Improper removal of child locks can leave stains on your furniture. Let’s learn how to remove child locks from furniture in detail.
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One may think that home is the safest place for your baby. But this is far from true! Our houses contain many objects that can be harmful to a baby, such as knives, pins, coins, and small objects that children might accidentally swallow.
There are mothballs and other chemicals that we keep in our kitchen and bathroom cabinets for washing clothes/utensils that can be harmful to them.
Apart from that, we might be keeping valuable items inside our cabinets that a child can damage because they are trying to play with them.
That is why we should always lock all cabinets, drawers, and furniture doors so that our toddlers cannot reach inside them.
Most child locks available in the market use adhesive to attach to the furniture. While it is quite durable when you need it, once your child has outgrown the phase where you need constant supervision, the child locks are basically just a nuisance. However, the adhesive makes them quite difficult to remove.
Trying to remove a child lock may leave dents and scratches and may even damage your furniture. So it is important to know exactly how to remove child locks from furniture so that your furniture does not come in harm’s way.
Types Of Child Locks
#1.Adhesive Foam Child Locks
Adhesive foam child locks are very easy to use. The ends of both the locks have adhesive on them. So you can quickly attach them to any furniture or cabinet. You can also use these locks in the washing machine, refrigerator, and other appliances. See how adhesive locks work:
#2. Magnetic Child Lock
These locks use magnetic force to keep your furniture or cabinet door closed. Since opposite ends of magnets are attractive, it takes a bit of effort to open the door, which is what keeps your babies at bay.
Magnetic child locks are also very easy to install. The two magnetic ends are attached to either end of the door through an adhesive.
The steps are as follows.
- Clean the surface of the cupboard
- Place the latch and lock in the cradle.
- Remove the adhesive.
- Attach to the inside of the cabinet.
- Close the door so that lock will attach to the inside of the door of your cabinet.
- Remove the cradle.
- Your cabinets are secure with 3m tape. Now your child cannot open the cupboard.
- Whenever you want to open your cupboard door, grab the magnetic keys and place it on the front of your cabinet. The door will open.
- It’s easy to install, safe, and your locks will not look from the outside.
Try to avoid installing locks on the metal knob, handle, or screws. Attaching them on metal weakens their power to attract each other. Watch how magnetic child locks are installed below:
#3. Sliding Child Lock
Sliding child locks are another nice way to keep your children out of harm’s way. You can use these on doors knobs and handles, which are at least 5 inches apart from each other.
There are two parts of the lock that slide into each other, one part goes over one doorknob, and the second one then locks into the other end, thus shutting off the two doors.
Sliding door locks are usually made from plastic and are a bit thin. Your kids can easily see the locks, but they cannot open the cabinet. The best advantage of these locks is that you don’t have to stick them onto the door, so when you are finally ready to take them off, they don’t leave any marks or stains behind on the door. To see these actions, please watch the video below:
#4.Tie child Locks
These child locks look quite similar to your shoelaces, but they are a bit thicker. You have to insert these locks on either handle of the cupboard, just like a ribbon. They are pretty simple in installation in comparison to the child locks mentioned above. You don’t have to use any adhesive or glue to install these, so they are easy to remove as well. See a tie lock in action here:
How To Remove The Child Lock From Furniture?
As you can understand, only the adhesive foam locks and magnetic locks need to be removed. The other two do not need any removal. The main issue is the adhesive that is applied to stick the lock onto the cabinet. Let’s see some ways in which you can remove these locks without difficulty:
#1. You Can Use A Blow Dryer
If you have a blow dryer at home, you can easily remove the adhesive foam from your furniture. You have to follow the below steps.
- You will have to heat the area of your child’s locks with the blow dryer for five to eight minutes.
- Use a ruler or butter knife to pry in between the mounting surface and the lock.
- Then slightly pull or pry off on one side of the child lock.
- Now repeat the procedure on the other side of the lock.
- If you see that there is still adhesive foam on your furniture, continue heating those surfaces with a hairdryer and using your finger to roll it off or wipe it with a soft cloth.
- Now the surface of the furniture or cabinet is clean.
#2.Using Dental Floss
- Remove a piece of dental floss.
- Place the floss under one side of the child lock and move the floss back and forth.
- You may use the tip of your finger to roll the adhesive into a ball for removal.
- If you find adhesive remaining, then wipe the surface with a cloth soaked in alcohol.
#3. Using Bottle Cap Opener
You can use a bottle cap opener to remove the child lock from the furniture. Sometimes it will work so well that you can reuse the latch.
#4.Use WD-40
WD-40 is a multi-purpose product. You can easily find it in your local shop, or you may prefer to buy it online. You can use it to remove the adhesive foam behind the child lock on your wood surface. You can dissolve the back of the adhesive foam with WD40 and scrub it with a wet washcloth. The tape will easily remove.
#5. Use Razor Blade
You can remove the adhesive tape with a razor blade. But remember to be gentle while removing the adhesive; otherwise, you might end up scraping the coating or paint of your furniture. You may also end up leaving small scratch marks on the surface.
How To Remove Adhesive Foam From Child Locks?
Most of the child locks consist of adhesive foam, which usually sticks to the wooden cabinets and is very difficult to remove. But you can use some simple tricks to remove the stickiness.
Let us discuss various methods to remove the adhesive foam of child locks from your wood cabinets.
#1. You Can Use A Moist Cloth
One of the best and easiest ways to remove the adhesive foam of the child lock from your wooden furniture is to use a moist cloth. You can even add a bit of detergent while wiping the surface. But don’t try to use a dripping wet cloth; it should be lightly moistened. Wood soaks the water quickly, so using a wet cloth can damage your furniture.
#2. You Can Try Vinegar or Vegetable Oil
Vinegar or vegetable oil is available in almost everyone’s kitchen. You can use either of the two products to clean the adhesive from your furniture.
- You have to wet a paper towel with either vegetable oil or vinegar and press it on the furniture surfaces where the adhesive residues are there.
- Allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Then gently remove the paper towel.
- Wipe it with a clean cloth.
- Now you will see the surface of the furniture is neat and clean.
#3. You Can Use A Glue Remover
You can quickly get a glue remover from the market. Even the price is not so high. You can use it to remove the adhesive from your furniture.
Most glue removers contain citrus oil, which can easily remove the glue from your wooden cabinet or any other furniture. Anyways please follow the instructions on the pack before using it.
#4. Use Alcohol Or Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer is always available at your home. Just take some hand sanitizer on the paper towel or clean cloth and rub it on the wood surface where you find adhesive. You may leave it for few minutes. After some time, clean it with a cloth. You will be surprised to see no adhesive has stuck to your wood surface. Well, you can also try alcohol.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)
#1. How can you baby-proof your cabinets and drawers?
There are few simple things that you should do:
- Remove all dangerous objects like knives and pins from drawers and cabinets that are low enough for your child to reach.
- Use a latch lock, magnetic lock, or any of the other locks that we explained in this article to keep the door shut
- Affix all cabinets and wardrobes to the walls of your home so that they don’t accidentally top over when the child is trying to open the drawers
#2. Is It Necessary To Use Child Locks?
Toddlers are curious about everything. They always want to explore everything that their parents, brothers, and sisters use. They may try to open a cabinet, drawer, or wardrobe to peek inside.
While satiating this curiosity is important, it is also important to remember that we store many things such as scissors, sharp objects, medicines, coins, batteries, and many other things in those spaces. Most of these things can be very harmful to your child.
Even if you remove every sharp object in sight, children may end up taking out things like small chinaware or plastic and throwing them to the ground. They may mess up your wardrobe or even electronics such as a laptop.
That is why it is very important to babyproof your apartment when your little one starts crawling. And this is exactly where child locks come in handy.
Conclusion
Child locks are for the safety of kids. But when your kids are old, you don’t need to use these locks anymore. You would want to remove the child locks from your furniture. But removing them might damage your furniture, so you need to do it carefully.
I hope this article has helped you know the various ways to remove child locks from furniture. Please share any tips or tricks that have worked for you in the comments section below.
