Having a baby is the beginning of one of life’s most rewarding adventures. If your home has never had a baby living in it before, this can present a variety of challenges. To prepare your home for the safe arrival of your new addition, you’ll want to come up with a plan to baby-proof your residence. Some of the most important baby-proofing you can do involves your home’s electrical system. All of this wiring and equipment poses a few types of unique dangers to your child that you’ll need to account for. Here are five ways of protecting your child against electrical hazards in the home.
1. Install Plug Covers
Some of the most prevalent electrical dangers you’ll find in your home are electrical outlets. To adults, they’re simply a convenient feature used to power various appliances and devices. To a baby, they’re an irresistible mystery that’s begging for exploration. Unfortunately, that exploration often comes in the form of poking objects into an outlet.
To prevent this situation, plug covers should be installed throughout your home. They’re inexpensive plastic plugs coversyou can insert into outlets, preventing your baby from accessing to them. The caps are notoriously difficult to remove, so they’ll do a great job of helping to keep your baby out of harm’s way.
2. Utilize Power Strip Covers
With the proliferation of electronic devices in modern homes, many people have a handful of power strips used in a variety of frequently visited rooms. These power strips do a great job of providing extra outlets where needed, but they’re terribly unsafe to use around babies. To keep your curious child from pulling on any of the cords plugged into a power strip, you should install power strip covers.
These are clamshell-like plastic devices that enclose your power strip. They feature an opening to allow your cords to pass through. However, it’s too small for any little finger to reach inside. Many models of power strip covers are expandable, so you can adjust them to fit the precise size of the power strips you’re using.
3. Use Outlet Plates
If you want to avoid having outlet safety plugs throughout your home, there are plate covers that can be easily installed on any of the outlets that you feel are dangerous. In order to plug something into these outlets, you have to push the plate out of the way before inserting the plug. When you remove the plug, the cover slides back into place immediately.
Depending on your home’s layout, there may be outlets a child won’t have access to. Just be sure that heavy furniture is truly blocking access. You don’t want your child to be able to crawl behind furniture or move something out of the way, resulting in a dangerous scenario.
4. Use Cable Ties on Long Cords
Leaving electrical cords hanging anywhere in the home is an invitation for disaster when there are babies around. Gather up any loose cords, tightly securing them with cable ties. If it’s possible, tuck gathered cords behind furniture or put them out of your baby’s reach.
5. Make Your Wiring Neater With Raceways
Installing electrical raceways provides a safe method of securing wiring around your home. This can apply to internet cables, cable wires or electrical connections. Cable raceways come in a variety of colors and styles, making it easy to work this safety feature into your home décor. Raceways make it impossible for your baby to access any enclosed wiring. Plus, it looks a whole lot better than having stray wires running all over the place.
Contact the Pros for Help
There are other electrical dangers in your home that extend beyond what has been covered here. The expert electricians here at GVEC Electrician Services can help identify any parts of your home’s electrical system that might pose a safety risk to your baby. We would be happy to provide you with recommendations to rectify the problem. We’re experienced and knowledgeable electricians serving Gonzales, Schertz, Cuero and the surrounding areas, and we’d love to help you welcome your new bundle of joy into a safe and happy home! For this or any of a complete range of electrical services, call us today.
