OVIEDO, Fla. – Chrissy in Oviedo has a bouncing baby boy getting ready to crawl and she needed to keep him away from all of the toxic chemicals under her sink so we installed some child safety latches on all of her kitchen cabinets! The latches can be undone by an adult but not so easily by a child.
If you have a project you’d like Erik to tackle, send us an email at GettingResultsAtHome@wkmg.com and next week Erik might just show up at your door!
We purchased:
We brought with us:
Philips-head screwdriver
We recommend:
Electric screwdriver
Step 1
Stick on the latches and catches. Each latch set comes with a latch and catch for each cabinet door. The latch goes in the top corner of the inside of the door and the catch goes underneath the cabinet door frame directly in front of the latch. First, use the sticky tabs and stick them onto the backs of the latches and catches. Then position the latch on the back of the cabinet door (usually above the door handle right around that area) and stick it into place. When you close the door, the latch should slide up under the door frame and allow the door to close. Then stick the catch onto the door frame. Make sure the curved edge is pointing out! The catch should be directly in front of the latch. Test it – make sure the latch grabs the catch when you close the door and then doesn’t allow you to open the door when you pull on it.
Step 2
Screw the latches and catches into the cabinet door and frame. Since the sticky tabs will be holding the latches and catches in place, you should be able to install the small screws easily to permanently mount the latches and catches. You can pre-drill holes if you’d like or just press the screw into the wood as you’re spinning th screwdriver (an electric screwdriver comes in very handy here!) and it should grab the wood and screw straight in.
Step 3
TEST! Pull on all of the cabinet handles to make sure the latches and catches are firmly in place and doing their job! DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! Yank on the handles with a bit of force - the doors should stay locked. To release, just open the door slightly and push down on the latch. #Househack: when the little ones grow into big ones, you can either remove the latches and catches entirely or just push the latch down all the way into the frame until you hear a click - it should stay down and locked in place.
You just got results at home!