Childproof a switch cover with recycled plastic
Laura's husband gets a mini-medal of Parenthacker ingenuity for his switch-cover hack:
The kitchen sink in our new house is on the island, which means that the disposal switch is at a height of three feet, begging my son to play with it. What could be a worse idea?
Fortunately, my husband came up with a solution - he took a bottle from the recycle bin (happened to be a Johnson's baby soap one, but I think a gallon milk jug would be great - the opaqueness looks classier somehow), cut out a 4" long extended oval and screwed it over the switch with the screws that hold the switch cover on - making it bow out a bit. It curves over the switch and we can reach under it to hit the switch, but our now 2.5 year old can't quite coordinate getting his fingers under and doing anything with it.
Cheap, safe, subtle, and not unattractive!
SMART.
More: Babyproofing hacks
Brilliant!
Posted by: adrienne | 10 October 2011 at 09:42 AM
They sell a very attractive switch cover that does this same job and better. For about a dollar there is a little rectangular box with a door on the front and an open back. It attaches right over you existing switch and plate using the same screws and holes that are already there. It would prevent the child from putting their fingers in the side. The door snaps shut tight so a child would not open it. We use them in our house to cover switches we don't want people turning on and off by accident...the switch to run our pond pumps, the switch for our extra furnace blower, etc., We use one on the disposal so that house guests don't turn it on and off by accident when they are trying to turn on the light. I would paste a link but don't know which terms to use to find it online. They have them at any hardware store.
Posted by: My Boys' Teacher | 10 October 2011 at 10:41 AM
Here's a link to one that is the same design as the one in this post:
http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Wall-Plates-Accessories-Wall-Plates/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbp9j/R-100628705/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Here's a link to the kind with the door:
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/switch-guard--home-trends
That particular link is very overpriced, it is just the first one I found with a picture. They are cheap at the hardware store.
Posted by: My Boys' Teacher | 10 October 2011 at 10:50 AM
Very clever! Like it!
Posted by: Hillary M | 10 October 2011 at 11:12 AM
Good idea. Like the one I put everywhere in my house :)
Posted by: Jane | 10 October 2011 at 02:23 PM
My Boys' Teacher: Thanks so much for posting the links. The ones at Amazon are in the $7-$10 range. Hopefully they're cheaper at a local hardware store.
Posted by: Asha Dornfest | 10 October 2011 at 02:26 PM