to remind everyone that socket covers are dangerous!

[insertrandomnamehere]

Did a search and couldn't find a post on this topic for a couple of years so in case people still don't realise...

If you use Child safety socket covers, get rid of them! They are dangerous and they actually make sockets more dangerous not less.

Socket covers are completely unnecessary and could potentially cause a fatal accident. UK plug sockets are designed with shutters to prevent anything except a UK plug being inserted into the socket. It is extremely unlikely that a young child would be able to open these shutters, as the child would have to insert something of exactly the right size into the earth pin. This is not possible with real plugs. But socket covers hold these shutters open and introduce a range of new dangers.

Unlike real plugs, the various design faults of socket covers allow a curious child to insert them (upside down) into the earth pin only. On many sockets this opens the safety shutters and allows children access to the live contacts!

If you have these at home, please take a few minutes to read the national campaign calling for the banning of socket covers: www.fatallyflawed.org.uk

Thanks special :)

can't help wondering if designerdad has been designing socket covers...

It stops toddlers inserting plugs of potentially dangerous equipment e.g. mowers, hairdryers, vacuum cleaners, electric drills etc.

It would always generally be a good idea to keep such electrical items away from small children in the first place. Ie irons, hair dryers in high cupboards and mowers and electric drills locked in the shed . Having such items lying around in the false belief that socket covers would prevent an accident would be very unwise indeed.

I think that it is a load of rubbish.

I have always used socket covers and so has my mum. Not once have I seen a child take out the socket cover, insert it upside down and then put something in the other open bits.

I have seen numerous children trying to stick pencils, food, and other things into an uncovered socket.

Trendstopper, have you ever seen then succeed though? That's the whole point - UK sockets are specifically designed so that's not possible, whether they try or not. Even if socket covers are not an additional risk (as you believe) they're still completely unnecessary, so why take the risk? Every relevant expert group has agreed that there is no need for socket covers.

To the OP and to fatallyflawed, thanks for the reminder. This is clearly a message that still hasn't spread far enough yet. My HV recommended socket covers at our 6-month review (a big group of mums were there all at the same time) and when I mentioned them being unnecessary/unsafe she'd never heard anything about it. This was only a year ago!

children may indeed try to stick things in an uncovered socket. That is why UK sockets are designed to stop this happening and to stop them touching anything live. Clever, huh?

It might be an idea to keep an eye on children.

problem is that so many people are so ignorant about basic science and How Things Work that they think UK sockets are dangerous.

When FatallyFlawed was founded our only concern was that socket covers, because they are invariably badly designed, can be used to defeat the shutters in a UK socket. But, the more we looked at the problem the more we realised that there are a number of other serious problems with them.

The biggest issue is actually the permanent damage which can be caused to a socket by the insertion of anything which is not the right size, and one thing that can be proved irrefutable by anyone who measures a socket cover is that there are NONE which conform to the size and shape specified for a plug.

It is very clear that the people who "design" socket covers have only a vague idea how sockets work. It is very important to understand that a socket is always designed to accept a standard plug, plugs are not designed to fit sockets. This means that anything which is not the exact size and shape specified for plug pins can create problems. This simple fact seems unknown to those who make socket covers!

Some socket covers can damage the electrical contacts of a socket, this will not matter as long as you do not actually use the socket, but it can result in overheating and cause a fire when the socket is again used to deliver power. Of course, you can only use the socket if the socket cover is removed, therefore it is never apparent that the root cause of an electrical fire was the socket cover that damaged the socket. It can be that a socket which has had a cover left in it for a long time may not actually be used until the house has passed to a new occupier.

Another way in which socket covers can cause damage is to the shutters. People often think that shutters are operated only by the insertion of the earth pin, and while that is the most common method, there are actually at least seven different (legitimate) methods in use. One type of high quality socket, which was made in huge numbers from the late 50s to the late 90s, does not rely on the earth pin at all, but simultaneous insertion of the other two pins. The best sockets available today, from several different manufacturers, use sophisticated shutter systems which will only open if all three pins are inserted simultaneously. It is these, the safest sockets available, which may be broken by forcing in wrongly sized covers, especially the Clippasafe type.

The problem is that socket covers are totally unregulated, there is no standard to which they must conform, standards are not normally created for products which have no genuine use! The Minister responsible for consumer protection, Jo Swinson (herself a new mum), claims that the General Product Safety Regulations can be used to tackle the problem of socket covers. However, the people whose job it is to protect us from dangerous products, Trading Standards Officers, have found that in the absence of a standard for socket covers there is nothing they can do.

Despite Trading Standards having confirmed that for 28 socket covers recently tested "in all cases the size and disposition of the socket cover pins were not compliant with BS 1363-3:1995 (the standard for plugs)", there was no remedy available to them.

In the words of Mark Coles, the man responsible for the UK Wiring Regulations: "Socket protectors are not regulated for safety, therefore, using a non-standard system to protect a long established safe system is not sensible.”

And from the leading British socket manufacturer: "MK goes to great lengths to ensure that all its BS 1363 plugs and sockets are safe. Inserting incorrectly dimensioned products into a socket-outlet can both damage the socket and reduce its safety.”

I wonder what qualifications designerdad and TrendStopper have that makes them believe they know better? Perhaps they will explain?

I am really surprised that there are still people out there who do not understand this stuff!

I got rid of them ages ago. My bgf says that Barnados have banned them!

I just want to endorse the importance of keeping all dangerous appliances beyond a child's reach, the idea that a child who could start a lawnmower not being able to pull out a socket cover is just wild!

All those at FatallyFlawed are very appreciative of the way that mumsnetters have helped spread the word. One day the government will wake up and realise that it is crazy to ensure that our sockets are super safe (you can actually go to jail for ignoring the plugs and sockets regulations) and then let irresponsible and ignorant plastics manufacturers sell any old junk that they like to put into the super safe sockets.

How many children are killed/injured each year due to socket covers?
How many children are killed/injured each year due to uncovered sockets?

Should be a pretty easy way to end the argument!

common sense and some junior school science is the way to end the argument!

There are no statistics collected which show sufficient level of detail to be helpful. In any case, it should be obvious that you should never insert anything into a socket unless it is made to the correct dimensions, you do not need statistics to tell you what the dimensions are, just a vernier calliper.

Should anyone start making a socket cover to the correct dimensions, and stating the insulation characteristics of the material from which it is made, then you may start to discuss relative merits, otherwise it is not an argument, just myth versus fact.

Surfsup1 - A further point to you, you asked "How many children are killed/injured each year due to uncovered sockets?". The fact is that we do not use "uncovered sockets" in the UK, we use shuttered sockets, so that question is completely irrelevant in this country.

I find it funny and a bit scary that people are still saying they will use socket covets as they always have despite uk plugs being certified dace (very safe) get socket coverts have no safety cert at all. Worth the risk because you/relatives have always done it?

Stubborn yet very risky attitudes.

Excuse spelling errors. Phone is having an episode

My turn to not understand, what is a verneer calliper?

dipeploe, a vernier calliper is just an accurate measuring tool that can be used to check the dimensions of small items.

This thread is very interesting, not least because of the attitudes of people who absolutely refuse to even consider changing their behaviour despite carefully-made arguments from people much more knowledgeable than the stubborn ones are.

FatallyFlawed, It is still relevant. If the normal sockets are safe and therefore cause no deaths/injuries then that's obviously great. But if sockets with socket covers also cause no deaths or injuries then the "risk" is purely theoretical and the biggest risk is that people might waste a few pounds on another useless baby product.

If parents are going to be criticised either way, I would want to see a real and significant threat to their child's safety. Considering the risk that most of us take each day just by driving around with our children in our car, it's important to put other possible risks in perspective otherwise we are merely contributing to society's increasing obsession with fear.

Surfsup1 "it's important to put other possible risks in perspective otherwise we are merely contributing to society's increasing obsession with fear" The fact is that the use of socket covers is exactly that!

However, the overriding issue is that if socket covers are to be used then they should be fit for purpose, and that means, at the vey least, making a socket cover to the correct dimensions which will ensure that it does not cause damage.

There are no such socket covers! Why would any sane person believe that it is OK to force an unregulated device of the wrong size and/or shape into a fully regulated socket?

You should also understand that there are never going to be any statistics which indicate how many of the fatal house fires in this country which are caused by electrical means are the result of overheated sockets previously damaged by oversize socket covers. The reason is that a fire will only occur when the socket is in use, and that means there is no longer a socket cover in place, so no forensic investigation will point to the socket cover as the actual cause!

You should also remember that there is no reason that someone should not make a socket cover that is as safe as normal plugs are, but none of these so-called safety companies can be bothered to do so, they are not interested in the safety of anyone's baby, only the increase of their own profits by selling unnecessary and badly designed junk. (You can actually buy safe fully regulated plugs for less than some socket covers!)

FatallyFlawed is campaigning to:

Raise awareness that UK sockets are safe without fraudulent additions.

Raise awareness that socket covers are NOT REGULATED!

Have the Government regulate socket covers as they do sockets.

In this we are supported by a group of eminent experts, including all those we quote on the website.

If you, Surfsup1, have knowledge and qualifications that would allow you to claim that you know better than the Technical Regulations Manager of The Institution of Engineering and Technology, and MK, the leading manufacturer of British Sockets, then you should declare it!

If you do not have such expert knowledge, perhaps it would be better to back off.

But, why would you do anything to remove an inbuilt safety feature? It just seems barking to me to do that. The only thing which contributes to an obsession with fear are the socket cover manufacturers. They tell you that sockets in the UK are not safe, and they are. They have in built safety features which prevent children and adults sticking things in the wrong places.

What socket covers do do, even if a child doesn't remove them and put them in again upside down, is cause 3 ill fitting plastic prongs to be constantly inserted into sockets. Over time, this can cause damage to the socket itself. Damaged sockets can cause fires.

It's a double whammy. Socket covers not only provide children with the perfect way of getting around the safety features of UK sockets, but can also cause damage to the sockets, why on earth would anyone, with a modicum of common sense take those kinds of risks.

Fatallyflawed - There's really no need to get aggressive - i wasn't claiming any grand titles or particular expertise! I'm not saying your campaign is without merit, I'm only suggesting that any claim of danger should be quantified so that people can put it into perspective.

FWIW the sockets here in Aus don't have the in-built safety features that UK ones do and I have never used socket covers and I don't know of anyone who does nor have I ever heard of a child being killed or injured by sticking something in a socket.

If there is REAL reason to believe that socket covers are truly dangerous then I think your campaign is fantastic - I never meant to criticise your campaign specifically, I'm just sick of fear-mongering, specifically targeted at parents. On that note - I love that you're raising awareness that they are, at the VERY least, a total waste of money and shameful scaremongering in and of themselves.

Just to clarify - when I suggested that a comparison of statistics would end all the arguing, I kind of assumed you'd jump in and provide those statistics - it wasn't meant as a challenge.