips to stop little family members from creating temperature control problems in your home:

• Move the thermostat out of reach: The thermostat should be installed at adult eye level. Avoid placing chairs near it that could invite kids to climb up for a closer look.
• Secure the controls: Some thermostats feature locking functions to stop anyone from fiddling with the settings. If yours doesn’t have this feature, consider adding a thermostat cover that keeps 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 use these tips to make them safe:

• Put on doorknob covers: If a home’s utility area is enclosed, you have an easy task. Simply 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 and cooling equipment is in an open area, set up a safety gate to block intrepid crawlers from getting too close to your furnace or water heater.
• Test the carbon monoxide detectors: Every house, mobile home or apartment should have at least one carbon monoxide detector on each floor, especially if you have gas appliances. Unfortunately, plug-in versions are within reach for kids to reach. Consider placing combination CO/smoke detectors on the ceiling for better safety.

Protect Your Baby from Burns

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

• Use heat guards: Put a baby gate or specially designed heat guard around heat-producing appliances or equipment, baseboard heaters or fireplaces to build a barrier between infants and potentially dangerous hot surfaces.
• Avoid space heaters: A correctly adjusted and tuned heating system should keep you comfortable in every room, and there should be no need to add a space heater to tempt curious kids.

Tips for Babyproofing Your Home Electric System and Equipment

We all need electricity to run today’s appliances, but electricity also poses safety hazards for little ones. Here’s how to secure your home’s electrical setup:

• Use outlet covers: Building code requires that new receptacles be tamper resistant. If you have older outlets, you can update them by using outlet covers. Choose secured covers instead of plug-in styles, because determined toddlers can sometimes take off the plug-in styles.
• Conceal cords: Exposed cords are a pulling risk. Use cord concealers or secure them along the baseboards. Power strip covers are also important for preventing kids from reaching the sockets.
• Keep the electrical panel locked: If your electrical panel is somewhat low to the ground, make sure it’s adequately closed and locked to stop inquisitive kids from touching it.

Safeguard Your Plumbing

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

• Set the water temperature: Set your water heater to 120 degrees F to prevent scalding injuries. However, be careful not to turn the temperature down any colder than that, because this could risk microbial growth in the tank.
• Use a faucet cover: Has your baby ever knocked his or her head on the bathtub faucet? Soft covers are a quick and easy way to avoid this sort of injury.
• Install toilet locks: Babies are often intrigued by the toilet. A specialized lock prevents little ones from playing in unsanitary water or tossing toys inside, which can result in pipe clogs.

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

With these babyproofing tips, you can confidently create a child-friendly environment in your home. At Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing, we’re honored to help parents protect their children 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 exceptional workmanship and customer service.