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Before responding save yourself the trouble of telling me the elder can't be or shouldn't be left alone. That's not the question.


It is my goal to make the house as safe as possible whether others are in the home or not. All sources of fire have pretty much been eliminating except one sticking point: The 1800 watt toaster oven. For too many reasons putting it away in a cupboard or high up out of reach are not solutions. I'm looking for anyone's experience as well as with cupboard locks--do the childproof ones on Amazon etc work for you?


We had an electrician out for another matter. His suggestion was to get a heavy duty power strip, put it in the cupboard above where the toaster oven sits, make a small hole, and run the cord from the toaster oven up into the power strip, while the power strip plug would come out and into the safety covered outlet that could not be messed with. Then the power could be cut by my using the switch on the power strip, and finally locking the cupboard.


Another electrician thinks that the new outlets he's required to install are childproof to start out with and he thinks if the toaster oven were left unplugged, mom would have a real challenge trying to plug it in the right way. But that still seems uncertain to me...still a chance...and puts us back to the insanity of her being OCD and pulling the plugs out constantly which means having to reset the microwave clock.


She is somewhat functional but needs supervision that she angrily rejects. For the most part she doesn't attempt any efforts in the kitchen, but I caught her attempting to put the kettle up for tea...clueless that the knobs were missing from the electric stove top and there was no heat source.

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A GFCI ( ground fault circuit interruptor) can be manually tripped so there is no power to feed the oven. Go to home depot and look at one or better yet, have it explained to you. The gfci has two little push button swithches on it. One is test and the other is reset. Push the test button and you should hear a little click. When you wish to use the oven push the reset button. Having to set the clock is a minor inconvenience compared to the alternative. Not much worse that putting the knobs back onto the stove to use it.
A gfci can be installed to be the only receptacle that is disconnected or it can be wired to disconnect other receptacles.
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Isthisrealyreal Apr 2019
You are correct oldsailor, she will never be able to figure this out and even if she did, she wouldn't be able to reset. Mine are a challenge but quite effective.
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I can hear both frustration and fear in your post.

For the frustration of the microwave clock, just stop resetting it. Your microwave will function normally without setting the clock. I know the 'norm' is to have the clock set, but there is no reason to. Generally there is a clock on the stove and you can put up a wall clock too.

Would she attempt to remove the child covers for outlets to plug in the toaster oven?

I have one outlet in my house with this on it. https://www.amazon.ca/izHome-Universal-Electric-Outlet-Cover/dp/B01FX8836G/ref=sr_1_7?hvadid=233204803646&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001612&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3521453297100202147&hvtargid=kwd-322652581339&keywords=child+proof+outlet+cover&qid=1555347310&s=gateway&sr=8-7

I am sure you have them installed, but a reminder to ensure your smoke detectors are up to date, have fresh batteries and are working.
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Isthisrealyreal Apr 2019
Mine has to be set to operate. Doesn't have to be the right time but needs to be set.
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I had to go to my kitchen to see how we had my cabinets hooked up for our over the sink light and over the stove microwave. We have outlet boxes in our cabinets. Of course the light is right under the cabinet and so is the microwave. But they would still keep her from pulling the plug.
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JoAnn29 Apr 2019
Oh, I now understand. Maybe an outlet like I discribed could have a switch. I am not too big on power strips. Yes, I have had to use them and no, never had any problems. But so glad that all my comuter stuff is now wireless and don't have all those wires plugged into a power strip.
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There are locking outlet covers that are steel boxes. You can get them designed to lock around a cord or just to secure the outlet. They're usually used outside but can be used indoors as well. Probably cheaper than having cabinet outlets installed.
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That sounds like a clever solution but wouldn't a GFI outlet be simpler? Do you think she would have the wherewithal to remember to turn the outlet on as well as plug the appliance in before you could intervene? The ultimate solution is to trip the breakers in the main panel.

Can you find her appliances that she IS capable of using so that she is less apt to keep trying? For example I love my keurig for coffee and it will do tea too, I can't see any way it could be used in a dangerous way.
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