Safety first side by side cabinet lock instructions

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth spending a little extra for...
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2019

These locks are great. I’m buying them to replace a cheaper set of cabinet locks that were endlessly frustrating. The key feature that helps here is the knob at the end that prevent the sliding piece from falling off (see photos). With my cheaper locks it would come off completely and was really tricky to put back on. Worth spending the extra money for these. Seem very well made. Works on different types of cabinet knobs (knobs and pulls).

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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 18, 2021

We have a couple of these. 1 for the TV entertainment cabinet and 1 for a bathroom cabinet. They are easy to slip on and off and thet have done a great a job of keeping our toddler out of the cabinets.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 15, 2015

I was given some of these Safety 1st cabinet locks, but not enough for all of my cabinets. So, I purchased some cheaper, generic versions and ended up replacing them with this brand. Three advantages make these worth the money.

1. The smoothness of the ratchet mechanism.
It seems odd, but this is the best feature. On the generic versions, the plastic rods have rough, sharp teeth that aggravate your hands when you open and close them several times a day, even if you have thick skin on your hands as I do.

2. The ball at the end of the ratchet is rounded.
Not the case for all brand-x versions of cabinet locks. Why have a sharp plastic piece at your toddler's eye-level?

3. A visual cue that you've locked it all the way.
Fully latching the cabinet requires that you tighten the loop enough that the grey plastic tab is pushed back into the body of the device. This will cause the indicator to change from red to green. This reminds you to lock your cabinets firmly enough so that your little one can't pull them open just enough to reach under and pull something dangerous out, or open the cabinets enough to pinch his or her fingers.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 15, 2021

Bought these to keep my daughter out of our kitchen cupboards and they are still working great!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 3, 2021

The thickness of the lock makes it not fully lock on our knobs. It locks enough for our needs however.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 17, 2016

To date, we have purchased a total of 6 of these Safety 1st Secure Tech Cabinet locks. They are used for all our bathroom and kitchen cabinets that have the side by side knob handles. We purchased these locks to prevent two of my younger kids under 4 years old from accessing and tossing everything out of these cabinets. These locks fit perfectly onto the knob handles and you can easily adjust them so that they are tight enough to prevent the kids from actually ripping off the locks. They are very easy for an adult to install and to remove. We have used them for so long now that it has become second nature when we open the cabinet doors and we get jittery when we do not see the locks on. It has also become second nature for our kids to look for something else to mess with. These locks have saved us a lot of time and frustration from the kids trying to play with the cabinets. If you are looking to child proof your cabinets, look no further than these awesome cabinet locks. Highly recommended!!!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 11, 2017

This works perfectly on both our knob and handle cabinets. It locks easily and feels really secure. I had my boyfriend pull very hard on the lock to see if our 8 month old would ever be able to pull it apart. If a grown man couldn't break it by pulling with all of his might, I highly doubt a child could. The lock itself is simple in design yet the way that you unlock it seems like it would be impossible for a child to do. It requires you to press on the two grey buttons on either side of the locking mechanism. While it's very easy for an adult, I cannot see how a baby or toddler could ever manage to press both buttons at once with their tiny hands, let alone have the strength and dexterity to pull the lock off. I also appreciate the large grey button which is used to secure knob cabinets so that the lock cannot be simply pulled off of the knob.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 20, 2012

We have several other loop style cabinet locks we bought 3 years ago that work well, but when trying to buy more now we ran into some duds. The "Safety 1st Cabinet Slide Locks" we bought from Home Depot are terrible - they don't stay in place when you have knob style pulls, and have poor quality button mechanisms that don't fully disengage the teeth on the bar, so they are a pain to open.

This cabinet lock works! I was curious about the gray button facing inward in the picture, and it turns out this is to make a tighter fit underneath a knob style pull, and also to turn the "locked" indicator green when it is depressed. The key things that make this lock great are:

1. The lock is tapered so it slides under knob style pulls, so that the lock can't simply be pulled off the door unlike the "Safety 1st Cabinet Slide Locks" we tried first.
2. When you press the two release buttons simultaneously, the bar slides effortlessly through the lock, so it's easy to open without having to fight it.

We'll probably be getting a few more of these.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 1, 2020

I have an older model (several years older) and ordered these to secure all my cupboards. They were a bit less quality than the older one, stiffer to lock and unlock, but I still appreciated them as they are easier to use than other brands.

Top reviews from other countries

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use, but somewhat fragile

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 24, 2020

Had a bunch of the cheaper / simpler / slightly less convenient models on some cabinets we rarely use downstairs. Never an issue with them.

Decided to try these for some of the more commonly used cabinets upstairs. They are definitely easier to use and manage getting on and off of handles of any style.

BUT: The round shaped rod, while seeming a little more flexible in all directions than the cheaper model, seems more brittle and fragile when bent. One of our little ones gave a good tug on one of the cabinets and it caused a kink in the rod. There's clearly a stress fracture in it now. It's harder to use (tough to slide the lock on and off now) and can tell that it's going to break on the next good tug.

I've ordered another style to try on these more commonly used cabinets. If that's also a fail I'm going back to basics with the cheaper model that feels more robust, even if a little more cumbersome to use.

5.0 out of 5 stars Easiest to use cabinet locks

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 11, 2020

Tried the Safety 1st grip & go and outsmart flex locks first before i settled on this one. The others were too frustrating & hard to open. This one is easy to put on & take off. My 13month old pulled on the sticks for a few days (if you have a determined toddler they may snap after a while) then lost interest in them. These have kept my cabinets secure, and the rounded tips are not an eye-poking hazard like some cheaper versions

1.0 out of 5 stars Pretty useless

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 4, 2020

This actually requires more dexterity to lock than unlock. My 20 month-old figured out how to open it in less than 10 minutes (with one hand) and has managed to break it in less than a week. If you are trying to keep a toddler out of a cabinet, this is not the tool to do it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use, works well.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 6, 2016

I have a sneaky little baby ferret who loves to get into the cupboard to dig for treasure in the garbage and green bin, and I was at my wit's end trying to keep him out. I ordered this and it came quickly (thank goodness!) and it works perfectly on the cupboard handles; it's easy to use, and you can tell when it's locked as a small window shows a green lock.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 29, 2019

These are super easy to install and use. I love that they do not ruin your cabinets in any way. My 22 month old has not been able to figure them out! We use them at home and at her grandparents house. I’m going to buy more because she’s getting into even more cupboards now! I would highly recommend these!

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 29, 2019

These are super easy to install and use. I love that they do not ruin your cabinets in any way. My 22 month old has not been able to figure them out! We use them at home and at her grandparents house. I’m going to buy more because she’s getting into even more cupboards now! I would highly recommend these!

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How do you open a safety first?