View ChannelsFeatured: Finance
View ShowroomsFeatured: Radiantec - Radiant Solar Heating

BobVila.com

Home

Childproofing a Kitchen and Stairs in the Home

Bob moves to the kitchen in the Melrose remodeling project and talks with Jay Martel from the International Association for Child Safety about kitchen safety for toddlers. Martel reviews new products that can help make the kitchen safe. Martel shows an adhesive latch to prevent a child from opeining the refrigerator. Martel then shows a product that magnetically latches cabinets and prevents pinching. When activated, cabinet doors will not open until a magnetic "key" is used. The product can be disengaged by adults with a flip of the switch. For stove safety, Martel recommends parents use the backburners with handles turned away to prevent children from spilling heated foods and liquids. Martel explains that dishtowels draped over the stove's oven handle often invite children to pull on them and should be removed to prevent an accident. Stove knob covers should also be put in place. Martel shows how electrical outlets can be replaced with sliding covers that automatically slide shut when electrical plugs are removed. Bob and Martel then move to the staircase to review baby safety gates that have been installed. Martel says nothing is more important for children's safety than installing gates at the tops of stairs. Martel shows how the swinging gate requires two motions to open, a squeezing action followed by lifting. Martel reviews how the gate has been properly installed with affixed mounting hardware and inswinging action.

Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Chapters from this episode

Now Playing

Completing the Nursery

Installing a Custom Corian Tub Surround Now Playing

Installing a Custom Corian Tub Surround

Organic Sleeping Products for Baby's Health Now Playing

Organic Sleeping Products for Baby's Health

Baby Safety Gates Now Playing

Baby Safety Gates

Childproofing a Kitchen and Stairs in the Home Now Playing

Childproofing a Kitchen and Stairs in the Home

Clip Transcript For:

Childproofing a Kitchen and Stairs in the Home

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" All right back in the kitchen now let's say hi to jay again anybody if there are lots of danger points in the kitchen from the point of view of toddlers that. And at what are some of the gadgets that are out there that can make life easier. Well to keep toddlers from preparing their own meals anything dangerous. That they might eat. We've got various types of adhesive latches for appliances -- assist appeal is stick gadget that you -- pretty -- was my next thrive when it comes in very handy to control what's in the refrigerator okay well my kids are grown up but I always remember putting in these little things that you push down so that they couldn't open the allied powers under the sink. Well they've come -- long -- Bob you can't even pinch your fingers in here because they won't open all of you but the magic magnet. And it will release from the inside that's what's going don't -- and so it's really clever Sinatra and you controlling it that way and it can also be deactivated with the flip of the -- that is so that lift. Children aren't around that's a great innovation yeah. Now what about stones aren't they a dangerous place yes that they are and there are few things we can do that don't even need equipment be. And -- refusing to back burners handles turned away dish towels kind of attract kids to him. Yeah so you want to keep them off of there right stove knob covers that is still got that covers her and everything it allows us to utilize the burners. Keep a child out. And what about receptacles. Well again that's a danger point well Bob we can replace the the cover now with a sliding. Outlet covers for the child -- pulling out of luck can't work that plug in and potato it automatically slides shut that's right to you don't have to worry about prying out those small choking hazard plug in and let's go look at the staircase a minute let's do it. So because we've got a two family house here our homeowners have to come up one flight. Before they're on their main floor and then -- got another flight of stairs to get to the bedroom level so we're really looking to two gates here. And how does this gate work is not different from the one over there -- gate at the top of the stairs and nothing in child safety is more important in improperly installed gate at the top of the stairs OK which needs two motions to operate 12. So you slide back and then lift them up and to close we can pretty much close it from anywhere and it'll drop right and we do not want this gate to go in that direction and -- it. All the movement over the landing that's -- learn about the installation though again. Installation you know gate is only as sturdy as what it's mounted on and you'll see two wood mount kits the K ten from cape -- And we've used what was available on the wall to mount it straight because if not straight it has a mind of its own we don't want gates swinging -- we don't want them swinging or minds who's all right well thanks protest."

[-]

More Videos »Related Videos

Installing French Doors

Tim Berky has the rough opening prepared for the installation of the inswinging French doors. The doors come with temporary handles for installation that will be removed as the assembly is set in place. These Pella French doors have a triple-latch system that latches at the top, middle, and bottom for additional security. The door set with handles and locks is made of oil-rubbed bronze to combat the damaging effects of salt air.

How to Childproof Your Home

A child's curiosity can be a dangerous thing in an unsafe home. Follow these steps to protect your child from harm.

Child Proof House

There are simple things you can do to safeguard your home for your children. Install safety latches on drawers and cabinets. They are easy to install and keep dangerous items out of reach. Similar latches can be used to keep oven doors closed. And don't forget safety plugs for electrical outlets.

Microwave Safety

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. Microwave ovens are one of those household technologies most of us use a lot but don t really understand: Is nuked food good for you and is exposure to microwaves bad for you? While they are a form of electromagnetic radiation, microwaves are only slightly more powerful than the waves used to transmit radio and TV signals, and they re not nearly as powerful as x-rays or even the ultraviolet rays of the sun. The Food and Drug Administration monitors microwave ovens and limits microwave emissions to much lower levels than those known to harm people, measured just outside the oven. Only 20 inches away, emissions are one one-hundredth that amount, so to avoid even low levels of exposure, just step away. The FDA requires two independent interlock systems and a monitoring system to stop the production of microwaves the moment the latch is released or the door is opened, so they can t actually sneak out. Clean your oven often, especially around the seals. If the door, hinges or latch have been damaged or if it s been dropped or damaged by a fire, it s time for a new oven. While the microwaves from your oven can t burn you, you can still burn yourself by heating food too long or using metal or other containers that aren t recommended in your manual. Microwaves cook your food not from the inside out, as the mythology goes, but by vibrating water molecules from the outside in. Because you re only heating the food, not the space around it, and for less time, microwaving your food can actually save energy and retain more nutrients than conventional cooking. Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008