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I have a 240V outlet in living room. It is used for AC unit installed just above it. This outlet is very close to floor. Around 3 inches above floor. We have small baby in house and she has started crawling now. I need to baby proof this. I could not find any safety covers for 240V outlets anywhere. Amazon has many safety covers but all are for 120V standard two outlets. Here is the picture of this outlet and AC unit above it. AC Unit and outlet

I cannot put anything in front of this as it would block AC. Any ideas on how I can block this part of wall from baby. Any idea is welcome.

Thanks, Sunil

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  • Have you replaced the rest of the receptacles in your house with tamper resistant receptacles?
    – ArchonOSX
    Commented Mar 26, 2016 at 6:17
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    Blocking access is a quick, convenient way to improve safety immediately, but don't forget to apply some "thou shalt not touch" training. You never know when you might go visit somewhere that not all the sockets are blocked.
    – Perkins
    Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 22:13

4 Answers 4

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I think that what you want is an In-Use Cover.

enter image description here

Secondly, baby fencing is a must. If you don't have some, or don't need it here, you'll need it somewhere. If you don't want to attach it to the wall (understandable), just set something heavy (like a box or bucket of stuff) on the inside and oustide of the fence to support it and keep baby from knocking it over.

enter image description here

EDIT- Mounting an in use box:

enter image description here

EDIT- Plate kit:

enter image description here

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  • I agree with the In-Use cover. It is probably the best way to protect it while allowing you to use the outlet at the same time. Only downside is that you'll likely have to notch out your baseboard around the outlet to fit the cover.
    – Edwardt
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 14:28
  • I posted the picture of the clear cover because a picture is worth a thousand words. And I posted the white cover (on the right) because it would not require notching because it is smaller than the outlet cover; but it is still a good point (that I did not say), that size is a consideration.
    – Ben Welborn
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 14:36
  • Hi Ben, Thanks for your answer. About the white cover(on the right), there are many covers like this on market. But the problem is that they have standard receptacle ( Two 120V). What I need is one with just one 240V. Do you know any such covers?
    – DGS
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 18:00
  • Yes, I know of many such covers... some have plate kits. I don't like making shopping decisions for other people, but here's a link to home depot: homedepot.com/s/While%2520in%2520Use%2520Cover?NCNI-5 Or just search for "While In Use Covers:
    – Ben Welborn
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 18:42
  • It occurs to me that I should say (in case you don't know) that the mounting screws for your receptacle are for a single gang outlet box... in other words, you have a standard receptacle outlet box. Mounting an in use cover should not be a problem, as far as aligning screw holes is concerned.
    – Ben Welborn
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 18:49
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Put a piece of duct tape over it when you aren't using it.

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It appears you have a built-in AC unit there. If the cord is plugged in and the unit is running, why would you need to "baby proof" it? Are you going to do this to all the receptacles in your house?

As long as the cord is plugged in and it is a good tight fit a baby would have a pretty tough time removing it or tampering with it.

This receptacle is probably on a separate breaker and could be shut off when not in use. You could also put it on a GFCI breaker to further protect it.

Good luck!

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    Kids love things they can pull on. I don't think this is good advice.
    – DA01
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 17:19
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    Nice idea about shutting it off using breaker when not in use. But i don't think it is nice idea not to baby proof it.
    – DGS
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 17:50
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    It's funny, my sister and I grew up in a house with receptacles like this all over. Things plugged in an all. I never once even thought about pulling on a cord or sticking something into a receptacle. Must be something in the water these days.
    – Speedy Petey
    Commented Mar 26, 2016 at 0:17
  • The gfci is a good thought actually... No real reason to restrict their use to only areas with water...
    – Perkins
    Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 22:09
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I needed the same thing for an unused larger outlet in my home and couldn't find any, but I have a 3D printer so I made a design that you can print out yourself with one. Even if you don't have a 3D printer of your own, I believe a number of print shops such as UPS now offer 3D printing services.

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