Nursery Space heater

Enjeneer · October 2013

LO is still in a pack n play in iur room for now but we'll be putting her in the nursery in a month or so.

Currently the heat vent in the nursery is being blocked by furniture so it won't help heat the room as it is. I was planning on getting a space heater for the room to fix the problem, but now I'm worried about the fire hazard or funky emissions/smells.

Has anyone done this? Any saf,e effective space heater recommendations? Or am I being ridiculous trying to do this?

LokiLahve · October 2013

I wouldn't be comfortable doing it. Is it possible to rearrange the furniture so the vent isn't blocked? Maybe it wouldn't be the most ideal arrangement but it beats a safety hazard.

jbbolton · October 2013

We are thinking about this. I think new space heaters are designed to be much much safer. There is one specific brand I'm thinking of that the ILs use in their basement but can't think of the brand name. I'll post if I figure it out. I would never use a used or older model heater.

BubblyDevil · October 2013

The vent in LO's room has never worked correctly. I have been thinking we will need to place a space heater in there as well. I'm not a fan of the idea, but we have no choice.

jbbolton · October 2013

Check consumer reports to help find a safe one. I'm still trying to find brand of ILs which was top rated.

BelhurstBride · October 2013

I have to double check the specifics on the one we had purchased for DD1, but we used one when she was a baby. It wasn't a hot air one, more like a oil filled radiator and turned off if tipped over.

We have an old, old, old house and keep it at 60 at night in the winter. I'm not wasting the energy to heat the entire house so that she didn't freeze.

Now that DD1 sleeps under blankets and so forth we'll use the same heater for DD2.

Enjeneer · October 2013

This is the set up and the vent is right under the window, where the cubby storage is. We could put the cubby on shims to lift it up, but I still don't think it would effectively let the room heat up. Plus, the heater isn't even on yet for the season and her nursery is already colder than the rest of the house.

Yeah I'm gonna have to do some research. Without that cubby there we have like no storage for her toys and such

Enjeneer · October 2013

Sorry, meant to attach pic

LokiLahve · October 2013

First off, adorable nursery

Personally I would try putting feet on the cubby unit and getting a curved shield to put on the vent to direct the air flow out from under the cubby.

In the end if you can't make it work then you'll have to get the space heater. Then it comes down to consumer reports and finding the safest option. I would try to avoid the space heater if at all possible (my personal preference) but in the the you have to keep the baby warm somehow. GL!

Eta: lowes has both items i mentioned. Search for "feet wood table leg" and "air vent deflector"

Enjeneer · October 2013

Thanks @LokiLahve! Agreed, if I can get the vent to work I'd way prefer that. I'll have to run to lowes and see if shimming it up and deflecting the air will work.

southernmama8813 · October 2013

Angelcare makes a monitor that has a heat sensor. You set the acceptable temperature range for the room and if the temp goes outside of that range, the alarm on the parent unit goes off. If you absolutely have to use a space heater, the monitor might help your peace of mind.

It also has a motion sensor, which is awesome.

Texasmomma13 · October 2013

Wow. Bad hvac design. It's so inefficient to put the vent below a window. I, personally, would try rearranging the furniture first. That would be the easiest and cheapest option. If that doesn't work and you can't get the vent to work either, then put in a space heater. The new ones are much safer than the old. Just make sure you follow the safety instructions. Fwiw, my house is over 100 years, No central heat & air. We space heat and cool. Our heat is natural gas though. Before I had one for every room I did have a bunch of electric heaters. I can tell you that they don't heat great and use a ton of power. Like I couldn't run one of mine and the hair dryer at the same time. So, if you have any breaker issues you might want to rethink the space heater. Just a thought. Good luck!

carrotcake06 · October 2013

We have one. It's a fan with a heat function - by Vornado. H did a bunch of research. We actually run it year round in DS's room and just turn the heat function on in the winter.

LEMSA · October 2013

We have hardwood floors, so I have a small space heater on the floor. It shuts off if moved, so knocking it over will automatically turn the unit off. It's placed with nothing around it that could catch fire. So far I've felt comfortable with it. We let the room heat up w the door closed, turn off when he's in the crib. Turn on during night feeding, let room warm (30-45 mins), turn off before I leave the room. I am comfortable in the room w pajama bottoms and a tank, so I figure he's prob ok too.

WheeLinTheSky3 · October 2013

I would move the furniture in this situation. Maybe I am hyper paranoid but my dad is in the disaster restoration industry and winter time is high season for candle and space heater fires. They are constantly going to calls for fires started by a space heater. I realize that a lot of those are likely caused by user error but I wouldnt take the risk in a baby's room. I would move the furniture or keep baby near me until extra heat was no longer needed in the house.

Millie1984 · October 2013

Personally I wouldn't be comfortable using a space heater in a nursery. I agree with PPs that maybe you should rearrange the furniture so that the vents aren't covered. It may be a fire hazard to cover vents (I am not sure about that), but it might also not be economical either because your heat is being wasted in that room.

BTW- your LO's nursery is ADORABLE!!!

Enjeneer · October 2013

Thanks @Millie1984 yeah I wish that window weren't so damn low! Nothing fits under it and the cubby only clears it by an inch! Not even sure a vent deflector would fit if we lifted it at this point. And no other furniture in the room clears it either. Jeeze...

ashleyamberRN · October 2013

LokiLahve said:
First off, adorable nursery

Personally I would try putting feet on the cubby unit and getting a curved shield to put on the vent to direct the air flow out from under the cubby.

In the end if you can't make it work then you'll have to get the space heater. Then it comes down to consumer reports and finding the safest option. I would try to avoid the space heater if at all possible (my personal preference) but in the the you have to keep the baby warm somehow. GL!

Eta: lowes has both items i mentioned. Search for "feet wood table leg" and "air vent deflector"

This sounds like a great suggestion. I actually have the dresser over the vent and it's close to the window, but this summer the room was able to cool with the a/c. I can feel the cold air being rushed out from under the dresser, so I hope the heat will too. I'm actually gonna buy these deflectors for other places in my house now, all our vents are under the windows. So stupid right

PB102012 · October 2013

southernmama8813 said:

Angelcare makes a monitor that has a heat sensor. You set the acceptable temperature range for the room and if the temp goes outside of that range, the alarm on the parent unit goes off. If you absolutely have to use a space heater, the monitor might help your peace of mind. It also has a motion sensor, which is awesome.

This is an awesome suggestion, couldn't have written it better.

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