How can I childproof a heating floor register?
Posted by admin on 3 January, 2011
1 comment so far
This item was filled under [ Pet Gate ]
We are renting an old house and the only heating is from a grate in the living room floor. We have a baby gate around it,but my 11 month old keeps throwing toys over the gate. If I don’t catch them in time, it gets hot enough for them to melt. Does anyone know what I can use to cover it that will let the heat through, not be hot enough to melt things or cause burns, and not be burnt or melted itself? At this point, I don’t care if it’s ugly, just pet, child and toy safe.
One Comment on “How can I childproof a heating floor register?”
First of all for your safety, if plastic toys melt coming in contact with the register grate you have a fire hazard on your hands. This grate should not get this hot but only warm to the touch. I feel you should address this issue first hand.
Simply adding another metal grate to the top of the existing one won’t solve the problem. You should barrier off the area around the "hot register" before you have a serious problem with toxic fumes in the house caused by melting plastic.
The easiest thing that comes to my mind is to set a wire pet cage on top of the hot register. You can get one of these at a pet store. This will allow the heat to escape and yet keep other things away from the hot grate. Then, later on you may have a pet and want to use the cage or what ever. Wire the cage to the register so it can’t be moved. Good luck!