Safety 1st Magnetic Tot Lok Cabinet Locks: Rave Review With A Little Known Warning
Written: May 12 '01 (Updated Jul 13 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy to install, sturdy, foolproof, works beautifully, pet proof too.
Cons: slightly modified instructions
The Bottom Line: Nobel Peace Prize-not enough of a reward for the inventor of this amazing lock system. The stress reduction and peace it has brought to our house-beyond description.
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| Caprig's Full Review: Rev-A-Shelf Tot-Lok |
Do YOU know who invented this lock system? If so...
.....Let me know so I can nominated them for the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.
I was a wreck. When our little daughter learned to break into the cabinets, my life was doomed. I spent enough time and tears cleaning up an entire gallon of olive oil, a pound of lecithin (ever try cleaning THAT out of a rug?), 2 pounds of bulghur, beta carotene capsules and the list goes on.
I did not think ANYTHING would work for her. She broke into every cabinet lock we tried. This little superwoman moved 25lbs of wheat berries, a heavy metal chair, and broke into a child proof lock all within 2 minutes and made huge messes over and over.
Just us. We had to give birth to a female Hercules.
I was desperate. I needed some sanity in my life and if something did not happen soon, I was going to lose it.
So, as I often do in times of crisis, I turned to EPINIONS. That is where I saw these Safety 1st cabinet locks that many people seemed to love.
I forgot the name since they are not listed as Safety 1st, so when I went out looking for them, I was determined to get the "other" (rev-a-shelf) lock. I insisted to the clerks that it was better than the cheapie SAFETY 1ST LOCK.
HA HA HA.
When I got home after a whole day of turning down the SAFETY 1ST magnetic locks in search of REV-A-SHELF locks, I was embarassed to discover that they are the exact same thing.
Pass me off as a dense harrassed mother of a tornado, OK?
WHAT ARE THESE LOCKS LIKE?
The package that I got of the SAFETY 1ST locks came with 2 locks for 2 doors and one "key"
The locks consist of a hook-like thing that goes onto the cabinet door or the drawer. The other part is a magnetically tripped lock that springs into place, locking the door or drawer onto the hook. In order to trip the lock and open it, you put a very powerful magnet "key" over the door and the cabinet opens easily like magic.
INSTALLATION
After reading the reviews here, I lectured my poor husband for an hour about how difficult they were to install. I printed out copies of the instructions that people had given. I did not want to end up with a ruined cabinet. More than that, I did not want to be permanently locked out of the cabinet!
When my husband got out the package and read the instructions, he looked at me like I was having a pre-menstrual fit. You know, that "You worry too much about nothing" look?
He went over to the cabinet, taped the template to the cabinet. Then he temporarily taped each component into place with strong tape.
(He said that the taping of the template to the cabinet with masking tape was a slight modification he made to the instructions.)
He tested the lock with the magnetic key (Which, by the way looks like a drawer knob made of white plastic) to make sure it lined up.
This way, if your door is too thick for the magnet to work through, you will know it BEFORE you attach it to your cabinet.
When he saw that the magnet would release the lock, he screwed them in with a drill. (By them, I mean the piece that goes onto the door and the piece that goes onto the cabinet unit itself).
HOW WELL DOES THE LOCK WORK
I have to admit that I was skeptical at first. Our little bodybuilder could break into and lift anything. I was convinced that she would pull the door apart without the key.
She watched from the corner of her eye as I used the lock to open the door. She acted like she was not watching.
I put her play yard next to the cabinet. I wanted to test this completely before trusting it.
Honestly, I was shocked. She has not opened the door to that cabinet ever again. In fact, after one try, she just ignored it completely.
WARNING and CLOSING COMMENTS
One thing I must tell you is that if you do purchase this lock set, you would be best to do two things.
If you lose things easily, buy an extra lock. These packages come in many ways. You can get 4 locks and 2 keys, or just a key. You can get a lock, or 2 locks and a key.
DO NOT, I repeat- DO NOT keep these magnets sticking to the refrigerator or other metal surface.
Why? Well, our science bug son did some research on magnets and found that you should not leave a powerful magnet stuck to metal for long periods of time. The magnetic field will weaken from the magnet (exchanges molecules) over time and the magnet will lose its power over time. Let's just say he learned this from experience.
It will take some time to do that, but if you have a brood of little investigative minds coming up in your family, it is best NOT to get into the habit now. It will pay off later.
These locks have changed my life. Our lives and the stress reduction alone is worth far more than the $13 we paid for 2 of the locks with a key.
Words can not tell you how thankful I am that some dear wonderful person invented this childproof lock.
Yes, they deserve the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!!!
And, if you have a pet that will not stay out of your cabinets, this would be a fantastic solution as well.
Recommended:
Yes
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Caprig
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Location: NE US- 2 email me delete REMOVETHIS
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About Me:
Product-Evaluation/Information-Specialist. Too Busy to Be KIND to Others? You are TOO BUSY.
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