Parents and Carers Please Don’t Fail for the Socket Covers Myth
British power sockets are very safe with internal shutters that prevent children poking things into them. Perfectly safe sockets are made unsafe by the use of socket covers. Socket covers are an absolute con and totally unnecessary.
The argument that socket covers stop a child plugging
in hair straighteners, etc., and burning themselves or
causing a fire is wrong.
Parents and carers report that very young children can remove them in seconds. It is vital that equipment is
unplugged when not in use and put away somewhere inaccessible to children.
Young children enjoy trying to insert plastic objects into holes. There are many toys based on this theme. Once a socket cover is in the hands of a child they can easily insert it into the socket in a way which defeats the internal shutters and makes a very unsafe situation. Discard any socket covers you have now!
If you are worried about electrical safety, for complete peace of mind have an RCD installed at your home. RCDs are required on all new socket circuits in the home.
Use of a socket cover can damage the shutters, casing, and electrical contacts of a socket making it unsafe and more likely to overheat and start a fire.
For more information visit www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/