Tip Of The Week: Safety Considerations For Homes With Children

(Editor's note: Lou Levin, a licensed and certified home inspector, works for Levin Home Inspections. This is his first blog post.)

Welcome to the first addition of Tip Of The Week. Today I'd like to talk about a few things that are in my mind and are very important safety tips when it comes to young children. We all know that when it comes to kids, whatever they have in their hands or whereever their hands go, it then goes right into the mouth.

As you walk through your home, put yourself in their shoes and, I know it sounds stupid, but get down on the floor and lay down and look up 12 inches. That's their point of view, and take a good look around to see if there is anything laying around that could be a choking hazard. 

Also look for loose and dangling wires that are behind furniture or desks. If you see any spaghetti factory in any of these areas, please zip tie them together. While we are on that subject, take a good look at the strings that are attached to your blinds. Believe it or not, but those strings are the #1 means of children strangling themselves. One tip is to take those strings and place them behind the blinds or fold them up and just tack them higher up to the window frame so they can't get to it.

Another good tip is to go around to all your electrical outlets and put those plastic outlet plugs in them. Children will think, "oh, a slot" and have a tendency to put something in there like a paperclip that they found on the floor, and the next thing you know you have a really big problem.

There is another alternative and it's more involved, but you can replace all your electrical outlet cover-plates with ones that have a slider mechanism inside whereas the slots in the outlet will only open up when a common plug is meant to be inserted in there as usual. Other than that, the slots will remain shut and there is no way for a child to be able to insert anything in there and get hurt.

The kitchen is another area where kids love to hang out and cause trouble, once they've had enough fun giving mom a headache while pounding on the pots and pans with wooden spoons. The cupboard below the sink is a haven for lots of dangerous and poisonous items. 

The old way of securing the cabinet doors was to use those white plastic slider locks so they can't open it, which will still work but are cumbersome and a pain. The new method that works really well and won't damage the cabinet after years of abuse are these new magnetic locks that are installed behind the cabinet doors. They lock and hold tight, and will only release when a magnet "key" is placed on a certain area to release the magnet and allow you to open the door.

Another big problem is children getting scalded in the bathroom in the tub. They do make a device that you can install on the tub's fixtures that will prevent that problem, as well as installing faucet covers so they can't grab the water handles and increase the water flow or the temperature. The temperature for the home on the water heater should be set for 120 F, anything above that is a safety hazard and it's something that I would flag and note on all my home inspections. 

Also, for parents and babysitters alike please make sure that you DO NOT fill the tub with alot of water when your bathing a child. A child can drown in 2 inches of water, so please make sure you take every precaution when you are with your child in the bathroom, and be there at all times.

Down here in FL, as well as in many other parts of the country, we have houses that have garages. This amenity is very nice, but it can also be a huge safety issue. Garages are installed with an electric eye that is installed at the floor level, and if anything crosses the electric eye while the door is coming down, the door should start to reverse and go back up. The door should also be installed with a reverse sensor so if something or someone applies pressure to the underside of a closing garage door, the door should instantly reverse.

There have been many times where these safety precautions are not working and children will be severely injured by a garage door closing on them. These doors can apply a lot of pressure and can cause severe internal damage. On a monthly basis please check to make sure that these safety precautions are still functioning in your garage.

When your checking the functions of your garage, it's a good idea to clean the electric eyes as debris and dirt and dust can hinder its effectiveness, and it's a good idea to lubricate the tracks, and mechanisms of the garage door as well.

I hope that this information was helpful for everyone. If you have any questions or if you need help with answers to specific issues please write to me. If you have any questions about your home, condo, or apartment please write to me as I'd love to hear from you.

That is it for this week folks; thanks for joining me and we'll see you next time.