Customer Reviews

Safety 1st Tot-Lok Starter Set

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Selecting these locks over the competition was easy, as it's not hard to see how toddlers can easily overcome the other choices. Since keeping my triplets out of harm's way was the only thing that mattered, the higher price and installation time were not factors for consideration.

In short, they work. They are incredibly secure. So much so that if something goes wrong, you can permanently lock yourself out. And using them is easy. But be warned, installation of this product can lead to a day full of swearing. There are enough reviews extolling this product's virtues or damning it's installation, with a small number claiming they don't work, but at the end of the day, you should get them because they really are the best product out there.

TIME TO INSTALL:
The first lock took about 25 minutes. Once I figured out how to install it, it was easy. In total, I spent about 4 1/2 hours installing 30 locks on cabinets and drawers. Cabinets were much easier than drawers, since the drawers tended not to align as well with the drawer openings. They worked fine on warped doors, but sometimes required repositioning of the striking plate.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
The instructions aren't as helpful as they should be. Larger pictures would help. But even that won't overcome the fact that the cabinet faces must be flat in order for the template to work as intended. I have 3/4" thick cabinet doors, with a 3/8" overhang around the edge. To accomodate my situation, I cut off the narrow part of the template, and placed the remaining part at the edge of the thick part of the door, and marked the holes with an awl. I did this for all the doors before drilling.

I strongly recommend drilling pilot holes for all the screws. The screws are small and easy to strip when screwing into hardwood.

After I installed all the locking mechanisms, I tested each one to make sure they opened with the key.

To install the strike plates, I took a post-it note marked with a line, and after closing each door, placed the line on the outside of the door frame where the center of the strike plate should go. This was easy to eyeball, and there's a fair amount of room for error to do this. I would simply place the strike plate on the inside edge of the door frame and mark with an awl before drilling pilot holes.

WHAT CAN GO WRONG:

- Drilling through the cabinet. This is easy to do, and easy to avoid. Be careful, and buy a separate drill stop. The one included in the package isn't much better than using tape to mark the drill bit. You should have a set of drill stops in your toolbox anyway. Plus, you can use the smaller one for drilling pilot holes for the small screws.

- Locking yourself out. Possible causes include not drilling the plunger hole deep enough, not cleaning the hole out, installing the plunger improperly, or a faulty lock. Out of the 30 locks installed, I had two that were faulty. In essence, they were "sticky". They appeared to work fine uninstalled, but wouldn't function even when drilled to a point just short of going through the cabinet. There is no way to adequately test them before you actually install them, so refrain from installing the striking plate until you've tested the installed locking mechanism with the magnetic key a few times.

If using the extension slug, make sure it is pushed all the way into the hole. Pull the plunger out of the locking mechanism until it is almost all the way out before placing the mechanism over the hole. Gaps between these pieces can result in the lock not working. Don't worry about losing pieces in the hole as you try to figure out which combination you need. You can always get them out with the magnet.

I should mention that my drawer faces are 1-1/2" thick, and the extensions worked fine.

- Gaps between the lock and striking plate. Get creative with shims. In some cases, I used a couple of small washers behind the striking plate and some longer screws. In other cases, I glued a small block of wood inside the drawer opening. You might choose to screw them in if you want to remove them later, but mine were hidden from view due to the way the cabinets were made, and it was easier for me to glue them.

- Something is in the way of the lock when closing. Move the lock. Yeah, it's that simple. I read a review where someone didn't scope out their project before starting and complained about the product because it hit the sink before the door could close.

TOOLS:
I drilled pilot holes to make things easier. Since some of the holes were in tight spots, I found it necessary to use the following items to complete the job in addition to those listed by the manufacturer:
- Flexible drill shaft
- Hex shaft drill bits
- offset screwdriver (for tight spots)
- drill bit stop collars
I should also mention that the recommended drill bit for the plunger is not a standard size (7mm or 9/32"), so you probably don't have one. I purchased one for the job rather than risk something being slightly misaligned and not working.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT:
As mentioned earlier, I had two locks that turned out to be faulty. At first, I thought I did something wrong, but interchanging locks proved that it was the locks themselves. I called Safety1st and am happy to say that they sent a whole new starter set of 4 to me WITH A KEY, no questions asked. It just took a few days to get here.

These locks are the best solution I've tried, for many applications, but compared to the others they are also VERY DIFFICULT TO INSTALL. I am a carpenter but don't mean to say you can't install them with modest skills -- yet there are many opportunities to mess up by misaligning the pieces, tearing up the wood, stripping the screws, or drilling through the drawer/door front -- it is necessary to drill from the back to within ONE EIGHTH INCH of the front. Sure you can do it, with care, but care takes time and we all have bad days. I think they should give you a drill bit and stop, or at least sell one alongside the locks.

They should insist that EVERYONE GET AT LEAST TWO KEYS (i.e., get the 4-lock starter set not this one) because you *will* either lose one (perhaps to a curious toddler) or, my weakness, lock the key in the cabinet or drawer. Next, the locks are not very adaptable to the many drawer and door configurations out there for lack of a surface to mount, clearance to moving parts, or tight quarters difficulty maneuvering the drill where it needs to be. They also don't need to use these irritatingly small screws (#4's?).

When these magnetic locks work right, they are a dream. We have one on the hallway medicine cabinet that has been working flawlessly for seven years. But being the best is not always enough, and it is on installation that these stumble.

Ou 2 1/2 year old has been able to figure out other locking devices that we have but this one keeps our cabinets secure. At the same time, they are very easy for adults to use. They are easier to install then some of the other brands also. Another nice feature is that you do not have to remove them when you no longer need them. A simple switch on the lock can disable them on a temporary or permanent basis. The only negative comment that I have is that they are more expensive than similar devices. But, you get what you pay for, and these have been worth the money.

These locks are great! When our daughter started crawling around and getting into things, I knew it was time to lock some of the cabinets up and I looked into several different types of locks. The tot loks are only ones that don't let the door open at all to prevent pinched fingers and they won't open no matter how hard she tries to pull on them. The only negative is that you need to make sure to have the magnet handy (we have one in each room that we have these locks on and I'm probably going to end up having to get 2 for the kitchen just to make it easier when working in there). For that same reason we didn't install these locks in the guest bathroom but rather used the spring locks simply because I would hate to have a guest in there frantically trying to get in the cabinet when we've forgotten to explain how the locks work and where the key is "hidden".

We LOVE this product! My oldest son took about 4 days to figure out the spring type cabinet locks when he was 18 months old. He's 5 now, and STILL can't get into the cabinets with the Tot Loks on them - and he never will as long as we keep the magnetic "key" out of his reach. They are easy for an adult to operate as well. You can also set the loks to an "always open" position too for times when the children aren't around and you must get into the cabinets repeatedly.

These locks are good but the instructions are horrible. I wish I could communicate with some of the other reviewers because I think they missed a key concept with these locks. The metal from the lock needs to be at LEAST 1/8" from the outside of the cabinet door, this means if you have thick-walled cabinets you MUST install the extension pins when you put the lock in the door!!! This extends the metal from the lock into your cabinet and allows the magnet to unlock the lock. If you don't do this then the actual metal from the lock could be too far away for the magnet to have any effect on it.

Another problem is that these can be VERY hard to install in drawers because you must install a mating piece on the cabinet face as well as in the drawer and there is little to no room with most cabinet drawers to get a screwdriver in to install the mating piece.

... make sure they fit your cabinets. We didn't have a problem with ours, but we had to install them differently on different doors.
... installation IS cumbersome, but fortunately you do not need to remove them, thanks to the flip switch that holds the lock in the "open position".
... make sure you don't place the magnet inside the cabinets, or keep a second magnet handy (my husband tends to put the magnet inside a cabinet once he opens a door - he's locked it in there a few times, but fortunately our doors leave a tiny gap through which you can open the lock with a postcard or similar thing).
... if given access to the magnet, a 2.5-yr-old can open the locks with a little practice - so if you want to protect your baby, but would like some help in putting away the dishes from you toddler, it will work.

As for the locks "loosing their magnetic power" - that is impossible, they don't have any, the magnet works with the metal pin that sits inside the lock. If the lock is not activated by the magnet, it is most likely because you flipped the switch (red).

One drawback - the red flip switches come off rather easily, and can get lost (we lost one) - there should be replacements for them in a regular package.

After having heard rave reviews about this product, I ran out and bought the starter set. My husband and I tried to install a lock inside one of our cabinets, but unfortunately the magnets do not work through our cabinets. We have custom wood cabinets that have a white finish baked onto them. As instructed, we drilled almost all the way through our cabinet, leaving 1/8 remaining. The magnets only work if we turn the lock to a certain angle, which would not allow the latch to work properly. FYI to those with similar cabinetry.

We used other types of latches, such as the ones that you push down and the ones that you squeeze and pull apart. Not toddler proof! We bought these magnet latches to put on our drawers in the kitchen and what a dream!! Another reviewer suggested two keys. Definitely. We only have one and are going to purchase another. Small price to pay for security. The thing I like about these is that if your little one is out of the house for the day, or they outgrow them, meaning they are old enough to be safe around knives and such, you can fix them where they don't require the key! One drawback: If you have a double-wide or single-wide mobile home, you will have to do some modifications to your drawers to get them to work. My husband spent an entire evening working on three drawers due to the modifications needing to be made for them to work correctly for our drawers. After it was all done, it works perfectly. Also, a small price to pay for the security of my little angel. Do yourself a favor and invest a little money and get these latches!!!!

Yes, the installation is cumbersome, tricky and frustrating at times (I had to leave the house with the baby while my husband worked through his frustration) BUT--- totally worth it in the end! (Even my husband thinks so)

When properly installed the cabinet doors don't even budge when pulled on. Initially my son tried every door and drawer and quickly lost interest. This is a huge bonus when we visit Grandma, family and friends as he just assumes all the doors are locked!

The unlock feature is wonderful. When we entertain we can quickly disable the lock to the garbage so no key is needed, and then quickly re-engage it when people leave.

We bought LOTS of keys and put them everywhere so that it was convienent for us but out of reach for kids. If it's a hassle, you'll just get mad everytime you go to throw something away.

We even installed these in all of our bathroom cabinets. It's so nice not having to worry about my child getting into things whether it's glass dishes, cleaning supplies, or my fingernail polish in the bathroom! Think of the messes we'll prevent.

These aren't cheap, but totally worth my peace of mind and now pinched fingers (adults or kids) from the plastic kind that opens the door an inch or so.

Put these on right away-- don't wait until your baby is crawling. You'll have more energy to adjust to them and won't be rushed to install them all.