“I normally refuse to join in campaigns but this seemed so important, and the ‘safety’ covers so absurd and dangerous, that I agreed”
Author, TV presenter & Patron of FatallyFlawed
Dr Adam Hart-Davis

Socket Covers should NOT be inserted into sockets - they are dangerous!

• British 13 Amp sockets have built in automatic shutters to protect against children poking things in them.
  First introduced more than 60 years ago, they are considered the safest in the world and do not require external covers.
   
• No responsible national body recommends using socket covers. 
  That includes the UK Government, RoSPA, Ofsted, Child Accident Prevention Trust and Electrical Safety Council.
   
• Sockets are made to accept plugs which meet very exact requirements. Anything which is not a standard plug MUST be made to the same dimensions as required for plugs. No socket covers which meet those dimensions are available!
   
• Socket covers introduce a variety of dangers; they make sockets less safe, not more.

Some socket covers have many faults, some just a few, but none makes your sockets safer than they already are. 

This website has lots of detail on socket covers, the dangers they create, and reviews of many different types.

UK law requires all sockets sold to conform to the current BS 1363 standard, this is what ensures your child’s safety.
It was originally introduced in 1947 as: British Standard 1363 : 1947  FUSED PLUGS AND SHUTTERED SOCKET OUTLETS.

Another myth put about by socket cover suppliers is that children can put their fingers into unprotected sockets! 

When BS 1363 was defined in the 1940s the designers wanted to make sure that the socket was very safe. One of the things they did was to make the pin holes too small for a child to put their finger in. To demonstrate this we show the hand of 15 week old Logan against the face plate of a socket. We removed the shutters from the face plate and asked Logan’s mother to push his smallest finger into the socket hole as far as she could. As you can see from the centre photo (taken from the rear of the face plate) the very tip of his finger appears through the hole, but it would go no further. The standard requires that all sockets be tested to ensure that a pin has to be inserted a distance of 9.6mm into the socket before it makes contact with any live parts. We cut the plastic pin of a socket cover to be exactly that length, and then inserted into the socket hole. By comparing the right hand photo with the one of Logan’s finger you can easily see that there is no way that Logan’s finger could reach live parts, even without the shutters present! Bear in mind that it will be some weeks after this photo was taken that Logan starts to crawl and explore things for himself, and by then his fingers will be even bigger.

We asked MK, one of the foremost manufacturers of BS 1363 sockets, to “advise us of the maximum pin dimensions which will ensure that the function of your socket’s contact receptacles is not compromised”. Their reply stated:
“Please consult BS 1363 for dimensional and tolerance data on both sockets and plugs. Obviously, a socket cover must also conform to the dimensions stated in the relevant British Standard”. No socket covers conform!

Socket covers usually have shorter pins than real plugs, and none of those we tested are the correct size to fit into a socket safely. They can be impossible to fit securely into some sockets, see our video for more on this.

Socket covers can cause long term damage to sockets, possibly leading to the socket catching fire. 

Children can to be more adept at removing covers than are adults. 
Luca, 11 months old, demonstrates how to remove a cover in 3 seconds! (See Videos) 

See User Comments for real stories of children removing and playing with socket covers. What about the very real possibility that an unused cover is left within reach of a child who then plays with it and uses it to open the shutters?

An increasing number of responsible on-line retailers are taking practical action on socket covers! 
These companies, often founded and run by business people who are also parents, have been taking immediate action as soon as they become aware of the dangers highlighted by FatallyFlawed. All have chosen to stop supplying plug-in socket covers and warn of the dangers instead. We will list here all of those we know of:
Hello Baby is a specialized online retailer of baby products with a strong ethical stance.
Stairgate.org.uk offers advice and sales of child safety products.
Kinderpods is a supplier of innovative, practical parenting products.
Until recently they all sold plug-in socket covers, but now advise against their use. Our thanks go to these companies for putting the true interests of their customers first, and we hope that many other retailers will follow their excellent lead.

See our Cover Review page for more pictures of dangerous covers. Do you wish to take this risk?

Now that you know about these dangers, how comfortable do you feel about leaving your child in a nursery that uses “safety socket covers”?

Do you have any idea if “safety socket covers” conform to standards? What does it say on the packet or on the cover itself? 

Actually, socket covers are UNREGULATED! See information at bottom of this UK Government website

All 13A electrical sockets which are installed in your home must conform to BS 1363, which means that they must also have been properly tested for correct insulation. Have you asked the manufacturers of covers that you may use if they have been properly tested for insulation? (No manufacturers have told us that they do!)

Why do you think it is that manufacturers of BS 1363 plugs and sockets do not provide “safety socket covers”? 
Because safety shutters are built in!

To learn more please see our Cover Reviews, Our Videos, and our list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Our References page includes a brief history of BS 1363, and additional technical details including references to source documents and background to the tests we carry out.

Please do contact us to tell us of your own experiences, and raise any other questions.

There are various child safety issues regarding electricity which parents and other carers need to be aware of, and good advice is available from a number of organisations, including those listed on our Safety Sites links page. This site is specifically concerned with protecting children from exposure to electric shock from power sockets. See About Us for our qualifications.

Do YOU still think “safety socket covers” are a good idea?

The bottom line is:
Safety is designed into UK sockets - plug in covers reduce safety!