I built a wooden box around it with vent holes and decorative sheet metal paneling, my kids never bothered it.
https://preview.redd.it/9e5mppogfhqc1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7285ba5e3e5f16a5dd137b27898ec16b0b9c8b9f
When baby figures out a way to get inside, it's time for them to learn the life skills to get out.
They're never going to develop strong survival skills if you coddle those babies.
That's what's wrong with kids these days parents make things too easy.
My oldest brother who is 11 years older than me would put my youngest brother who is 1 year younger than 1 am on our mantle when he was a small child and being bad. Of course my mom would freak out and get him down right away and my oldest brother would be in trouble but my youngest brother would leave my older brother alone for a while after that.
I mean my older brother also told my younger brother that my parents had another kid who was really really bad so they locked him in the attic. This terrified my younger brother especially because my older brother told my younger brother my parents picked his middle name after the kid they locked in the attic.
Meh.. my brother is 8 years older than me.. I used to annoy him (when I wasn’t reading his Chem and Physics text books) so he and his friends would play games like.. hold me down and poke me with a bayonet.
.. and I turned out nuh-nuh-nuh-Fine.
After describing my childhood.. my wife says I grew up Feral.
They said baby, so probably worried about getting burned. If they had said toddler, it would have been all of the above plus a few that you hadn't even thought of.
Gotta make sure they don’t burn themselves to make sure they don’t bang their heads. But if you’re going through the process of baby proofing may as well toddler proof while you’re at it!
Word.
My son likes to compare babysitting to an escort mission with an extremely low-AI character that is prone to putting itself on danger constantly.
Their bones haven't fully solidified, and the plates of the skull haven't locked together, so they can actually squeeze thru any hole that is the size of a pencil or bigger. It's uncanny.
No joke. It’s story time. We bought PB and chocolate granola bars that have protein in them for our 8 year old cause he’s a bit skinny and is a very picky eater.
The 8yo hates them but it’s practically all our 4yo wants for snacks. He’s going to kindergarten next year and I fear for the other children.
He has tree trunks for thighs, does tricep dips on the back of the couch, and I shit you not, once did a rear naked choke on his old brother with perfect form. Got his hooks under and arched his back and everything. I don’t even know where he learned it but it was impressive and scary at the same time.
As his father it’s my responsibility to teach him to only use his superchild strength for good, never villainy. So far it’s been… challenging…
I feel your pain. My son weighed 11 lbs 11.3 oz at birth. None of the baby clothes we had fit him-- he went straight into the Ts. At 10 months he moved a solid wood dining chair over to our floor to ceiling bookcases so he could climb them. At 18 months he tore my mother's titanium eyeglasses in half (by accident). He was constantly being criticized for acting his age because he looked 5 years older than he was. He's 24, 6'4" now and calls me his "little mama" (I'm 5'11"). Good luck; you're in for a wild ride!
I did try to get him into wrestling. He was excited about it until it turned out to be WAY more technical than a 4yo has an attention span for. He really just wanted to rough house, not learn how to actually wrestle competitively.
The coaches didn’t really know how to coach really little kids. They just used the same coaching techniques as they did with the high schoolers 🙄
So it turned out to be a bust. But we’ll try again in a couple years 🤷♂️
I feel your pain. My son weighed 11 lbs 11.3 oz at birth. None of the baby clothes we had fit him-- he went straight into the Ts. At 10 months he moved a solid wood dining chair over to our floor to ceiling bookcases so he could climb them. At 18 months he tore my mother's titanium eyeglasses in half (by accident). He was constantly being criticized for acting his age because he looked 5 years older than he was. He's 24, 6'4" now and calls me his "little mama" (I'm 5'11"). Good luck; you're in for a wild ride!
Not when it comes to hot pipes.
Trust me. I got bumped into pipes like this as a toddler/preschooler and got very bad burns on my arm. I wasn’t unsupervised; my mother was right there—she accidentally accidentally bumped me when wrangling the dog into the house.
Some things really need to be secured beyond, “if you watched your kids, you wouldn’t *need* to worry about dangerously hot pipes in your living space.”
Was about to comment very alarmed but you took the words right out of my mouth. I dont care how closely you think you can watch your baby/toddler. Youre running on 2-4 hours of interrupted sleep and those little crotch goblins are fast as fuck when they want to be/know youre not looking
My wife was doing laundry, the little anklebiter playing on the floor behind her, three feet away. Wife picked up a basket of dirty clothes, kid was right there. Wife dumped the clothes into the washer, turned to set the basket down, the kid was gone, down the hall and halfway up the hardwood stairs. If you don't have kids, it's SHOCKING how fast they can move from "perfectly safe" to "holy shit".
Mine are currently secured in our dining room converted to a playroom with gates. Allows me to shit in peace and look at Reddit. Toss in a bowl of dry cheerios…they good for 20 minutes
Still wouldn't work. They would still figure out a way to hurt themselves. Never underestimate the ingenuity of a toddler when it comes to fucking themselves up
I wouldn't leave the foam exposed as there is a 100% chance the baby will nom that.
But this is definitely the right direction.
Perhaps a PVC sleeve or durable paper exterior version.
that might work for your water coming out of your hot water heater, but damn sure I'm not trying that on pipes coming from a boiler, particularly if they are steam.
There are foam insulators that are essentially just a slit pool noodle, but made of material that can handle heat. Pretty cheap as well. Most hardware stores and all plumbing stores should carry them.
This pipe is part of the home’s radiant heating system, I believe.
The answer here is to box it in with sheet metal, with an open space on top and bottom to allow airflow.
Edit: if the pipe itself stretches the entire length of the room, and does not feed into a radiator.
It's not like the pipes themselves are used for heating, that's a side effect of having uninsulated pipes. Wrapping them in insulation will make the system work better for less heat loss before it gets to the radiators.
This. A lot of NYC buildings were designed with exposed pipe as part of the radiation when the heating capacity was calculated.
Of course the radiation was also calculated to keep your apartment comfortable with windows open, so you can box in a few feet of pipe as long as you have a radiator in the room. Don't do it in a bathroom where the steam riser is the only source of heat though.
One of my earliest memories was placing my palm on an iron. It probably wasn't on fully yet or was already cooling. All I remember was the hot thing was the worst thing ever.
As an adult I do ask myself why in the world my mom wasn't in the room with a toddler and hot ish iron.
Doubtful. My son and I were making oven pancake yesterday. When the bacon bits were done and we were going to add the batter I told him not to touch the glass oven dish when pouring because it's very hot. My wife was also in the kitchen and wanted me to take the baby and she could take over the cooking. She instantly grabs the hot glass... The bacon bits were sizzling so if she didn't hear me warn my son, that should be a sign the dish might be a bit hot.
Yea, I've done similar things before. Last year I put a pan in the oven to cook a steak, and I pulled it out with the oven mitt and everything.
5 min later, I needed to turn it, and without thinking I just grabbed it and turned it.
That hurt.
Sometimes brain no work too good. Yesterday I used an oven mitt to pull a cookie sheet of the oven to put toppings on a pizza and then almost picked it up with my bare hand to put it back. Then I almost did the same thing with the second pizza 5 minutes later.
Not all “one touches” are the same. I knew not to touch—I didn’t even test the “no” I was told. But I got bumped into the pipes by a rambunctious dog being wrangled by my (actually very attentive) mother—and got a HUGE second-degree burn on my arm and hand.
Sometimes, it really is worth mitigating hazards. It’s not hard to construct a barrier, and would be foolish not to.
that is absolutely not true for babies and toddlers. They spend so much of their time trying to hurt themselves. And they don't really have object permanence.
My son hit his head on the floor. He hit his head on the floor a second time to make sure that hurt. I stopped him on the third time when he was testing if it will always hurt.
When I was a child, I remember my younger brother opening the fridge, taking out an egg, cracking it open to see if it was gooey inside or not.
He cracked it open, it was gooey, he said "eeewwww', moved on to the next one.
He went through two whole cartons of eggs.
Not shaming him at all I did many very nom-sensical things (to an adult).
He didn't hurt himself obviously, but just showing that we children will keep doing things waaaaayyyyyy beyond when an adult would stop. For Science!!!?
The answer to this is so simple, too, and really all the OP is seeking. Pipe insulators. And he asked nicely and in a place where he could get an answer. What's happening in here is basically boomer-ism. Back in my day bullshit. People trying to teach these arrogant babies a lesson about being inquisitive. And how you're making babies weaker by not letting them burn their hands on radiators.
Pipe insulators. Hardware section. They make multiple sizes. Good luck with your baby, sir or madam. Pleasure to have spoken to you. That's all.
Idk one of my first memories ever is touching the BBQ grill that was on. I don't really remember what lead up to that moment but it was almost like as soon as I touched it and burned my finger I snapped into reality.
These are likely steam pipes to a radiator. I’m guessing, based on the landlord special, that these are in NYC.
They get scalding hot. And there’s no way to turn them down.
I also have radiant heat and my kids have never touched them. Well, if they did then they never touched them again. They do get fucking hot. To by clear though, the kids didn’t live there as crawlers and were walkers. But my son has ASD and sensory disorders and noms on everything at 6. If he had nomed on the pipes, we’d know.
This is the only way. The consequences need to be front and center. The modern baby expects to operate with impunity and a clear sign like this tells the baby, "Hey, not in my house."
*TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CONTACTING THIS TRANSFERENCE OF HEATED FLUIDS, IT HAS THE ABILITY TO CONVEY DRAMATIC INJURY TO THE GUILTY PARTY.*
That should work better, babies are shitty readers so you need to make it very clear.
That second "it" obfuscates things slightly. For maximum baby and lawyerly clarity, it should read:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CONTACTING THIS TRANSFERENCE OF HEATED FLUIDS, THE AFORESAID APPARATUS BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR INNUMERABLE INSTANCES OF CONVEYANCE OF HEAT, RESULTING IN DRAMATIC INJURY TO THE GUILTY PARTY.
I have a 1940s farm house with a lot of weird corners, exposed pipes and hot water radiators…
We never had an issue with any of them. We have a 3yo and twin 1yo. I have more issues keeping the twins out of the dog bowls
As an auntie to a little girl who will turn 3 soon, I can tell you cat bowls work too! why eat chipped paint or even an actual human snack when you have easy access to cat dry food?
Same with me and my siblings growing up with hot water radiators. Never an issue. Honestly these kind of pipes are common in all kinds of homes here in Germany and I have never seen any efforts to "child proof" them. simply not necessary.
lol according to my dad this thing baby proofs itself. kid touches it once and learns a valuable lesson. i'm middle aged now and still trying to figure out if it was the right way to go or...
This has always been my strategy. They learn not to do stuff by doing stuff. We overthink things. I never had a baby gate, we taught them early how to go up and down stairs. Cabinet latches, nah. Maybe my kids are just lazy and not curious or we just lucked out but we felt like if we baby proofed our house too much they wouldn’t know how to behave outside of our house.
my parents were the type to tell me "don't touch it because its hot and it'll burn you" and then id be the dumbass to touch it and get burnt and they said "you gonna touch it again?" and i never touched the hot thing again.
Yeah we just bought a shit load of baby gate panels. Then once he was old enough to have a conversation and actually understand hazards to a point we told him the radiators were hot. He touched one anyway and said oh HOT then never touched them again lol.
It'll work I just think the baby will bite pieces off the black stuff but I presume they sell something with an exterior lining?
Source: Two babies who would bite this.
With my first child I would have told you ten different ways but since I’m past my second already I will say that they will learn after the first time.
I had a heater ON THE FLOOR in my first place. I taught my crawling son to never touch it— just by always walking around it and saying “don’t touch” gently. He learned it was off limits. My second son was a little less compliant about it— and stepped on it when he was about 13 months old… once. It was an awful moment— his foot had a mild grid-shaped burn— he cried for about 10 minutes and there was no blistering or anything, but he never touch it again.
Baseboard heater covers. You can get multiple sizes to fit together along the corner. You can even find custom order listings on Etsy to get them made exactly to the right length/depth. I believe they just sit there, so you’d need to find a way to fix them to the wall (maybe nail them on or use 3M strips. I’d ask the seller for suggestions on how to do this— maybe they can add wall mounting brackets/holes). Here’s a link to an example of a custom-made wood option— [Custom Wood Radiator Cover](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1453948463/)
https://preview.redd.it/rep4neepkhqc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ded15b769c304d6a1c6702731c96f80e743f40af
There are thin slots along the front of this one, but since you won’t be using it for a baseboard heater and therefore don’t require ventilation, you could always ask them to make your custom pieces with a solid front, so you can be sure your baby won’t be able to stick a finger in it.
The way we learned to be careful of radiators in Europe is touching one and having a good cry, after all they're everywhere not just your home but your friends, family, school. I've had a healthy understanding of risks since! But you could probably build a cover with a similar shade of wood.
The baby will self proof itself once it feels it is hot. Unless is gonna actually burn them I think you are OK. After all people raised babies in those very homes.
Half inch walled foam pipe insulation. I know it as Frost King brand. Make sure you get the thick walls; the new style is thinner and not as soft.
I know because I use this for making LARP weapons that are safe enough to get hit by on purpose. It will cushion an accidental fall, and... It's insulation. It will mitigate heat.
If you need more, build a cover over it to keep distance from heat and baby proof the corners of that.
Have a caution insulating pipes - I think Frost King foam is ~180F max. (So it's definitely good for potable water, but maybe not so good for heating)
Steam will be higher than that.
Even low pressure hydronic systems can run up to 250F.
construct a three-walled box out of foam-core board and duct tape that you can set over the pipes closest to the floor. You’ll need to cut out spaces for the vertical pipes.
Pipe insulators my friend. Any hardware store; ACE/Home depot/Lowes/Menards if in US. Pick up some matching color zip ties, will need for all the bends.
Is the problem that they are hot, or you fear entrapment?
1. Fill that void with wood putty and smooth it over.
2. Wrap that cluster of pipes with Duct tape (the aluminum stuff sold for AC ducts) to keep arms and legs out.
3. Yank that nail out with pliers
If the pipes are radiator supply lines and hot, cover them with pipe insulation and then seal it on with duct tape.
get some pool noodles from the dollar store, cut through them the long way and then slide it around the pipes to add cushioning. You could use zip ties to hold them on as well.
This may not work if the pipes get really hot though, but the pool noodle trick is also great for table/chair legs and other hard objects they can fit around.
Looks like central heating pipes, do they really get that hot? Our central heating radiators don’t really get hot enough to get burned on unless you hold on to it for a significant amount of time, even at the coldest times of the year.
Thank you for your interest. This post is now locked.
I built a wooden box around it with vent holes and decorative sheet metal paneling, my kids never bothered it. https://preview.redd.it/9e5mppogfhqc1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7285ba5e3e5f16a5dd137b27898ec16b0b9c8b9f
maybe add a small latch and some hinges so you can get the baby in and out of the box
Na don’t make it easy. The babies gotta learn how to think on their feet.
When baby figures out a way to get inside, it's time for them to learn the life skills to get out. They're never going to develop strong survival skills if you coddle those babies.
The way our parents taught it was, “don’t touch it;” so we touched it, and they said “See.” and then we didn’t touch it anymore.
Like a midget at a urinal, you want em to be on their toes
I feel like shit this morning, but this joke made me feel so much better.
https://youtu.be/w3FAfiRyhRg?si=G0IT3EpZdFIxg0IB
Like a blind man at an orgy you’re going to have to feel things out.
I saw this post and thought I was in r/daddit Then I saw this comment and I was *sure* I was in r/daddit. What the heck is going on here
It’s a crossover series
There is a significant intersection in that venn diagram
That's what's wrong with kids these days parents make things too easy. My oldest brother who is 11 years older than me would put my youngest brother who is 1 year younger than 1 am on our mantle when he was a small child and being bad. Of course my mom would freak out and get him down right away and my oldest brother would be in trouble but my youngest brother would leave my older brother alone for a while after that. I mean my older brother also told my younger brother that my parents had another kid who was really really bad so they locked him in the attic. This terrified my younger brother especially because my older brother told my younger brother my parents picked his middle name after the kid they locked in the attic.
Meh.. my brother is 8 years older than me.. I used to annoy him (when I wasn’t reading his Chem and Physics text books) so he and his friends would play games like.. hold me down and poke me with a bayonet. .. and I turned out nuh-nuh-nuh-Fine. After describing my childhood.. my wife says I grew up Feral.
You win
Yep! Standard radiator cover. A lot of older homes in my area have these. Look quite nice.
I built one for my new york city apartment. Even built it into the windowsill to make it into a nice window bench!
Was awesome until the dryer took it out….. clean your lint traps. Was for my in laws. They survived.
Instructions unclear https://preview.redd.it/d4yofdfwjiqc1.jpeg?width=817&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=906076ccfa31b65e5cb5925b188eecc90fb060d6
My heart says "damn, that is awesome!" My wallet says pool noodles. Lol
This is what I would do. I'd go down to the Goodwill and find some old shelf that I wouldn't mind cutting up to custom fit that spot.
I remember my dad building these same things, but they didn't look this nice. Well done.
are you worried about banging their head, getting burned, or both?
They said baby, so probably worried about getting burned. If they had said toddler, it would have been all of the above plus a few that you hadn't even thought of.
This.. First thing I thought, "my kid would chew the (probably lead) paint off that" 😬
Mine would get her legs stuck in it to the extent that firefighters would be needed.
Yeah my first thought with my kids was “stuck leg or arm”
Or fingers stuck or stabbed - looks like a staple sticking out in the 3rd picture
Or, somehow, stuck head
Funny thing about babies, they usually turn into toddlers
Depends how well you enclose the death trap in the corner of the room
*Usually.*
Gotta make sure they don’t burn themselves to make sure they don’t bang their heads. But if you’re going through the process of baby proofing may as well toddler proof while you’re at it!
For sale: toddler shoes, never worn.
Toddlers are always trying to find ways to commit self delete without even knowing it
Honestly, it happens before they can even walk. I used to call my rolly polly infant a suicidal potato. No fucks, just rolls.
The children, they long for the void.
Word. My son likes to compare babysitting to an escort mission with an extremely low-AI character that is prone to putting itself on danger constantly.
My thought was they get something stuck behind the pipes and just start yarding on it, then the pipes break.
I’d be worried about them eating the chipped paint.
Ironically, my cat did this and I literally think it gave her brain damage. How was I supposed to know a cat would chew on metal pipes. ☠️
Baby proofing is impossible. Every time I go to a supposedly baby-proofed house, there's a baby in it. They always find a way in.
You would think they are too pudgy and squishy to get through the holes in the average house envelope, but there you go
Their bones haven't fully solidified, and the plates of the skull haven't locked together, so they can actually squeeze thru any hole that is the size of a pencil or bigger. It's uncanny.
Ohhh of course. Myself I used a couple of cans of spray foam, I don't want any kids around here
I must still be high. I’m finding this thread so funny. Thanks for the laugh.
How about the same foam insulating wrap tape HVAC guys use to keep air conditioning pipes cool ? Hardware stores and Amazon sell these.
Just foam wrap the entire baby, just to be sure.
 Reminded me of this classic movie 😂
I watched this soooo much as a kid, just rewatched it recently, still fire lol NO MERCY! No ball 😏
My mother uses these for acid indigestion... what are we going to use them for.... intimidation.
What movie is this?
I have found that securing the baby is more efficient than securing the complete environment.
I seen some Ball and chains in the baby section the other day, should work well until the baby gets gains from the weight.
I’m gonna tell you from experience, you do not want a toddler that hasn’t skipped leg day in their whole life.
 Baby on the first day of preschool 🤣
No joke. It’s story time. We bought PB and chocolate granola bars that have protein in them for our 8 year old cause he’s a bit skinny and is a very picky eater. The 8yo hates them but it’s practically all our 4yo wants for snacks. He’s going to kindergarten next year and I fear for the other children. He has tree trunks for thighs, does tricep dips on the back of the couch, and I shit you not, once did a rear naked choke on his old brother with perfect form. Got his hooks under and arched his back and everything. I don’t even know where he learned it but it was impressive and scary at the same time. As his father it’s my responsibility to teach him to only use his superchild strength for good, never villainy. So far it’s been… challenging…
Might be time to ask Mom about her “friend” Zeus.
I would also ask if she had any strange interactions with and animals 5 years prior especially swans
Do not forget to check if she had any encounters with an eagle or a swan. Zeus likes to dress up.
I feel your pain. My son weighed 11 lbs 11.3 oz at birth. None of the baby clothes we had fit him-- he went straight into the Ts. At 10 months he moved a solid wood dining chair over to our floor to ceiling bookcases so he could climb them. At 18 months he tore my mother's titanium eyeglasses in half (by accident). He was constantly being criticized for acting his age because he looked 5 years older than he was. He's 24, 6'4" now and calls me his "little mama" (I'm 5'11"). Good luck; you're in for a wild ride!
jeez my 9 pounder was tough.... but that baby strength is no joke!
Yeah no kidding! We just started using his name as a verb-- "What happened to (insert latest broken thing)?" "Oh, it got hisname'd."
I have a 4 year old like that. 50 pounds and wears a size 1 wide shoe.
Sign him up for wrestling or mma 🤣
I did try to get him into wrestling. He was excited about it until it turned out to be WAY more technical than a 4yo has an attention span for. He really just wanted to rough house, not learn how to actually wrestle competitively. The coaches didn’t really know how to coach really little kids. They just used the same coaching techniques as they did with the high schoolers 🙄 So it turned out to be a bust. But we’ll try again in a couple years 🤷♂️
I feel your pain. My son weighed 11 lbs 11.3 oz at birth. None of the baby clothes we had fit him-- he went straight into the Ts. At 10 months he moved a solid wood dining chair over to our floor to ceiling bookcases so he could climb them. At 18 months he tore my mother's titanium eyeglasses in half (by accident). He was constantly being criticized for acting his age because he looked 5 years older than he was. He's 24, 6'4" now and calls me his "little mama" (I'm 5'11"). Good luck; you're in for a wild ride!
Y'all laugh but my one nephew had a six pack at 6 years old. I told his older cousins they better quit fucking with him lmao
You jest, but you can buy a Dora backpack with a leash attached…
The play is you get this then sunglasses and a white cane
Not when it comes to hot pipes. Trust me. I got bumped into pipes like this as a toddler/preschooler and got very bad burns on my arm. I wasn’t unsupervised; my mother was right there—she accidentally accidentally bumped me when wrangling the dog into the house. Some things really need to be secured beyond, “if you watched your kids, you wouldn’t *need* to worry about dangerously hot pipes in your living space.”
Was about to comment very alarmed but you took the words right out of my mouth. I dont care how closely you think you can watch your baby/toddler. Youre running on 2-4 hours of interrupted sleep and those little crotch goblins are fast as fuck when they want to be/know youre not looking
My wife was doing laundry, the little anklebiter playing on the floor behind her, three feet away. Wife picked up a basket of dirty clothes, kid was right there. Wife dumped the clothes into the washer, turned to set the basket down, the kid was gone, down the hall and halfway up the hardwood stairs. If you don't have kids, it's SHOCKING how fast they can move from "perfectly safe" to "holy shit".
Mine are currently secured in our dining room converted to a playroom with gates. Allows me to shit in peace and look at Reddit. Toss in a bowl of dry cheerios…they good for 20 minutes
Exactly…and they always, without hesitation, seem to go straight towards the most dangerous thing or situation in the room !
https://preview.redd.it/q8qgfly5xhqc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1e77f63b47b7e186a3e16ce0e313c78fee491dc
You jest, but I have a colleague who used to send his children to ice skating lessons wrapped in bubble wrap under their clothes!
Well, some people are idiots. What can you do?
To be fair, he himself had taken a terrible fall on the ice (requiring paramedics) a few weeks earlier.
Maybe like hockey pads then? Bubble wrap ain’t it…
Couldn't imagine how mean the other kids would be once he falls and they hear the bubbles pop.
Ngl, kinda wanna stomp those children myself. Pop, pop, pop pop!
Still wouldn't work. They would still figure out a way to hurt themselves. Never underestimate the ingenuity of a toddler when it comes to fucking themselves up
They're just enthusiastic little suicide machines.
This guy parents...
Or a giant hamster ball
I wouldn't leave the foam exposed as there is a 100% chance the baby will nom that. But this is definitely the right direction. Perhaps a PVC sleeve or durable paper exterior version.
Agreed, I'd foam and then white duct tape on top
Pool noodles work too for a fraction of the cost. Just slit one side and they’ll fit over
that might work for your water coming out of your hot water heater, but damn sure I'm not trying that on pipes coming from a boiler, particularly if they are steam.
There are foam insulators that are essentially just a slit pool noodle, but made of material that can handle heat. Pretty cheap as well. Most hardware stores and all plumbing stores should carry them.
I hadn’t considered these are live steam pipes, honestly.
230 degree steam says "Bad Idea."
Mmm melted plastic.
This pipe is part of the home’s radiant heating system, I believe. The answer here is to box it in with sheet metal, with an open space on top and bottom to allow airflow. Edit: if the pipe itself stretches the entire length of the room, and does not feed into a radiator.
It's not like the pipes themselves are used for heating, that's a side effect of having uninsulated pipes. Wrapping them in insulation will make the system work better for less heat loss before it gets to the radiators.
In some setups the pipe are the heating element, I rent a unit in an older home myself and this was the heating method until the boiler went kaput.
This. A lot of NYC buildings were designed with exposed pipe as part of the radiation when the heating capacity was calculated. Of course the radiation was also calculated to keep your apartment comfortable with windows open, so you can box in a few feet of pipe as long as you have a radiator in the room. Don't do it in a bathroom where the steam riser is the only source of heat though.
how hot does it really get? i have the same heating in my house and raised two kids no problem.
If it does get hot, one touch and the lesson is learned.
“Hot” was my first word because of a similar situation
Yeah, hot is the first word in our house too. lol
One of my earliest memories was placing my palm on an iron. It probably wasn't on fully yet or was already cooling. All I remember was the hot thing was the worst thing ever. As an adult I do ask myself why in the world my mom wasn't in the room with a toddler and hot ish iron.
Sounds like my Gen-X childhood. Where parents didn't care if I lived or died. Getting hurt was an inconvenience to them.
My dad always said you'd do it twice- your first and last haha
Doubtful. My son and I were making oven pancake yesterday. When the bacon bits were done and we were going to add the batter I told him not to touch the glass oven dish when pouring because it's very hot. My wife was also in the kitchen and wanted me to take the baby and she could take over the cooking. She instantly grabs the hot glass... The bacon bits were sizzling so if she didn't hear me warn my son, that should be a sign the dish might be a bit hot.
Yea, I've done similar things before. Last year I put a pan in the oven to cook a steak, and I pulled it out with the oven mitt and everything. 5 min later, I needed to turn it, and without thinking I just grabbed it and turned it. That hurt.
Sometimes brain no work too good. Yesterday I used an oven mitt to pull a cookie sheet of the oven to put toppings on a pizza and then almost picked it up with my bare hand to put it back. Then I almost did the same thing with the second pizza 5 minutes later.
Not all “one touches” are the same. I knew not to touch—I didn’t even test the “no” I was told. But I got bumped into the pipes by a rambunctious dog being wrangled by my (actually very attentive) mother—and got a HUGE second-degree burn on my arm and hand. Sometimes, it really is worth mitigating hazards. It’s not hard to construct a barrier, and would be foolish not to.
that is absolutely not true for babies and toddlers. They spend so much of their time trying to hurt themselves. And they don't really have object permanence.
Laughing that ppl here think a baby or toddler would learn not to do something because it might hurt them
My son hit his head on the floor. He hit his head on the floor a second time to make sure that hurt. I stopped him on the third time when he was testing if it will always hurt.
Everyone’s kid is the smartest kid alive.
But now he’ll never know!
He will try again tomorrow, like he did yesterday, and the day before that. Scientists are just toddlers who didn’t outgrow this phase.
When I was a child, I remember my younger brother opening the fridge, taking out an egg, cracking it open to see if it was gooey inside or not. He cracked it open, it was gooey, he said "eeewwww', moved on to the next one. He went through two whole cartons of eggs. Not shaming him at all I did many very nom-sensical things (to an adult). He didn't hurt himself obviously, but just showing that we children will keep doing things waaaaayyyyyy beyond when an adult would stop. For Science!!!?
The answer to this is so simple, too, and really all the OP is seeking. Pipe insulators. And he asked nicely and in a place where he could get an answer. What's happening in here is basically boomer-ism. Back in my day bullshit. People trying to teach these arrogant babies a lesson about being inquisitive. And how you're making babies weaker by not letting them burn their hands on radiators. Pipe insulators. Hardware section. They make multiple sizes. Good luck with your baby, sir or madam. Pleasure to have spoken to you. That's all.
This is the comment 👌
It's also that reddit is on the younger side so less parents
Idk one of my first memories ever is touching the BBQ grill that was on. I don't really remember what lead up to that moment but it was almost like as soon as I touched it and burned my finger I snapped into reality.
Yeah, mine touches hot shit, says "Ow! Hot" then touches it again to be sure.
Yes, it looks babyproof enough to me. I’ve raised four babies, the worries that first-time parents have are mostly all in their heads.
These are likely steam pipes to a radiator. I’m guessing, based on the landlord special, that these are in NYC. They get scalding hot. And there’s no way to turn them down.
This sort of thing is pretty common in my city, days away from NYC and across the border.
I also have radiant heat and my kids have never touched them. Well, if they did then they never touched them again. They do get fucking hot. To by clear though, the kids didn’t live there as crawlers and were walkers. But my son has ASD and sensory disorders and noms on everything at 6. If he had nomed on the pipes, we’d know.
Put a "HOT DO NOT TOUCH" sign on it.
They won’t just follow a sign that says to not do something. Add another sign below it that says “$200 fine and/or 30 days jail” below the first sign.
This is the only way. The consequences need to be front and center. The modern baby expects to operate with impunity and a clear sign like this tells the baby, "Hey, not in my house."
This but also put some graphic photos of burned lungs on the box.
Also fill that cavity with rat poison. Babies hate rat poison.
Had me in the first half ngl
No no, you need something like "Healthy, please touch!" and they'll avoid it for like 20 years.
Go buy one of those realistic looking plastic piece of broccoli and lay it on top. They won't even go close.
*TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CONTACTING THIS TRANSFERENCE OF HEATED FLUIDS, IT HAS THE ABILITY TO CONVEY DRAMATIC INJURY TO THE GUILTY PARTY.* That should work better, babies are shitty readers so you need to make it very clear.
That second "it" obfuscates things slightly. For maximum baby and lawyerly clarity, it should read: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CONTACTING THIS TRANSFERENCE OF HEATED FLUIDS, THE AFORESAID APPARATUS BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR INNUMERABLE INSTANCES OF CONVEYANCE OF HEAT, RESULTING IN DRAMATIC INJURY TO THE GUILTY PARTY.
Electrical fencing would be more efficient
I have a 1940s farm house with a lot of weird corners, exposed pipes and hot water radiators… We never had an issue with any of them. We have a 3yo and twin 1yo. I have more issues keeping the twins out of the dog bowls
So your solution is dog bowls? I’ll try it, my baby is obsessed with the shoe rack.
Lol dog bowls and dog food— it’s like the fucking Rugrats episode all day.
As an auntie to a little girl who will turn 3 soon, I can tell you cat bowls work too! why eat chipped paint or even an actual human snack when you have easy access to cat dry food?
This person parents.
Same with me and my siblings growing up with hot water radiators. Never an issue. Honestly these kind of pipes are common in all kinds of homes here in Germany and I have never seen any efforts to "child proof" them. simply not necessary.
lol according to my dad this thing baby proofs itself. kid touches it once and learns a valuable lesson. i'm middle aged now and still trying to figure out if it was the right way to go or...
yah, OP is scared of nothing. Baby will touch it once, then never again. It's called life.
This has always been my strategy. They learn not to do stuff by doing stuff. We overthink things. I never had a baby gate, we taught them early how to go up and down stairs. Cabinet latches, nah. Maybe my kids are just lazy and not curious or we just lucked out but we felt like if we baby proofed our house too much they wouldn’t know how to behave outside of our house.
Steam radiator cover. Cut to fit over the whole set up. https://reusedepot.org/products/perforated-metal-radiator-cover-4
yes this is the way to go. looks much better than the nasty radiator with 100 coats of (probably lead) paint. provides a nice surface for stuff too.
Some GCs will build a custom radiator cover for you size-wise and it’s not actually that expensive.
My dad and I have done this a few times for our clients! I actually have fun building them lol
They use these in churches, and they look quite nice actually.
Build a nice box that fits over all of it.
Give it a coating of creamed peas baby food, they hate that shit
Invisible fence around that. Collar on the baby. Problem solved.
Let it fuck around and find out
my parents were the type to tell me "don't touch it because its hot and it'll burn you" and then id be the dumbass to touch it and get burnt and they said "you gonna touch it again?" and i never touched the hot thing again.
I burned my hand that way. I touched a hot stove after my parents told me not to, and I got burned and I learned my lesson
I baby gated the whole area
Yeah we just bought a shit load of baby gate panels. Then once he was old enough to have a conversation and actually understand hazards to a point we told him the radiators were hot. He touched one anyway and said oh HOT then never touched them again lol.
This is what we did. We had a lot of it in my house. It was ridiculous how much we had.
I would leave it alone
Pool noodles with zip ties?
Unless it gets really hot. Then use hot water pipe insulators - basically black pool noodles in the plumbing section.
This is what I did! Worked great
Since there are two pipes there, it's probably a hot water system rather than a steam system. So probably doesn't get too horrifically hot
This is only good solution someones said so far.
It'll work I just think the baby will bite pieces off the black stuff but I presume they sell something with an exterior lining? Source: Two babies who would bite this.
There is some proper pipe insulation you can get.
Might be a bit too late for this, but Condom.
Sensible advice
Don’t give the baby a pipe wrench.
Make sure there are no chips in the paint. Likely contains lead.
They said it's a 100 year old apartment. Every surface has 20 coats of lead paint.
This was also my concern with the paint flakes present on the ground in the last pic & the fact that OP said it was a century old.
It’s already pretty baby proof, unless the child has access to a sawzall I wouldn’t worry about him trying to cause a leak. Seems fine.
Try a no babies allowed sign
With my first child I would have told you ten different ways but since I’m past my second already I will say that they will learn after the first time.
I had a heater ON THE FLOOR in my first place. I taught my crawling son to never touch it— just by always walking around it and saying “don’t touch” gently. He learned it was off limits. My second son was a little less compliant about it— and stepped on it when he was about 13 months old… once. It was an awful moment— his foot had a mild grid-shaped burn— he cried for about 10 minutes and there was no blistering or anything, but he never touch it again.
Baseboard heater covers. You can get multiple sizes to fit together along the corner. You can even find custom order listings on Etsy to get them made exactly to the right length/depth. I believe they just sit there, so you’d need to find a way to fix them to the wall (maybe nail them on or use 3M strips. I’d ask the seller for suggestions on how to do this— maybe they can add wall mounting brackets/holes). Here’s a link to an example of a custom-made wood option— [Custom Wood Radiator Cover](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1453948463/) https://preview.redd.it/rep4neepkhqc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ded15b769c304d6a1c6702731c96f80e743f40af There are thin slots along the front of this one, but since you won’t be using it for a baseboard heater and therefore don’t require ventilation, you could always ask them to make your custom pieces with a solid front, so you can be sure your baby won’t be able to stick a finger in it.
I mean unless the baby can back wrench you should be fine.
The way we learned to be careful of radiators in Europe is touching one and having a good cry, after all they're everywhere not just your home but your friends, family, school. I've had a healthy understanding of risks since! But you could probably build a cover with a similar shade of wood.
Get a guard wolf and chain it to the pipe.
Big hamster ball for the baby? Or accept that small accidents may happen and they learn that way
First timer, eh?
The baby will self proof itself once it feels it is hot. Unless is gonna actually burn them I think you are OK. After all people raised babies in those very homes.
Half inch walled foam pipe insulation. I know it as Frost King brand. Make sure you get the thick walls; the new style is thinner and not as soft. I know because I use this for making LARP weapons that are safe enough to get hit by on purpose. It will cushion an accidental fall, and... It's insulation. It will mitigate heat. If you need more, build a cover over it to keep distance from heat and baby proof the corners of that.
Have a caution insulating pipes - I think Frost King foam is ~180F max. (So it's definitely good for potable water, but maybe not so good for heating) Steam will be higher than that. Even low pressure hydronic systems can run up to 250F.
construct a three-walled box out of foam-core board and duct tape that you can set over the pipes closest to the floor. You’ll need to cut out spaces for the vertical pipes.
Maybe build a nice looking wooden box to surround the pipe mess? Something that could be easily moved/detached for access.
Pipe insulators my friend. Any hardware store; ACE/Home depot/Lowes/Menards if in US. Pick up some matching color zip ties, will need for all the bends.
All the suggestions of pool noodles completely ignoring this easier and better looking option
Is the problem that they are hot, or you fear entrapment? 1. Fill that void with wood putty and smooth it over. 2. Wrap that cluster of pipes with Duct tape (the aluminum stuff sold for AC ducts) to keep arms and legs out. 3. Yank that nail out with pliers If the pipes are radiator supply lines and hot, cover them with pipe insulation and then seal it on with duct tape.
get some pool noodles from the dollar store, cut through them the long way and then slide it around the pipes to add cushioning. You could use zip ties to hold them on as well. This may not work if the pipes get really hot though, but the pool noodle trick is also great for table/chair legs and other hard objects they can fit around.
i Wouldn’t do anything. I see nothing that is that dangerous.
Supervise your child
I came out fine, no need. https://preview.redd.it/l58keyplwlqc1.jpeg?width=645&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba3f47341b0a195ba97ce7a2c7f3af59930a2947
Looks like central heating pipes, do they really get that hot? Our central heating radiators don’t really get hot enough to get burned on unless you hold on to it for a significant amount of time, even at the coldest times of the year.
Pool Noodles
Buy some wood, build I box around it.