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Original poster

Teenager leaving straighteners on!

27 replies

hugoagogo · 18/02/2019 10:29

dd frequently worries she has left her straighteners on and texts me to check.
So far she hasn't and all is well, but I am not always home.
Short of taking them away from her, is there some gadget I can get that will mean she can't burn the bloody house down?
She has a wee heat proof mat, but I don't think she uses it.Hmm

OP posts:
Graffitiqueen · 18/02/2019 10:33

get a wifi plug and that way she can check it's off from her smart phones.

MancaroniCheese · 18/02/2019 10:33

A smart plug that you can switch off remotely?

MancaroniCheese · 18/02/2019 10:33

Great minds graffiti

EntirelyAnonymised · 18/02/2019 10:33

Mine turn themselves off automatically if left on after a certain amount of time (they are Cloud 9 ones).

There’s probably some kind of smart plug (like the Alexa plugs) you can get that can be controlled by an app on your phone, so you could turn the socket off off remotely.

EntirelyAnonymised · 18/02/2019 10:34

Lol

Butterflycookie · 18/02/2019 10:34

There are hair straighteners that turn off by itself after a while. I know Ghds do. I once left my straighteners on and burnt my mattress and the smell of smoke was there for a week! I could’ve set the house on fire Blush

GreenTulips · 18/02/2019 10:36

I use an oven proof dish to sit mine in.

Agree with the plug

Aprilshowersarecomingsoon · 18/02/2019 10:37

Ask her to take a photo on her phone of them unplugged. And send it to you!
Every time.

Original poster
hugoagogo · 18/02/2019 10:37

Oh wifi plug, sounds good.

OP posts:
Original poster
hugoagogo · 18/02/2019 10:39

That's a really good idea in the short-term April, especially as so far, she actually has turned them off but just wants me to check.

OP posts:
Herja · 18/02/2019 10:41

I routinely unplug them when done using because I worry about setting fire to the house. Seems simpler than any other method.

EvaHarknessRose · 18/02/2019 10:41

Of course straighteners must be off, but it might be worth considering if your dd might be developing an anxiety disorder, and actually checking them/seeking reassurance too much. The best way to respond would be to say 'well do you usually switch them off? Well then I am sure it will be ok' (checking more than once increases anxiety and causes a feedback loop meaning you worry about it more and more). Any OCD or anxiety in the family?Just adding this in case it's relevant.

bringincrazyback · 18/02/2019 10:43

She needs to get into the habit of physically pulling the plug out at the wall. Simples. And maybe a note on the back of her bedroom door to remind her to check, until it becomes a habit? (Although, as someone has pointed out, if they're ghds they will turn themselves off after a while. Think it's about half an hour, though.)

The wi-fi plug idea sounds great, but I wonder if it could make people more laid-back about unplugging stuff, if they know they can always do it later if they forget... just a thought.

MadeForThis · 18/02/2019 10:49

Mine turn off automatically but I've always been worried about leaving them on so I have a place I keep them that is at the other side of the room. So I know that they have been unplugged if I've put them away.

DontCallMeCharlotte · 18/02/2019 11:38

I rarely use straighteners but I nearly always worry that I've left them on so I've developed a technique whereby, say it's a Monday, I will say out loud "Monday off. Monday [plug] out.". Somehow I can remember that I've done that. Also works for iron (although that switches itself off anyway).

As an aside, my hairdryer managed to switch itself on after I went to work one day. It was hooked over a basket with all my hair products and make up. A couple of cans exploded (didn't need the cast of Silent Witness to tell me this - it was all up the wall in a very explodey pattern!) and a lot of my make up was ruined. So I turn that bugger off at the wall as well.

dontgobaconmyheart · 18/02/2019 15:09

What straighteners does she have OP? GHD's actually turn themselves off after 30 minutes if inactive.
I actually do as an aside, think she is right to worry and it should be taken way more seriously. There have been in excess of 600k house fires in the uk as a result of them since they heat to such high temperatures and get bunged on flammable surfaces when we are done with them. They take nearly 40 minutes to cool down so it really isn't safe at all.

I would buy the much larger heat proof mat(s)s and stick it wherever she does her hair so it covers tha/them on the surface area, be that the floor or the table top. Leaving them on the bed/floor/a towel to cool is the worst possible place.

Wi-Fi plug is a good idea but if she's anxious about it to the extent she is will she not just worry it hasn't worked etc? It's not like you can physically check. I think it would be better to have her take control here, you don't want the house burned down or to keep fanning around checking a hair tool I'm certain.

Signs on her bedroom door the front door maybe saying 'have you checked the hair straighteners', a phone alarm on her phone called 'turn off the straighteners' if she leaves the same time daily.

If it all failed I'd honestly take them off her until she demonstrated she had it under control. It's no joke.

One of these? www.amazon.co.uk/70cm-STRAIGHTENERS-Printed-Internal-Stencilled/dp/B00IIJI36I?tag=mumsnetforum-21 Grin

dontgobaconmyheart · 18/02/2019 15:11

Oh and I realise you're saying she's not left them on yet when you've checked, I just think if she that unsure, it clearly could go either way and it will presumably happen at some point. We've all done it I'm sure. Maybe she could pull them out at the mains, then at least she'd definitely know they're off each time.

ImNotKitten · 18/02/2019 15:13

EvaHarknessRose makes a good point. I developed OCD as a teen and some of the first behaviours were anxieties like this. Just something to be mindful of OP.

Pandabandit · 18/02/2019 15:16

I keep a hair band wrapped around the straightener plug. When I’m using them I remove the hair band and put it on my wrist before plugging them in. When u unplug I put the hair band back. Theoretically it means I should know if there is no hair band on my wrist that I have unplugged the straighteners. I still worry though. I suspect I have anxiety / ocd!

CoiledLocks · 18/02/2019 15:18

Any OCD or anxiety in the family?Just adding this in case it's relevant

I have a colleague who takes photos of all his plug sockets before he leaves for work. If he doesn't he starts to fret and worries that he's left them on. So now he takes them every day.

lotusbell · 18/02/2019 15:20

following because this is me

jomaIone · 18/02/2019 15:21

I constantly had this panic on my commute to work. Now I unplug them from the wall, and say out loud 'straighteners off' so I remember doing it specifically rather than just automatically!

MortyVicar · 18/02/2019 17:42

I plug mine in through a timer plug then I never have to worry.

BeautifulComicalThings · 18/02/2019 20:13

I’m good at turning mine off but I use them everyday and have left them on all day several times over the years. My GHDs turn themselves off after half an hour and they’ve been never burned anything regardless of where I’ve left them - unlike my babyliss curlers which burned the carpet after a few minutes! So would reccomend straighteners that turn off and a heatproof mat.

Myfanwyprice · 18/02/2019 20:24

I’ve got a daio hair straightener holder, they aren’t cheap, but do mean that I know my straighteners are safe, even if I have left them on.

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