Every parent wants to keep their children safe from any home appliances. If you are concerned about your child’s safety with respect to the atta chakki, this article is for you.
I will let you know the answer to the question, Is atta chakki safe for children?
But before that, you should understand, What is safe atta chakki?
Safe atta chakkis means fewer hazards associated with the atta chakki under normal and abnormal conditions.
It also means how failproof the atta chakki system is.
But if you want to buy one for yourself, I recommend you read my article on the best home chakkis, where I have explained everything you need to know before buying a domestic flour mill or atta chakki for your home.
Is atta chakki safe for children?
The straightforward answer is atta chakki is safe for children when you buy safe atta chakki for your home.
The first thing you should consider before buying any atta chakki is the safety features of the atta chakki machines.
Hundreds of atta chakki models are available in the market that you can buy online or offline.
However, only a few people understand the meaning of safety as far as atta chakkis are concerned.
Today you will learn the most critical safety features you should always check before buying an atta chakki machine for home.
Before I explain safety features, let me brief you about why you should buy safe atta chakki for your home.
Need of safety in a domestic flour mill ( atta chakki )
If you have children, you must pay close attention to any electric appliances you buy because, in your absence, children may try them out for curiosity and might get injured.
Similarly, cheap atta chakkis and some local atta chakki manufacturers usually don’t care about safety features.
Many things in atta chakkis can be hazardous to children. Again, I repeat that atta chakkis are safe for children if they are from genuine manufacturers or brands.
Safety checkpoints in atta chakki ( domestic flour mill )
Child lock system ( Door Interlock ):
Most home atta chakkis come with a child lock feature. A child lock system is nothing but an electrical interlock.
The simple logic of child lock is explained below.
When the atta chakki is running, and your child ( or you) open the front door of the atta chakki, the electric motor’s power will be cut off, the grinding chamber will stop rotating, and the atta chakki will stop.
In reverse, the atta chakki will not start if the front door is open.
That means your children will be absolutely safe if they open the atta chakki door by mistake or even try to start the atta chakki when it is open.
Sharp edges:
All atta chakkis (stoneless) have modular cabinet bodies with glossy plywood. However, you should check if there are any sharp edges are present or not.
The same thing is to be checked from the inside.
Rear or side filters & vents:
Filters and vents are provided in every atta chakki. The main reason behind it is the fresh air circulation. Filters are for restricting the bad air as well as dust, dirt, and foreign particles.
Vents are for cooling purposes.
Mainly the filters and vents have little space to enter your finger. It is unsafe if your fingers can easily go inside the filters or vents.
Children can also insert their fingers into it.
Why is this risky?
Sometimes, the microcontroller wiring is near the vents or filters, and there is a chance of electrocution (electric shock) if someone gets in contact with live power.
Grinding chamber sharpness:
All quality atta chakki or domestic flour mills have a finished grinding chamber and cutter blades. However, if you see uneven, sharp edges in the cutter blades, avoid buying that atta chakki.
Because, during cleaning, it may cut or scratch your fingers, and if the children are doing the cleaning work, it is not safe for them.
If you are buying branded atta chakki, you can relax about this point.
Electric wire:
Always check that the wire has a 3-pin plug. Only buy atta chakki that has 2 pin plug.
It is because; earthing connection is missing in 2 pin plug. Due to any reason, if live power gets in contact with the body of the atta chakki, you will get an electric shock if you touch the body.
But, in 3 pin plug, the risk and severity are less due to proper earthing. So even if you have 3 pin plug, you must have an excellent earthing system in your home.
I recommend using RCCB or ELCB in your home.
The wire of the atta chakki must be joint-free and flexible. The minimum recommended size is 1 sqm with copper strands.
Branded atta chakki comes with standard cables with an insulation rating of 1100 volts. So if you buy branded atta chakki, you and your children are safe.
Wheels:
Every atta chakki comes with wheels, so you can easily move it from one place to another. However, the wheels should be robust and lockable.
It is quite tough to find lockable wheels, even in the branded atta chakkis. However, you can put a wooden plate to lock the wheels.
Children can push the atta chakki by mistake, and the atta chakki can fall or be damaged. Locking the wheels is all you can do.
Vacuum cleaners:
If you are buying atta chakki with a vacuum cleaner, never let children do the cleaning, especially if there is more than one child.
It is because children will start playing with the pressurized air, and if the air is blown to the eyes, it can severely damage the eyes.
However, with proper monitoring, you can avoid this situation.
Collecting the flour after grinding:
Once the atta chakki stops after grinding, you should wait for 10-15 minutes as the collecting steel drum will have a high temperature.
Most people habitually open the front door after grinding and leave it till the collecting drum settles at normal temperature.
This practice is okay, but if you have a young child, always keep the door closed and wait a few more minutes to let the temperature down.
If you are following this, the atta chakki is safe for your children.
Failproof system:
Child lock is an example of a failproof system. Failproof atta chakki means the atta chakki that has an auto turn-off under abnormal conditions.
So under faulty conditions, the atta chakki must be turned OFF without human interference. For example, if the grinding chamber gets jammed for any reason, it should stop by overload protection.
Automatic atta chakki can be the best solution for your kids safety.
All the above points apply to stoneless domestic flour mills or stoneless home atta chakki only, not atta chakki with stone.
If you are buying atta chakki with stone, it is NOT safe for children to do anything with that atta chakki. You should not let children operate or clean the atta chakki.
FAQs:
Is it safe for children to operate domestic atta chakki?
Yes. Modern atta chakkis are automatic and do not require any technical skills to operate. Some atta chakki even don’t have any start switch. Just fill the hopper, and the grain sensor will sense the grains, and the atta chakki will automatically start.
After grinding, atta chakki will also stop automatically.
So, except for cleaning, it is completely safe for children to operate domestic atta chakki under adult supervision.
Should you let children use a vacuum cleaner to clean atta chakki?
As per my recommendation, you should not let the child operate a vacuum cleaner due to safety, as I have explained earlier in this article.
Which types of atta chakkis are the safest for children?
Automatic stoneless atta chakkis like Natraj Viva and Shreeji Fine with vacuum cleaners are amongst the safest atta chakki for children as well as for adults.
Conclusion:
I hope that now you have got the answer to your question, is atta chakki safe for children?
Always buy atta chakki, that have more safety features if you have young kids.
Appliances are to assist us, but you should refrain from negotiating with safety. It becomes more crucial when it comes to kids’ safety.
Hundreds of atta chakki models are available in the local or online market, but it is up to you which atta chakki to buy.
Get branded atta chakki and stay relaxed instead of going with cheap atta chakki that will keep you on your toes.