Plug Socket Covers: Creating the Danger They Claim to Solve

For many new and expecting parents, a plug socket cover is a no brainer when baby proofing your home. They’re seen everywhere, including in GP waiting rooms and hospitals across the country, so they must be a safety essential, right? Well, no. Plug socket covers in British sockets may actually be causing more danger than they are solving.

What Is a Plug Socket Cover?

Plug socket covers are small plastic discs that have the 3 prongs of a plug on the back. They are designed to be plugged into a wall socket, supposedly to prevent objects or small fingers from being inserted into the socket.

Dangers of Using Socket Covers?

British plug sockets that conform to BS 1363 standard (which was originally introduced in 1947) have been specifically designed to keep children safe. Babies fingers are not small enough to fit inside the socket far enough to touch live parts, but even if they could, there are insulated shutters inside the holes to stop this.

Sockets have been made to only fit plugs that also have strict requirements. Nothing that doesn’t fit these requirements should ever be plugged into a socket – and plug socket covers do not conform.

The BS 1363 standard actually specifically refers to the fact that plug socket covers are not required: “Socket-outlets conforming to this standard are shuttered and therefore do not require the use of additional means to shield the current-carrying contacts when no plug is present in the socket-outlet.”

Plug Socket Covers: They Create the Danger They Are Trying to Solve

The shutter feature of British sockets means that the insulated shutters covering the live parts of the plug remain closed until something is inserted into the top pin hole.

A curious child could easily insert a plug socket cover into the plug upside down, which will then be held in place with the shutters open. This leaves them with both hands free to insert an object into the now exposed live sections of the plug.

Plug socket covers make it easy to defeat your socket’s in-built safety features.

Fire Hazard

If all of the above isn’t bad enough, plug socket covers are also a fire hazard.

A plug socket cover will look the same as a 13A plug, but plugs must conform to very specific size requirements that plug socket covers simply don’t. Putting the wrong size and shape into your plug socket can cause a number of problems including damage to the shutters, overheating, or fires.

Socket Cover Alternative

Many parents consider using socket covers to protect children, but standard plug-in socket covers can actually pose more danger than they prevent as shown above. Poorly designed covers may bypass built-in safety mechanisms, making sockets more accessible rather than safer. If your looking for more protection than a standard socket can provide try looking at socket cover alternatives such as key operated sockets.

Still unsure what socket is best for you and your home? View all our plug sockets available here!

Key Operated Sockets

An alternative like a key operated socket cover offers a far more secure solution. These covers lock the socket entirely, preventing any access without a key ideal for environments needing stricter safety, like schools or care homes. They reduce the risk of tampering, ensure compliance with safety standards, and provide peace of mind that the socket is genuinely inaccessible when not in use.