Best sliding outlet covers: the self-closing plate that replaces inserts for good

How a sliding cover works

A sliding cover is a wall plate with a spring-loaded shutter over each socket. To plug something in, you press the plug against the shutter and slide it sideways until the slots line up; the plug holds the shutter open. Pull the plug and the shutter snaps back over the slots. The adult never has to do anything, which is the point: a plug insert protects the outlet only while an adult remembers to put it back, and a removed insert is a small hard object. A sliding plate has no removable part. It does what a tamper- resistant receptacle does from the outside, for outlets that were installed before the 2008 NEC required shutters inside; whether you need either is the subject of are outlet covers necessary.

Duplex or Decora: the only question

Standard duplex outlets have two round-faced sockets and one screw in the middle of the plate. Decora (also called decorator or rocker-style) outlets have a rectangular face and two plate screws, top and bottom. A sliding cover is a plate, so it has to match: Mommy's Helper's Safe Plate and Safety Innovations' 12-pack are one-screw duplex covers, and Safety Innovations sells a separate two-screw Decora cover. Count each type before ordering; a house often mixes them, with Decora in the kitchen and bathrooms and duplex elsewhere. GFCI outlets (the ones with test and reset buttons) are Decora-shaped and need the Decora version too.

How we ranked these

Bulk weighting. All three do the same thing with the same mechanism and none states a UL listing on the listings we could read, so the ranking is about pack size, fit and price; Mommy's Helper edges ahead on the range of pack sizes and its fit for grounded three-prong plugs, which the listing calls out. Rubric on how we choose. Against inserts, the argument is made in plug inserts vs sliding outlet covers; against everything else, in best outlet covers for babyproofing.

Installing one

Unscrew the existing plate. Hold the sliding plate over the outlet with the shutters closed and the screw hole aligned, and drive the screw snug, not tight; over-tightening bows the plate and jams the shutters. Test by plugging a lamp in and pulling it out; the shutter should snap closed. If it sticks, back the screw off a quarter turn. The breaker can stay on for a plate swap; it cannot for a receptacle swap, which is the other route in tamper-resistant outlets vs outlet covers.

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